privacy policy, Need more context? RMS Lancastria (later HMT Lancastria) was a British Cunard liner commandeered by the UK Government for war, sunk on 17 June 1940 during World War II sending 4,000 people to their deaths, possibly many more. 5621230. The ship's official capacity was 2,200 including the 375 man crew. This list of sources is concerning as there are at least a dozen sources that would have provided additional information to flesh-out his brief narrative, namely Winston Churchills 1949 The Second World War, Vol. Captain Sharp estimated 5,500, but one Royal Engineer officer was told that there were more than 7,200 persons aboard. Late in the afternoon, the Germans launched another air raid. I can't think, after all of these years, it can still be a secret. Lancastria survivor Charles Napier with a copy of the newspaper which reported the news of the Lancastria sinking. For other uses, see, Section 36; prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs; Section 40(2); contains personal information; Section 40(3); Release would contravene section 10 of the, According to CWGC Records of identified Burials in France as of 17 June 1940 of "Lancastria" total 1486 (British Army 1449; RAF 33, Location of the sinking of the troopship RMS Lancastria, Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool, "BBC - History - World Wars: The 'Lancastria' - a Secret Sacrifice in World War Two", "About Us: History of Scouting in Ireland", "The West Australian (Perth, WA: 1879 - 1954) - 27 May 1936 - p16", "At sea. She was sunk on 17 June 1940 during Operation Ariel. Let us know. With the sea thick with oil, German planes strafed survivors trying to keep afloat. 2 held about 800 RAF personnel. The 20,000-ton liner Lancastria, with five thousand men aboard, was bombed just as she was about to leave. After the war the 'Lancastria Survivors Association' was set up by Major Peter Petit, but this lapsed on his death in 1969. [citation needed], A memorial on the sea-front at St Nazaire was unveiled on 17 June 1988, "in proud memory of more than 4,000 who died and in commemoration of the people of Saint Nazaire and surrounding districts who saved many lives, tended wounded and gave a Christian burial to victims". Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. 2 and No. Years later, he helped Mark to piece together the stories of the Lancastria. Officials at the time chose to ignore the Lancastria disaster, as it was deemed a failed evacuation, and it was almost overshadowed by the news of the French surrender to the Germans. Crew members were either discharged or sent on leave.[15]. In his memoirs, Churchill stated that he had intended to release the news a few days later, but that events in France "crowded upon us so black and so quickly that I forgot to lift the ban". "As the French Government has provided an appropriate level of protection to the Lancastria through French law and it is formally considered a military maritime grave by the MoD, we believe that the wreck has the formal status and protection it deserves.". If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. Grace's Guide To British Industrial History, https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/index.php?title=RMS_Lancastria&oldid=1038523, Creative While there were 2,477 survivors, it is . Late that afternoon, she was packed with servicemen, air force personnel, embassy staff, and their families and some civilians with their families. The 17th June 1940 saw one of the most horrific events of World War II and the single worst maritime disaster in British history. [citation needed], In June 2010 to mark the 70th anniversary of the sinking, special ceremonies and services of remembrance were held in Edinburgh and St. Nazaire. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [43] The campaign received support from all parties, but the MoD said that such a move would be "purely symbolic" and have no effect. In fact the casualty figures, especiallyin perspective, are moreshocking and although 59 merchant seamen were lost on theLancastria(4), 126 merchant sailors perishedduring the whole of the previous fortnights Dunkirk evacuation. The service, which is attended by survivors and relatives of both victims and survivors together with representatives of the French and Scottish Governments and a number of veterans organisations and is held on the closest Saturday to the anniversary of 17 June each year at St. George's West Church, Edinburgh. [citation needed], The Lancastria Association of Scotland began a campaign in 2005 to secure greater recognition for the loss of life aboard Lancastria and the acknowledgement of the endurance of survivors that day. Lancastria Association names 1,738 people known to have been killed. [7] On 10 October 1932 Lancastria