She was 578 ft. in length and 16,000 gross tons, designed to accommodate 2,200 passengers in three classes. Walter was attacked by a man who wanted his life jacket. Ushered down to decks E and F at the very bottom of the ship they nevertheless clutched their life jackets probably entertaining athought thatthesewould make good pillows.Ominously however, the troopswere warnednotto leave their confinedquarters. She sank around 5 nautical miles south of Chmoulin Point in the Charpentier roads and around 9 nautical miles out of St. Nazaire. 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. Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. The French Government recently placed an exclusion zone around the wreck site. Three direct hits caused the ship to list first to starboard then to port and she rolled over and sank within twenty minutes. Gruppe/Kampfgeschwader 30. 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. Lancastria memorial plaque at Liverpool Pier Head. The survivors crowded on the submarines' decks and the towed lifeboats, as the B-24 made several deadly attack runs on U-156. 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. [38], In July 2007 another request for documents held by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) related to the sinking was rejected by the British government. It highlighted claims from the New York Sun newspaper on the sinking, with 500 feared dead. Around lunchtime, on the 17th, there was an air raid. [52] The inscription on the rear of the medal reads: "In recognition of the ultimate sacrifice of the 4000 victims of Britain's worst-ever maritime disaster and the endurance of survivors We will remember them". 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. 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. Estimates of total survivors were hard to quantify though. When the British troop ship 'Lancastria' was sunk in June 1940, some 5,000 people died - but news of the disaster was kept from the British public. 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. Under the Official Secrets Act, the report on the Lancastria cannot be published until the year 2040. Many . I think he was embarrassed. Just to say a little. (5). Unnecessary fittings were removed, she was repainted in battleship grey, the portholes were blacked out, and a 4-inch gun was installed. information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the Rudolf Sharpe survived the sinking and went on to command the Laconia, losing his life along with many Italian prisoners-of-war on 12 September 1942 when the ship was torpedoed off West Africa, rolling over, and sinking stern first. RMS Lancastria Cunard 1940617 4000 Titanic Lusitania [ ] Listing Includes Date Voyage Began, Steamship Line, Vessel, Passenger Class and Route. A few eyewitnesses told of soldiers balancing on the upturned hull and singing Roll out the Barrel as the ship listed to port. NHF has decommissioned and is no longer accepting new members or donations. The Lancastria Tragedy comprises an introduction, eleven numbered chapters, and a concluding chapter titled In Closing, as well as endmatter including an About the Author section, Sources, and a three-page Index of proper nouns. The government feared what the news would do the British nation in the midst of its darkest hour. 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. [3][4], The ship was launched in 1920 as Tyrrhenia by William Beardmore and Company of Dalmuir on the River Clyde for the Anchor Line, a subsidiary of Cunard. Finding that she was not required for the evacuation from Lorient, the captain of Lancastria, Rudolph Sharp, was sent on towards the port of St. Nazaire, where many more troops were waiting to be lifted, On the way, an air raid damaged Franconia which returned to England for repairs, leaving Lancastria to continue alone. [43] The campaign received support from all parties, but the MoD said that such a move would be "purely symbolic" and have no effect. "[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. [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. RMS Lancastria was a British ocean liner requisitioned by the UK Government during the Second World War. Lancastria Association names 1,738 people known to have been killed. Nonetheless, on June 17 lets enjoy the footiebutalsospare a thought for the heroes of theLancastria.They gave us our freedom. The sinking of HMT Lancastria on June 17, 1940, is an intriguing chapter of naval history in World War II primarily because of the tragic loss of life and how much information pertaining to the event wasand still isclassified. Mark said: "There is a definite residual sense of grievance. 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. [18], Early in the morning, three RNVR officers came aboard to ask how many troops Lancastria could take. According to some accounts, these were heard to be singing 'Roll Out the Barrel' and 'There'll Always Be an England', though some survivors strongly deny this. 5621230. Captain Sharp estimated 5,500, but one Royal Engineer officer was told that there were more than 7,200 persons aboard. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? She sailed scheduled routes from Liverpool to New York until 1932, and was then used as a cruise ship in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. people who designed and built them. When Nazi planes dropped their bombs, Walter and Charlie were separated in the chaos. 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. As the families reflect on their loss, it appears their frustrations will remain. The notifications are not legally enforceable; hence, news editors could choose not to abide by them but, generally, accede to these notices. [47] The Lancastria Association of Scotland was formed in 2005 and holds its annual service at St George's West Church in Edinburgh. [28], Survivors were taken aboard other British and Allied evacuation vessels, the trawler HMTCambridgeshire rescuing 900. [4] All the photographs of the sinking were taken by Frank Clements, a volunteer storeman aboard HMS Highlander, who was exempt from the regulations prohibiting the use of cameras by service personnel. 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. [22], A fresh air raid began at 15:50 by Junkers Ju 88 bomber aircraft from Kampfgeschwader 30. [2] Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Survivors were taken aboard other evacuation vessels, the trawler Cambridgeshire rescuing 900. The Lancastria Tragedy: Sinking and Cover-Up, June 1940. Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. Other British newspapers then covered the story, including the Daily Herald (also on 26 July), which carried the story on its front page, and Sunday Express on 4 August; the latter included a photograph of the capsized ship with her upturned hull lined with men under the headline "Last Moments of the Greatest Sea Tragedy of All Time". As were news reports on the sinking. Kate Murphy Schaefer is an undergraduate history instructor who studies the human impact of wars and revolutions. In 1924 she was refitted for two classes and renamed Lancastria after passengers complained that they could not properly pronounce Tyrrhenia; (viz: RP /tjurini/ as per the crew's nickname of the ship: the "Old Soup Tureen". An estimated 400 Scots were amongst the 4,000 killed with the Lancastria was attacked and sunk. 3 holds while a fourth landed close to the port side of the ship, rupturing the fuel oil tanks, though even with this damage, the ship should have stayed afloat for longer unless the report of the bomb in the funnel was true. A number of survivors reported that one bomb had gone down the ship's single funnel which is most likely, given the speed with which the ship sank about 1520 minutes. [52] In September 2013, a plaque was unveiled at Liverpool's Pier Head by Lord Mayor Gary Millar commemorating the loss of the ship. Captain Sharp estimated the number to be 5,500. 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. [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. Maintained by Sapere Software. Many of those in the water drowned because there were insufficient life jackets, or died from hypothermia, or were choked by fuel oil. personnel, Have you found an error with this catalogue description? Approximately four thousand men, women, and children were buried beneath the waves. Within hours of berthing at Liverpool, Lancastria was urgently recalled to sea; loud-speaker announcements at the main railway station successfully recalled nearly all the crew members;[16] she arrived in Plymouth on 15 June to await orders. casualties and survivors with related. Wynn does not clarify what materials he utilized from these sources and there are no footnotes, in-text citations, or endnotes. 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. [20] People were crowded into whatever spaces were available including the large cargo holds. RMS Lancastria, Death Toll: 4,000-6,500. 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. The The liner sank within 20 minutes of being bombed by the Luftwaffe. [53] St Katharine Cree church in the City of London has a memorial window to Lancastria. manufacturing in Britain. [48], Lancastria is represented at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire by a sessile oak tree and a plaque. "We want recognition that this was the biggest sea disaster ever," she said. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. However, Chapter 10, Those Who Died, comprises nearly one-third of the book and lists the names of 1,431 individuals from 39 different military units along with, where possible, their ranks, service numbers and designations of regiments or corps. We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. The Lancastria Association names 1,738 people known to have been killed. All service personnel killed during the Second World War are recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and where known that they lost their lives on the Lancastria. He never saw his friend Charlie again. 