[39][a] In the face of continued campaigning by relatives, the MoD stated in 2015 that all known documents had long since been released through the National Archives. An estimated 400 Scots were amongst the 4,000 killed with the Lancastria was attacked and sunk. [2] Modern estimates suggest that between 4,000 and 7,000 people died during the sinking the largest single-ship loss of life in British maritime history. At the outbreak of the Second World War she was requisitioned for use as a troop carrier and was refitted in New York, her company colours painted over in battleship grey. The French Government recently placed an exclusion zone around the wreck site. RMS Lancastria In the article there is this paragraph: When German aircraft began strafing survivors in the water [citation needed], the fuel oil which had leaked into the sea ignited, and was quickly transformed into a flaming inferno [citation needed]. The ship was among twenty others that participated in the evacuation of 2,653 British, French, and Polish troops from Norway when Operation Alphabet began on May 24,1940. My Great Great Grandfathers son, would it be my Great Nephew, he is was on this vessel, and lived to tell about it, on the RMS Lusitania off the south coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915. 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. Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. As were news reports on the sinking. (accessed 30.05.2020), 5)www.lancastria.org.uk(2019)We will remember them(accessed 02.06.2020), 6) The Independent (p.4 16.06.2015)Families still refused memorial. [54] Scouting Ireland's national campsite Larch Hill has an anchor memorial to Lancastria, commemorating the legacy of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland's pilgrimage in 1932. Ordering and viewing options This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. The evacuation of more than 300,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk, between May 26th and June 4th 1940, After the Dunkirk evacuation, pockets of military personnel were left behind in France who had to make their way to the French ports for evacuation as best they could. View the catalogue description for. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. 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. Oxford University-trained historian and author of more than a dozen books Jonathan Fenby stated that 1,738 perished (Fenby 2005, p. 247), but as there are no official figures published, there are great discrepancies in the numbers calculated by a variety of authors, and other estimates range from 2,000 to 9,000. Seventy five years on, and despite a special Scottish government medal for Lancastria survivors and their families, relatives want the sinking to be properly remembered. A transcript and podcast are available from The National Archives website. 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. Having received an emergency order to evacuate British nationals and troops from France the ship was loaded well in excess of its capacity of 1,300 passengers. Many survivors perished from hypothermia or suffocated on fuel oil. [48], The Lancastria Association of Scotland has members throughout the UK, France and the rest of Europe as well as members in North America, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. You will need a reader's ticket to do this. Only about 2,500 people survived in the largest single loss of life. . Eyewitness Emile Boutin (whose stories are included in the online Lancastria archive) wrote, Sometimes one body arrived, sometimes 16 arrived at once other times there were four days, five days without anything. The citizens of Moutiers buried the victims behind a sea dike, where they stayeduntil the end of the war. "[40], All service personnel killed during the Second World War are recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and were known that they lost their lives on Lancastria; 1,816 burials are recorded, over 400 of them in France. A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. [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. British Expeditionary Force troops back to Britain. They had no chance because the ship went down in 15 minutes. She made her maiden voyage, GlasgowQuebec CityMontreal, on 19 June 1922.[6]. This shrouded details of the disaster in secrecy as Churchill wanted to cover up the grisly details of the loss of life from an already severely demoralized British public. Also he was going to join the Navy in UK, would like to get the facts from the Navy about him signing into the Navy, also his father, my Great Grandfather, signed the India Shipping documents in Belfast, Ireland in 1921, claims, can I make claim for Great Great Grandfathers son, William George Ellason Myers he was born 1899, he lost his things and what else damages stress, we were also Banker, looking for documents to support the opening of the Bank of England, Ireland and Scotland and all Y.M.C.A., in America we were Bank Starter for all Great West Permanent Loans and Savings company of Canada, and I believe London Life and all Permanent Buildings, we were amazing, last known residence in his WILL, residing in the Union Theology College of British Columbia/United Church of Canada, Esquire, Banker and Methodist Minister, named after 4 priests. 