rescued the crew of the Belgian cargo ship SS Scheldestad, which had been abandoned in a sinking condition in the Bay of Biscay. As were news reports on the sinking. Captain (Capt) Edward Unwin VC, Admiral of the Fleet (Lord) Sir Roger Keyes and ", "Rudolph Sharp (British) Crew lists of Ships hit by U-boats", "More Ripley Lads Back Home How a Ripley Private Escaped", "Lancastria: The forgotten tragedy of World War Two", "Forgotten tragedy: The loss of HMT Lancastria", "Recognition remains sunk without a trace, by Mark Hirst", "Operation Ariel and Falmouth June 1940 Maritime Views", "Victims of HMT Lancastria sinking honoured with memorial", "The National Memorial Arboretum - Welcome to the National Memorial Arboretum website", "HMT. He believes Walter and Charlie found some life jackets on the Lancastria to use as pillows on the way home. Information about the Lancastria sinking might be restricted by the Official Secrets Act. On 17 June 1940, whilst being used as part of Operation Aerial to evacuate civilian refugees and British military personnel from France, it was anchored about 5 miles from the coast of St Nazaire. Just to say a little. Many men jumped into the sea wearing life jackets and broke their necks when they hit the water, others were killed as they hit the hull of the ship. It is the worst single loss of life in British maritime history and the bloodiest single engagement for UK casualties and survivors with related. We don't know.". Official notice of this disaster may not be forthcoming, but the descendants of those who died still honor the victims today and you can find some interesting history here www.lancastria.org.uk, For Sale: English Electric Lightning Jet Interceptors. About 124,000 troops were assembling and the Admiralty had dispatched some 30 merchant vessels of all sizes to the rescue. Policy. Many thanks. The Lancastria Tragedy: Sinking and Cover-Up, June 1940 He was told that he should take as many as he possibly could "without regard to the limits of International Law". This web publication contains 154,528 pages of But if we could ask a questionwouldnt it be revealing to haveaskedthe servicemen aboard If theywould have gone to war willy-nilly (too bad they didnt have theopportunity to refuse). On the other hand,somewhatcynically,anMOD spokeswoman inWestminster said there is no formal event being organised adding that the government did not commemorate events willy-nilly. (6). The British Government has requisitioned the RMS Lancastria to assist with evacuation of troops from the European mainland. [58], After a postponement because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a commemorative service was held at Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool on 27 June 2020. Maintained by Sapere Software. Catalogue description S.S. "LANCASTRIA" : Lists of R.A.F. In April 1940, she was one of twenty troopships in Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of troops from Norway, and was bombed on the return journey although she escaped damage. Is climate change killing Australian wine? Official commemorations of those lost during the disaster were long in coming. RMS Lancastria was a British ocean liner requisitioned by the UK Government during the Second World War. Many of those in the water drowned because there were insufficient life jackets, or died from hypothermia, or were choked by fuel oil. It was used until 1993, when the name was changed to DSMA-Notice (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notice). HMT Lancastria Association, 17 June 1988.. [citation needed], The MoD stated in 2015 that "as the French Government has provided an appropriate level of protection to Lancastria through French law and it is formally considered a military maritime grave by the MoD, we believe that the wreck has the formal status and protection it deserves. Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. Mr Napier is also wearing the Lancastria commemorative medal which was awarded by the Scottish Government in June 2008 in recognition of those who were aboard the vessel that day. RMS Lancastria was a British ocean liner requisitioned by the UK Government during the Second World War. The evacuees were in several western French ports including Lorient and St. Nazaire on the Loire River. About 4,000 men, women and children lost their lives when the Lancastria sank 20 minutes after it was bombed by the Germans near the French port of Saint-Nazaire on 17 June 1940. [24] The ship was equipped with sixteen lifeboats and 2,500 life jackets;[19] but many of the boats could not be launched because they had been damaged in the bombing or because of the angle of the hull. Required fields are marked *. RMS Lancastria (later HMT Lancastria[ Note 1]) was a British Cunard [ 2] liner commandeered by the government for war, sunk on 17 June 1940 during World War II with the loss of over 4,000 lives, possibly many more [ 3]. RMS Lancastria - Graces Guide Only about 2,500 people survived in the largest single loss of life. Fewer than 2,500. The notifications are not legally enforceable; hence, news editors could choose not to abide by them but, generally, accede to these notices. Even when coupled with the sinking of the RMS Lusitania off the south coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915 by German which killed 1,195, leaving 761 survivorsLancastria would apparently exceed the combined death total. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. Frank Holden Snr was on board the luxury transatlantic cruise liner Lancastria in 1940. [23] The ship sank at 16:12, within twenty minutes of being hit,[26] which gave little time for other vessels to respond. He was a very quiet man, and his recalling of the Lancastria tended to come only after a couple of pints.". [29] Capt WG Euston recommended several of his crew for awards, including Stanley Kingett for "making repeated journeys in a lifeboat to pick up exhausted men from the water while under machine-gun fire from enemy planes", and William Perrin for "keeping up continuous machine-gun fire in an attempt to prevent enemy planes machine-gunning men in the water. Quite an official statement to ponder. In a letter to The Times last month, campaigners said the government should do more. [4] Many families of the dead knew only that they died with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF); the death toll accounted for roughly a third of the total losses of the BEF in France. The testimony of an engineering officer, Frank Brogden, who was in the engine room at the time contradicts this. Captain Sharp estimated the number to be 5,500. It petitioned the British Government to have the wreck site designated an official maritime war grave. These were dangerous journeys, along roads blocked with refugees and under bombardment by enemy aircraft. About 4,000 men, women and children lost their lives when the Lancastria sank 20 minutes after it was bombed by the Germans near the French port of Saint-Nazaire on 17 June 1940. (5). The Lancastria, a pre-war Cunard cruise liner, was requisitioned by the Admiralty and turned in to a war-time troop ship. In the words of Mark, his grandfather's fight ended when the "mad man sank beneath the waves". Captain Rudolf Sharpe later lost his life when the ship he commanded, the Laconia, was sunk. In 2006, 14 additional wrecks sunk at the Battle of Jutland were designated as war graves, but Lancastria was not. Or, you can request a quotation for a copy to be sent to you. Many lifeboats could not be launched as they had been damaged, and there were only 2,500 life jackets on board. The Lancastria Association Victim registers 1,738 deaths. However, themovetowardswar went initially quite slowly. RMS Laconia (1921) - Wikipedia RMS Lancastria | Military Wiki | Fandom As the families reflect on their loss, it appears their frustrations will remain. This isnt just a result of an inaccurate muster ofpersonnel embarked but in the main part by Churchillsdecision by to impose a news blackout stating that the newspapers havehad enough of disastrous news of late meant that the whole catastrophe wasnt reported to the rest of the world until an article appeared in theNew York Pressseveral weeks later. LANCASTRIA (June 17, 1940) The loss of the Lancastria was the fourth largest maritime disaster of the war. Jun 17 1940 Sinking of the RMS Lancastria A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. Dunkirk is well-documented to most;butalthoughmost troops in early June had been safely evacuated to English ports, the rest of the army were fighting a desperate rearguard action in north-western France around Brittany, a situation which Churchill recognised as an evacuation area to which many merchant and naval ships were dulydespatched.Subsequently,on the 17 June theLancastriahad arrived off St Nazaire in an operation codenamedAerialwith orders to evacuate as asmany aspossible a task the ship carried out continuously until there were an estimated 9,000 troops, RAF personnel, staff and dependants from Allied embassies and some French refugees including women and children. However, therewas no such light-heartedness for 800 RAF personnel of the ranks. [13][14], At the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Lancastria was in the Bahamas. All Digitized Passenger Lists For the RMS Laconia Available at the GG Archives. Four chapters are personal accounts from survivors or their close relatives. Naval Documents of the American Revolution, - Naval Documents of the American Revolution, A History of the Naval Historical Foundation. A