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. When they reached the water, Jacqueline was kept alive on a floating plank of wood. Mr H J Cooper is quoted in the Chelmsford Chronicle on 28 June: "I am afraid thousands died, but tell the world they sang 'Roll out the Barrel' as they died. The Lancastria was carrying up to 9,000 troops when it was bombed by German planes and sunk outside the port on 17 June 1940. It is thought this dog may have belonged to two refugee children, who had boarded the Lancastria after walking through Belgium and France for weeks with the animal. 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. Furthermore, estimates are that 36% of all BEF troops killed in action between September 39 and June 1940 were lost on theLancastria. Upwards of three thousand men perished. 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]. Stephen Wynn, a retired police constable with 30 years service in Essex, began writing prior to his retirement. Heres how to join! Fewer than 2,500 people survived. Launched on the Clyde, Scotland, in 1920 by William Beardmore and Co as the Tyrrhenia for the Anchor Line, a subsidiary of Cunard, the 16,243 ton, 578 foot long liner could carry 2,200 passengers in three classes. Many others died from hypothermia, inhaling fuel oil on the surface or drowning. The article said the soldiers sang popular World War Two songs "Roll Out the Barrel" and "There'll Always be an England" as the ship went down. Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and Others told of retrieving the corpses that washed up on the beaches a few days later. [21], At 13:50, during an air-raid, the nearby Oronsay, a 20,000-ton Orient Liner, was hit on the bridge by a German bomb. RMS Lancastria (centre) at Funchal, Madeira, c. 1930. In 2006, 14 additional wrecks sunk at the Battle of Jutland were designated as war graves, but Lancastria was not. 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. [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. 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. Following the sinking of the Lancastria, Prime Minister Winston Churchill imposed a media blackout. Walter managed to hold on before the animal disappeared. A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. Many will then travel to France for the service at Saint-Nazaire on Wednesday, with no major event planned in the UK. Every nook and cranny, including her massive holds, was packed with people. [5] Tyrrhenia was 16,243gross register tons(GRT), 578 feet (176m) long and could carry 2,200 passengers in three classes. Wesalute them all. So there you are a sad narrative from our maritime history. The Lancastria, a pre-war Cunard cruise liner, was requisitioned by the Admiralty and turned in to a war-time troop ship. RMS Lancastria Memorial in Liverpool Furthermore, estimates are that 36% of all BEF troops killed in action between September '39 and June 1940 were lost on the Lancastria. Jun 17 1940 Sinking of the RMS Lancastria A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. manufacturing in Britain. Required fields are marked *. These were dangerous journeys, along roads blocked with refugees and under bombardment by enemy aircraft. 1)www.bbc.co.uk(2017)Dunkirk a few facts. The 17th June 1940 saw one of the most horrific events of World War II and the single worst maritime disaster in British history. Though more people died on the Lancastria than on Titanic and Lusitania combined, the story is little more than a footnote in the history of WWII. He believes Walter and Charlie found some life jackets on the Lancastria to use as pillows on the way home. Because the port has to be accessed along a tidal channel, Lancastria anchored in the Charpentier Roads, some 5 miles (8.0km) south-west of St. Nazaire, at 04:00 on 17 June,[17] along with some thirty other merchant vessels of all sizes. 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. 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 first used to ferry men and supplies between Canada and the United Kingdom. Mark, a filmmaker, has spent years researching the next few hours of his grandfather's life. "The trouble with the story of the Lancastria is it doesn't fit with the grand narrative of that period - the miraculous evacuation of Dunkirk, and the Battle of Britain," reflects Mark Hirst. I of course ,read it before giving it to my father. Two other bombs landed in No. 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. [45][46], After the war, the Lancastria Survivors Association was founded by Major Peter Petit, but this lapsed on his death in 1969. [51] The front of the medal depicts Lancastria with the text "HMT Lancastria 17th June 1940". You need to sign in to tag. It was too much for the people to take. 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. She was sunk on 17 June 1940 during Operation Aerial. 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. people who designed and built them. However, therewas no such light-heartedness for 800 RAF personnel of the ranks. She made her maiden voyage, GlasgowQuebec CityMontreal, on 19 June 1922.