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. It reformed in 1981 as The HMT Lancastria Association and continues the tradition of a parade and remembrance service at the Church of St Katharine Cree in the City of London, where there is a memorial stained glass window. 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. He believes Walter and Charlie found some life jackets on the Lancastria to use as pillows on the way home. The ferrying trip took three to four hours. Lancastria survivor Charles Napier with a copy of the newspaper which reported the news of the Lancastria sinking. [5] Tyrrhenia was 16,243gross register tons(GRT), 578 feet (176m) long and could carry 2,200 passengers in three classes. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [33], However, there were earlier reports of the sinking and the scale of the disaster from survivors in local British newspapers. The site of the sinking is not an official War Grave safeguarded by The Protection of Military Remains Act of 1986 because the British have no jurisdiction over the French territorial waters where Lancastrias wreck lies, but the French government has provided an appropriate level of protection to the site, prohibiting diving on the wreck, for example. [3] It is the greatest ever loss of life in the sinking of a single British ship, claiming more lives than the combined losses of the RMS Titanic (1,523 passengers and crew) and RMS . Four chapters are personal accounts from survivors or their close relatives. If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. [23] As the ship began to list to starboard, orders were given for the men on deck to move to the port side in an effort to counteract it, but this caused a list to port which could not be corrected. 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. 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. She was 578 ft. in length and 16,000 gross tons, designed to accommodate 2,200 passengers in three classes. Many lifeboats could not be launched as they had been damaged, and there were only 2,500 life jackets on board. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of Walter ended up in the water and saw a dog swimming away from the wreckage. The Lancastria was the largest loss of life from a single engagement for British forces in World War Two and is also the largest loss of life in British maritime history - greater than the Titanic and Lusitania combined. 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. Whatever the case, this event likely remains the largest single-ship loss of life in British maritime history, more than the RMS Titanic, which had an estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard and suffered over 1,500 fatalities. Other soldiers, meanwhile, performed acts of bravery and helped civilians while there was "no panic". The RMS Lancastria was a British ocean liner, owned by the Cunard Line. The letter added: "These relatives do not have a clear understanding of what happened as documentary evidence, they are told, remains unavailable; and possibly will not be revealed until 2040, which is of no comfort; indeed it adds to their distress as the relatives, themselves, will not be alive.". Maintained by Sapere Software. As the 100th anniversary of the RMSTitanic sinking took place in 2012, fresh calls were made for "official recognition" of the loss of Lancastria by the British Government. Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. At the end of the day, some 2,477 survivors were picked up from the sea. [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. However, he was told to embark as many as possible. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy 1)www.bbc.co.uk(2017)Dunkirk a few facts. 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). Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and HMT Lancastria Association, 17 June 1988.. Fewer than 2,500 people survived. Franconia was assigned to Lorient while Lancastria continued toward St. Nazaire but because of the tidal channel on the Loire estuary Lancastria had to anchor in the Charpentier Roads about 5 nm (nautical miles) southwest of the actual port. It also has a model of the ship in a glass case and the ship's bell is also in the church. information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the [8] In 1934 the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland chartered Lancastria for a pilgrimage to Rome. So there you are a sad narrative from our maritime history. Though buried in WWII history, the sinking of the Lancastria reminds us of the sacrifices and loss of thousands of men, women, and children during the war. American and Scottish newspapers did print the story, but not until the end of July. She was sunk on 17 June 1940 during Operation Aerial. About 124,000 troops were assembling and the Admiralty had dispatched some 30 merchant vessels of all sizes to the rescue. 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. She was sunk on 17 June 1940 during Operation Aerial. Walter managed to hold on before the animal disappeared. 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. Many thanks. LANCASTRIA (June 17, 1940) The loss of the Lancastria was the fourth largest maritime disaster of the war. [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. Why don't they recognise it? [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. Even then, the British newspapers toed the patriotic line. [28], Survivors were taken aboard other British and Allied evacuation vessels, the trawler HMTCambridgeshire rescuing 900. May 1936. The rest were rescued under continued air attack by the devotion of the small craft.. [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". 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". Approximately four thousand men, women, and children were buried beneath the waves. [13][14], At the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Lancastria was in the Bahamas. The 17th June 1940 saw one of the most horrific events of World War II and the single worst maritime disaster in British history. [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. However, some information about the Lancastrias sinking was made public within a matter of days, particularly six individual death notices in local newspapers. Chapter 5 focuses on the actual sinking of the Lancastria while Chapter 11 focuses on its aftermath. Listing Includes Date Voyage Began, Steamship Line, Vessel, Passenger Class and Route. Official commemorations of those lost during the disaster were long in coming. Jun 17 1940 Sinking of the RMS Lancastria A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. "But the lack of recognition and acknowledgement in the subsequent years that has left many survivors and relatives of victims feeling their sacrifice was worth less than the big heroic events of the Second World War.". This information will help us make improvements to the website. There are no actual transcripts of these speeches, but they have been reconstructed from Churchills notes given to Charles Eade. 