few eyewitnesses told of soldiers balancing on the upturned hull and singing Roll out the Barrel as the ship listed to port. You will need a reader's ticket to do this. Charles C. Kolb, PhD, is a USNI Golden Life Member. Walter ended up in the water and saw a dog swimming away from the wreckage. The survivors crowded on the submarines' decks and the towed lifeboats, as the B-24 made several deadly attack runs on U-156. RMS Lancastria (centre) at Funchal, Madeira, c. 1930. Many families of the dead knew only that they died with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF); the death toll accounted for roughly a third of the total losses of the BEF in France. The 'Lancastria' - a Secret Sacrifice in World War Two Lancastria was attacked, apparently by five Junkers Ju 88 dive bombers, and the ship capsized, and sank within twenty minutes mid-afternoon on June 17 off the French port of St. Nazaire. The Lancastria Tragedy: Sinking and Cover-Up, June 1940. Both the 20,000 ton liner Oronsay and the Franconia were damaged by bombs and strafing, the former had her bridge devastated while the damaged Franconia was able to limp back to England for repairs. manufacturing in Britain. "When we have tried, they (the government) have said it (documents on the Lancastria) are secret. Thefirst due to the declaration of war against Germany and the 2020 season scrapped because of the pandemic; in 1939 Blackpool were in first place whilst Liverpool and Everton were fourth and fifth respectively. Captain Sharp would lose his life on September 12, 1942, when the HMT Laconia, was sunk northeast of Ascension Island off the coast of West Africa by Kriegsmarine U-156, a Type IXC boat then attached to the 4th U-boat Flotilla. Survivor Reg Brown speaks to BBC Coventry & Warwickshire, AI chatbots 'may soon be more intelligent than us', Russia troop deaths hit 20,000 in five months - US, Palestinian hunger striker dies in Israel prison, The 17 most eye-catching looks at the Met Gala, The burden of being cricket legend Tendulkar's son, 'My wife and six children joined Kenya starvation cult', On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Now aged 77 and living in Malvern, Worcestershire, she will be joined by her husband, her children and her grandchildren at a ceremony in Saint-Nazaire on 17 June to mark the tragedy. The loss of the LANCASTRIA was also the most . Many . Heres how to join! Many others died from hypothermia, inhaling fuel oil on the surface or drowning. [20] People were crowded into whatever spaces were available including the large cargo holds. But it is a largely forgotten chapter in British history, a fact that leaves survivors and relatives aggrieved. The name Tyrrhenia proved problematic for her passengers to pronounce and was subsequently changed to Lancastria in 1924. Approximately four thousand men, women, and children were buried beneath the waves. She was first used to assist in the evacuation of troops from Norway. It was a few weeks after the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from Dunkirk, and Walter and Charlie were still in occupied Europe with an estimated 150,000 other British servicemen. "Nearly 2,500 are known to have been saved - and more may be in enemy hands - from a total 5300 aboard the transport Lancastria, which, it was admitted in London yesterday, was sunk on June 17 by the enemy during the evacuation of the BEF from France,' it read. Harrowingenough in itself the grey-paintedship was anchored out in the Loireestuarywith personnel ferried out in various small boats itcan be well-imagined thatthese hungry, traumatisedand wounded peoplewere so relieved to be transportedto asafe place.But asmore and more embarkedbelow decks the vessel became hopelesslyovercrowded, indeed a communique was sent stating that the ship should embark as many as possible irrespective of international rules (1). Sinking of RMS Lancastria is Still a Secret Protected by a 100 Year D Forgotten tragedy: The loss of HMT Lancastria Listing Includes Date Voyage Began, Steamship Line, Vessel, Passenger Class and Route. [53] St Katharine Cree church in the City of London has a memorial window to Lancastria. The people living in the area, found bodies washed up on the beaches for weeks after the disaster. She was originally sent to Quiberon Bay as part of Operation Aerial, which was the evacuation of the remainder of the British Expeditionary Force which had been cut-off to the south of the German advance through France, amounting to some 124,000 men, mostly logistic support troops, from various ports in western France. He states that The time taken to record everybodys name, rank, service number and regiment or corps would have been time consuming and served no purpose (vii). Wynn states that there were 2,488 survivors