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]. ; had they seen them perish or had they seen them escape?. There is no reliable count of how many people were crammed onto the liner. However, he was told to embark as many as possible. [3], The immense loss of life was such that the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, immediately suppressed news of the disaster through the D-Notice system,[33] telling his staff that "The newspapers have got quite enough disaster for today at least". Three direct hits caused the ship to list first to starboard then to port and she rolled over and sank within twenty minutes. The British Government has requisitioned the RMS Lancastria to assist with evacuation of troops from the European mainland. Furthermore, estimates are that 36% of all BEF troops killed in action between September 39 and June 1940 were lost on theLancastria. By the mid-afternoon of 17 June, she had embarked an unknown number (estimates range from 4,000 up to 9,000) of civilian refugees (including embassy staff and staff of Fairey Aviation of Belgium), and line-of-communication troops (Pioneers, RASC etc), and RAF personnel. The immense loss of life was such that the British government banned any public announcements of the disaster through the D-Notice system, but the story was broken by the New York Times and The Scotsman newspapers on 26 July. She was bombed at 15:48 by Junkers 88 aircraft from II. Not a member of the Naval Institute? useful bibliography and discussion. The U.S. 5621230. Others told of retrieving the corpses that washed up on the beaches a few days later. Heres how to join! A few eyewitnesses told of soldiers balancing on the upturned hull and singing Roll out the Barrel as the ship listed to port. Stephen Wynn, a retired police constable with 30 years service in Essex, began writing prior to his retirement. Anchored 11 miles south-west of St Nazaire. Grace's Guide web site design is Copyright 2021 by Grace's Guide Ltd. [45][46], After the war, the Lancastria Survivors Association was founded by Major Peter Petit, but this lapsed on his death in 1969. In 2011, a memorial was dedicated in Clydesdale, Scotland, where the ship was built. The Lancastria, a pre-war Cunard cruise liner, was requisitioned by the Admiralty and turned in to a war-time troop ship. The captain said that he would be able to take 3,000 at a pinch. 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. RMS Lancastria was a British ocean liner requisitioned by the UK Government during the Second World War. HMT Lancastria Association, 17 June 1988.. To this day, Adrien, aged 86, has no idea how many people perished, and it is unlikely that he ever will. Many drowned, were choked by the oil, or were shot by the strafing German aircraft. When he eventually returned to England, he was ordered - along with the other survivors - to not speak a word about the Lancastria. [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. On the day the Lancastria sank, Walter - who was from Dundee and serving with the Royal Engineers - was in the company of his friend Charlie Napier from Inverurie. Gruppe/Kampfgeschwader 30. Lancastria Association names 1,738 people known to have been killed. RMS Lancastria Cunard 1940617 4000 Titanic Lusitania [ ] Last updated 2011-02-17. On the morning of May 1st 1915 the Lusitania left New York behind. This year the ceremony was considerably toned down due to the coronavirus pandemic. May 1936. He passed away four years ago, the last Scottish survivor to die. And it is this sparsity of records, together withChurchills newsblackout whichhas taken years for the facts to materialise, even though pressure from a post-war survivors association the HMT Lancastria Association has continued to ask questions such as: which survivors saw who on board? Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and Osborne said of the sinking: "It was kept secret at the time for reasons of wartime secrecy, but I think it is appropriate today in this House of Commons to remember all those who died, those who survived, and those who mourn them. Years later, he helped Mark to piece together the stories of the Lancastria. [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. 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. It also has a model of the ship in a glass case and the ship's bell is also in the church. After receiving news of the Lancastria disaster, Churchill had placed a D-notice on the incident, forbidding any knowledge of the sinking reaching an already demoralized public. Mark, a filmmaker, has spent years researching the next few hours of his grandfather's life. Shortly afterwards, Lancastria carried troops to consolidate the invasion of Iceland. RMS Lancastria was a British ocean liner requisitioned by the UK Government during the Second World War. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of It was only attended by 10 people. [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. The government feared what the news would do the British nation in the midst of its darkest hour. Captain Sharp estimated the number to be 5,500. Or, you can request a quotation for a copy to be sent to you. 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). 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. So there you are a sad narrative from our maritime history. [43] The campaign received support from all parties, but the MoD said that such a move would be "purely symbolic" and have no effect. Fewer than 2,500. The following brief overview of the Lancastrias history is augmented with verified information from sources that Wynn might have consulted. She was sunk on 17 June 1940 during Operation Aerial. Wynn cites seven online sources (p. 181), namely the British Newspaper Archive, the Britain at War website, the British section of Ancestry.com, the Militarian Forum, the Forces War Records, the Wartime Memories Project, and the War Graves Records, which appear to have been mistakenly recorded as a .com website rather than .org. [5] Tyrrhenia was 16,243gross register tons(GRT), 578 feet (176m) long and could carry 2,200 passengers in three classes. 