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. In the words of Mark, his grandfather's fight ended when the "mad man sank beneath the waves". Every nook and cranny, including her massive holds, was packed with people. 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. "[50], In June 2008, the first batch of commemorative medals was presented to survivors and relatives of victims and survivors; the HMT Lancastria Commemorative Medal, which represented "official Scottish Government recognition" of the Lancastria disaster. Footballers, just like many other blokeswere drafted orenlisted with local teams sending gifted players such as Liverpools Tom Cooper and Evertons reserve goalkeeper William Reidwhilst Preston North EndsTom Finney served in the Royal Armoured Corps.In fact,629 professionalfootballers had joined theservices by April 1940.By this time the British Expeditionary Force (BEF)wassent to France,but afterrelatively little action throughout the winter of 1939 the army faced its toughest battle which ended in theDunkirk evacuation, an event which although essentially a British defeat,didsavethe majority of British troops andforged a new optimism for the nation. 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). 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. [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. Charles C. Kolb, PhD, is a USNI Golden Life Member. 4 hold. [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. If it can be proved that Captain Sharp ignored the Ministry of Defence instructions not to exceed the maximum loading capacity of 3000 persons, grounds for compensation claims could be enormous. RMS Lancastria (later HMT Lancastria) was a British Cunard liner commandeered by the UK Government during World War II. 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. 1912-05-28 RMS Laconia Passenger List Steamship Line: Cunard Line Class of Passengers: Second Cabin Date of Departure: 28 May 1912 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. 1,816 burials are recorded, over 400 of them in France. The Germans ordered their submarines to dive, abandoning many survivors. Required fields are marked *. [55], In October 2011, the Lancastria Association of Scotland has erected a memorial to the victims on the site where the ship was built, the former Dalmuir shipyard at Clydebank, Glasgow, now the grounds of the Golden Jubilee Hospital. 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. 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. Many other survivors were machine-gunned in the water by the German planes. I think Churchill was right when he said 'we don't broadcast this'. The medal is in recognition of the endurance of survivors and ultimate sacrifice of the victims. She did not return to Liverpool in time to take part in the famous Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk, which evacuated 338,226 Belgian, British, and French troops between May 26 and June 4,. It is the worst single loss of life in British maritime history and the bloodiest single engagement for UK Quite enough disaster for today. In an anecdote somewhat buried in his Memoirs of the Second World War, Prime Minister Winston Churchill recounts a frightful incident that occurred on June 17, 1940. Yes,it was a long time ago but tokeep football supporters stillinterested perhaps there are parallels between the 1939-40 season and this years 2019-20 competition for both were abandoned early. 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. Gruppe/Kampfgeschwader 30. If you don't have an account please register. Lancastria 17th June 1940 & Operation Aerial", "NMC Lay a wreath at the Memorial for The Lancastria", "The 75th anniversary of the sinking of HMT Lancastria", "Lancastria: Service for Britain's worst maritime disaster", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=RMS_Lancastria&oldid=1152389814, Sunk by German Bombers on 17 June 1940 off, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 23:38. 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. The British government had requisitioned the Cunard ocean liner to continue bringing British Expeditionary Force troops back to Britain following the evacuation of Dunkirk. She sailed scheduled routes between Liverpool and New York until 1932, and was then used as a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea and Northern Europe. Captain Sharp estimated he had loaded 5,500 people, but his officers put the count at nearer 7,200. 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. [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. [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. People were ferried from the mainland all day. Late in the afternoon, the Germans launched another air raid. A few eyewitnesses told of soldiers balancing on the upturned hull and singing Roll out the Barrel as the ship listed to port. Two other bombs landed in No. It was fourth English pounds. Memorials in statue, plaques, and stained glass can be found in Staffordshire, Liverpool, and London. This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. The ship was apparently equipped with sixteen lifeboats and 2,500 life jackets, but many of the boats were damaged from the air attacks while others were unusable because of the ships starboard list and hull angle. When he eventually returned to England, he was ordered - along with the other survivors - to not speak a word about the Lancastria. She sank around 5 nautical miles south of Chmoulin Point in the Charpentier roads and around 9 nautical miles out of St. Nazaire. Therefore, destroyers, fishing boats, and other small craft had to ferry the evacuees to Lancastria while being bombed and machine-gunned by the Luftwaffes Junkers Ju 11 bombers of Kampfgeschwader 30.