and a minimum of 2,385 perished. The ship was launched in 1920 as Tyrrhenia by William Beardmore and Company of Glasgow on the River Clyde for Anchor Line, a subsidiary of Cunard. There are 1,472 names on his list of the deceased, extracted from the War Graves website, but theCommonwealth War Graves Commission records 1,816 burials with more than 400 in France (Fenby 2005, p. 234) and the Lancastria Association identifies 1,738 individuals that died aboard the ship . The RMS Lancastria was a British Cunard liner sunk by enemy action on 17 June 1940 with the loss of an estimated 4,000 plus lives. A transcript and podcast are available from The National Archives website. When they reached the water, Jacqueline was kept alive on a floating plank of wood. Lancastria - Remembrance The government feared what the news would do the British nation in the midst of its darkest hour. What a story, and how lucky are we,born just after WW2, for the brave men and women, who fought for our freedom, Your email address will not be published. To the glory of God, in proud memory of more than 4,000 who died and in commemoration of the people of Saint Nazaire and surrounding districts who saved many lives, tended wounded and gave a Christian burial to victims. HMT Lancastria remembered 75 years on - National Museums Liverpool Around lunchtime, on the 17th, there was an air raid. The French Government recently placed an exclusion zone around the wreck site. The British press did then cover the story, including front pages of the Daily Herald (also on 26 July) and Sunday Express on 4 August; the latter included a photograph of the capsized ship with its upturned hull lined with men under the headline "Last Moments of the Greatest Sea Tragedy of All Time". [56][57] The site of Lancastria wreck lies in French territorial waters and is therefore ineligible for protection under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986; however, at the request of the British Government, in 2006 the French authorities gave the site legal protection as a war grave. The RMS Lancastria was hit by three or four bombs dropped from a Junkers JU 88 bomber; 15 to 20 minutes later, she lay a the bottom of the sea. Chapter 4 Secret Session Speeches by Churchill provides extracts of five speeches made between June 20th 1941 and December 10, 1942, including one made in response to the sinking of HMT Lancastria on June 17, 1941. There were 2,477 survivors, of whom about 100 were still alive in 2011. When he eventually returned to England, he was ordered - along with the other survivors - to not speak a word about the Lancastria. Many other survivors were machine-gunned in the water by the German planes. Other soldiers, meanwhile, performed acts of bravery and helped civilians while there was "no panic". Grace's Guide web site design is Copyright 2021 by Grace's Guide Ltd. In his memoirs, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrote that he had intended to release the news a few days later, but that events in France crowded upon us so black and so quickly that I forgot to lift the ban (p.192). The RMS Lancastria was a British Cunard liner sunk on June 17, 1940 during World War II with the loss of an estimated 4,000 plus lives. But with wearisome slowness theU.K. government stillhasntacknowledgedthe sacrifice, although to its credit the Scottish parliament commissioned aLancastriasurvivors medal, plus a memorial in Glasgow where the ship was built. When sent to newspapers or other publications it prevented particular information from being made public for reasons of state security. It is likely that the bodies of these men were recovered from the Bay of Biscay by French fishermen and brought back to their home ports to be interred. [10][11][12] The passengers on this voyage included Admiral of the Fleet Roger Keyes, Field Marshal William Birdwood and Commodore Edward Unwin. Anchored 11 miles south-west of St Nazaire. He never saw his friend Charlie again. Mark, a filmmaker, has spent years researching the next few hours of his grandfather's life. [19] By the mid-afternoon of 17 June she had embarked an unknown number (estimates range from 4,000 up to 9,000)[4] line-of-communication troops (including Pioneer and Royal Army Service Corps soldiers) and Royal Air Force personnel, together with about forty civilian refugees, including embassy staff and employees of Fairey Aviation of Belgium with their families. On Saturday, 13 June, relatives of those who were on the Lancastria will gather for a ceremony at the Scottish memorial at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank, near to where the ship was built. Over 1,400 tons of fuel oil leaked into the sea and was set partially ablaze, possibly by strafing.
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