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. Early on the morning of the 17th June 1940 three Royal Navy Reserve officers came aboard and asked her captain, Rudolph Sharp, how many people the Lancastria would be able to uplift. information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the Almost 50 years later, a memorial was erected in St. Nazaire, reading: Opposite this place lies the wreck of the troopship Lancastria sunk by enemy action on 17 June 1940 whilst embarking British troops and civilians during the evacuation of France. These were dangerous journeys, along roads blocked with refugees and under bombardment by enemy aircraft. 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. RMS Tyrrhenia RMS Tyrrhenia was built in Glasgow by William Beardmore and launched in 1922; she began work for Cunard as a passenger liner crossing the Atlantic. "When we have tried, they (the government) have said it (documents on the Lancastria) are secret. manufacturing in Britain. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. Read about our approach to external linking. Two chapters briefly detail the extraction of Allied forces from Europe in Operations Cycle (Le Havre, France), Operation Dynamo (Dunkirk); and Operation Aerial (St. Nazaire, Nantes, Cherbourg, and seven other French ports). Lancastria was free to depart and the captain of the British destroyer HMSHavelock advised her to do so; but, without a destroyer escort as defence against a possible submarine attack, Sharp decided to wait for Oronsay before leaving. It was too much for the people to take. This drew on all known information held at Kew. Introduction:Aday which isprobably more in peoples minds due to resumption of the Premier League footballseasonrather than the commemoration of Britains worst maritime tragedy a disaster which took the lives of an estimated 3000 to 5800 sailors, soldiers, airmen and civilians. Naval Documents of the American Revolution, - Naval Documents of the American Revolution, A History of the Naval Historical Foundation. Following the sinking of the Lancastria, Prime Minister Winston Churchill imposed a media blackout. Required fields are marked *. After a short overhaul, she left Liverpool on 14 June under Captain Rudolph Sharp (born 27 October 1885) and arrived in the mouth of the Loire river estuary on 16 June. They included Pioneer and Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Royal Engineers, and Royal Air Force personnel, some Polish and Czech troops, civilian refugees, embassy staff, employees of Fairey Aviation of Belgium and their families. 1,816 burials are recorded, over 400 of them in France. Some may have called it a humiliating defeat but to this day the Dunkirk Spirit is still an oft-used expression to describe endurance under extreme pressure. You. As the families reflect on their loss, it appears their frustrations will remain. One can understand media censorshiptoensurethat morale wasnt impacted butwhile people in Britain were unaware of the tragedy, French citizens around the coast could not escape it as bodies washedashore all summer, all along ahundred kilometres of coastline.More and more appeared along the sand dependent upon tides and summer storms.But despite German rulings the French localscontinued to give decent Christian burialsalthough,onceagain, identificationrecords weresparse. Many . The Lancastria Association Victim registers 1,738 deaths. People were ferried from the mainland all day. Information about the Lancastria sinking might be restricted by the Official Secrets Act. This information will help us make improvements to the website. Hold No. [49] The day of the 75th anniversary of the loss of Lancastria was marked in the Westminster Parliament on 17 June 2015 at Prime Minister's Questions by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who was standing in for the Prime Minister. Help us improve catalogue descriptions by adding tags. The testimony of an engineering officer, Frank Brogden, who was in the engine room at the time contradicts this. Their names may be lost to history, but they are not forgotten. 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. Many of those in the water drowned because there were insufficient life jackets, or died from hypothermia, or were choked by fuel oil. [7][9] In May 1936, she undertook a specially commissioned cruise to visit war memorials at Malta, Salonika, Gallipoli and Istanbul. people who designed and built them. He was told that he should take as many as he possibly could "without regard to the limits of International Law". This was the date on which, the RMS Lancastria was sunk off the French port of Nantes, with an unknown loss of life. "[37] Private Ronald Herbert Yorke (Sherwood Foresters) is quoted in the Ripley and Heanor News on 5 July: "Hundreds of my pals were imprisoned below. Eventually, newspapers in New York broke the story at the end of July - five weeks after the disaster. Many lifeboats could not be launched as they had been damaged, and there were only 2,500 life jackets on board. people who designed and built them. Alchetron Memorials in statue, plaques, and stained glass can be found in Staffordshire, Liverpool, and London. The medal is in recognition of the endurance of survivors and ultimate sacrifice of the victims. A senior lecturer in British politics at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, Thibaud Harrois, said that the German advances in 1940 caught almost everyone by surprise and led to the Battle of Dunkirk. Returning to Glasgow, the captain requested that surplus oil in her tanks be removed, but there was insufficient time before she was ordered to Liverpool for a refit.

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