[6]. Charles C. Kolb, PhD, is a USNI Golden Life Member. It was fourth English pounds. [34], The sinking was announced that evening during the English-language Nazi propaganda radio programme, Germany Calling by its presenter William Joyce, better known as "Lord Haw-Haw"; however his claims were notoriously unreliable and had little public credence. [59], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}471026N 21915W / 47.17389N 2.32083W / 47.17389; -2.32083 (Location of the sinking of the troopship RMS Lancastria), "Lancastria" redirects here. Many other survivors were machine-gunned in the water by the German planes. 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. 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). Eventually, newspapers in New York broke the story at the end of July - five weeks after the disaster. Is climate change killing Australian wine? The initial cover up at the time of the war is perhaps understandable, because it could be used as propaganda by the Germans. Other soldiers, meanwhile, performed acts of bravery and helped civilians while there was "no panic". Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, and despite a special Scottish government medal for Lancastria survivors and their families, Serena Williams announces pregnancy at Met Gala, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, New record as 4.56m Indians take flights in a day, Japan to ban upskirting in stronger sex crime laws, Met Gala 2023: Stars celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, BP profits of 4bn in three months spark criticism. This drew on all known information held at Kew. Seventy five years after the sinking of the Lancastria - Britain's worst maritime disaster in history - why is the tragedy largely forgotten? A spokesman added: "The sinking of the HMT Lancastria remains the United Kingdom's greatest maritime disaster and, although it occurred over 70 years ago, the sacrifice of many thousands of servicemen and civilians, and the endurance of those who were saved that day, must never be forgotten. She was the sister ship of RMS Cameronia that Beardmore's had built for the same customer the previous year. You can order records in advance to be ready for you when you visit Kew. [23] The ship sank at 16:12, within twenty minutes of being hit,[26] which gave little time for other vessels to respond. Nevertheless, within hours of disembarking troops at Liverpool on June 14th, Lancastria was reassigned, along with the 20,341 gross tons liner Franconia, to Operation Aerial, the evacuation of British civilians, embassy staff, and support troops from France. To this day, Adrien, aged 86, has no idea how many people perished, and it is unlikely that he ever will. Hold No. She was first used to assist in the evacuation of troops from Norway. Fewer than 2,500. [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. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. Four chapters are personal accounts from survivors or their close relatives. Walter Hirst hardly spoke to his family about the Lancastria, The Lancastria was a Cunard liner before the Second World War, Winston Churchill ordered a media blackout on the sinking, Survivors of the Lancastria, who were all ordered not to talk about the sinking, Mark Hirst (left) became friends with Charlie Napier (right), who served with Mark's grandfather Walter, The Lancastria, pictured in Greenock, and its resting place in French waters, Jacqueline Tanner (centre), with her father Clifford and mother Vera, pictured drinking tea in Plymouth after being rescued from the Lancastria, Jacqueline, pictured in 1949 as she laid a wreath at the cenotaph in Whitehall on behalf of the Lancastria Survivors Association, The Lancastria memorial in the grounds of the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Initiated in 1889and then revised in 1911, 1920, and 1939it sets out offences related to spying, sabotage, and related crimes. privacy policy, Need more context? The ship was built by William Beardmore and Company of Dalmuir on the River Clyde and launched in 1920 as Royal Mail Steamship (RMS) Tyrrhenia for the Anchor Line, a subsidiary of the better-known Cunard Line. The details that are known about the event have all come from witness statements. Late in the afternoon, the Germans launched another air raid. However, some information about the Lancastrias sinking was made public within a matter of days, particularly six individual death notices in local newspapers. This information will help us make improvements to the website. On the 16th June, she anchored at the Loire Rivers mouth about 5 miles south-west of St. Nazaire, in the company of around 30 other merchant vessels of every size and shape. As many as 7,000 lost their lives, making it Britain's worst sea . 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]. It was not an official government order, but the British media followed Churchills lead. Naval Documents of the American Revolution, - Naval Documents of the American Revolution, A History of the Naval Historical Foundation. "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.". However, an exact number of Lancastrias casualties may never be known.

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