The Ministry of Defence said all known documents relating to the Lancastria have been available at the National Archives at Kew since the early 1970s. The initial cover up at the time of the war is perhaps understandable, because it could be used as propaganda by the Germans. Some of those left behind were women of the ATS, The story of the brave men rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk in May and June 1940 is well known, but less often told is the story of the nurses on the hospital ships that brought thousands of wounded servicemen back to the safety of England. Jun 17 1940 Sinking of the RMS Lancastria A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. [22], A fresh air raid began at 15:50 by Junkers Ju 88 bomber aircraft from Kampfgeschwader 30. The term RMS dates to 1840 when only the fastest and most reliable ships were contracted by the British government to carry mail. Many . [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. She was sunk on 17 June 1940 during Operation Aerial. But despite the crammed conditions for most, earlier onthere was a certain surrealism to the operation as some army officers were quoting it was almost like a cruise with people going to the restaurant, ordering from the menu and enjoying alcoholic beverages in the lounges. (2), One steward reported that the cocktail bar was reserved for Warrant Officers and Sergeants who were all shouting for drinks andcomplaining that it difficult to find enough change.(3). - 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. 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. RMS Lancastria - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia Official commemorations of those lost during the disaster were long in coming. [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. [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. You. Churchills D-Notice asked all media outlets not to publish any information on the Lancastria sinking. All rights reserved. Lancastria memorial plaque at Liverpool Pier Head. This information will help us make improvements to the website. The people living in the area, found bodies washed up on the beaches for weeks after the disaster. Walter assumed, to his dying day in 1989, that Charlie was killed in the sinking. Other soldiers, meanwhile, performed acts of bravery and helped civilians while there was "no panic". It highlighted claims from the New York Sun newspaper on the sinking, with 500 feared dead. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. Listing Includes Date Voyage Began, Steamship Line, Vessel, Passenger Class and Route. Years later, he helped Mark to piece together the stories of the Lancastria. RMS was a sign of distinction and quality. Grace's Guide To British Industrial History, https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/index.php?title=RMS_Lancastria&oldid=1038523, Creative Survivors were taken aboard other evacuation vessels, the trawler Cambridgeshire rescuing 900. 2023 BBC. The Lancastria was a Cunard Anchor Line ocean liner built by William Beardmore and Company and launched on the 31st of May 1920. 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. 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,. Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and Lancastria survivor Charles Napier with a copy of the newspaper which reported the news of the Lancastria sinking. Following the sinking of the Lancastria, Prime Minister Winston Churchill imposed a media blackout. If you don't have an account please register. However, themovetowardswar went initially quite slowly. 5621230. [40] On 17 June 2010 (70th anniversary of the sinking) Janet Dempsey gave a lecture at The National Archives entitled "Forgotten Tragedy: The Loss of HMT Lancastria". I think Churchill was right when he said 'we don't broadcast this'. Were RMS Lancastria survivors strafed? - History Stack Exchange After the war the 'Lancastria Survivors Association' was set up by Major Peter Petit, but this lapsed on his death in 1969. Their names may be lost to history, but they are not forgotten. [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. View the catalogue description for. [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". [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. 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. 2: Their Finest Hour , Geoffrey Bonds 1959 Lancastria, John Wests 1988 The Loss of Lancastria, Brian Crabbs 2002 The Forgotten Tragedy: The Story of the Loss of HMT Lancastria, Jonathan Fenbys 2005 The Sinking of the Lancastria: Britains Greatest Maritime Disaster and Churchills Cover-up, Jacques Perruchon and Jacques Leroux 2005 Juin 1940 sur les ctes charentaises: ces trangers qui ont refus notre dfaite, Hugh Sebag-Montefiores 2006 The Sinking of the Lancastria in Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man, Jonathan Fenby and James Goodes 2008 The Sinking of the Lancastria, John Hanleys 2013 The Last Boat, Chair of the HMT Lancastria Association Raye Dancocks 2011 The Lancastria a Secret Sacrifice in World War Two, Graham Frasers 2015 Lancastria: The forgotten tragedy of World War Two, and the Lancastria Archive. The French Government recently placed an exclusion zone around the wreck site. Unnecessary fittings were removed, she was repainted in battleship grey, the portholes were blacked out, and a 4-inch gun was installed. [45][46], After the war, the Lancastria Survivors Association was founded by Major Peter Petit, but this lapsed on his death in 1969. The Germans ordered their submarines to dive, abandoning many survivors. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Naval Historical Foundation 1306 Dahlgren Avenue, SE Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374 1-202-678-4333 info@navyhistory.org. [53] St Katharine Cree church in the City of London has a memorial window to Lancastria. The late edition of The Scotsman on July 25 1940 featured a six-paragraph story buried on the middle of page five. [8] In 1934 the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland chartered Lancastria for a pilgrimage to Rome. A transcript and podcast are available from The National Archives website. 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). 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. Her normal complement in troopship configuration was 2,180 including 330 crew; however, Captain Sharp had brought 2,653 men back from Norway, so he replied that he could take 3,000 "at a pinch". 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.