It was used until 1993, when the name was changed to DSMA-Notice (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notice). British and Allied evacuation vessels took Lancastrias survivors aboard, the trawler HMT Cambridgeshire alone rescuing nearly 900 souls. Initiated in 1889and then revised in 1911, 1920, and 1939it sets out offences related to spying, sabotage, and related crimes. The ships captain was instructed to take on as many passengers as possible, so estimates for the number of souls aboard on June 17 range between 5,000 and 7,000. 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. The evacuees were in several western French ports including Lorient and St. Nazaire on the Loire River. 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. 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. [23] The ship sank at 16:12, within twenty minutes of being hit,[26] which gave little time for other vessels to respond. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. 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. The French Government recently placed an exclusion zone around the wreck site. However, some information about the Lancastrias sinking was made public within a matter of days, particularly six individual death notices in local newspapers. It highlighted claims from the New York Sun newspaper on the sinking, with 500 feared dead. (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. About 124,000 troops were assembling and the Admiralty had dispatched some 30 merchant vessels of all sizes to the rescue. The death toll accounted for roughly a third of the total losses of the British Expeditionary Force in France. But Charlie had also survived. Grace's Guide To British Industrial History, https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/index.php?title=RMS_Lancastria&oldid=1038523, Creative Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. The 17th June 1940 saw one of the most horrific events of World War II and the single worst maritime disaster in British history. A transcript and podcast are available from The National Archives website. 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. Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. Accompanying Lancastria was the 20,341-ton liner, Franconia. 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. You will need a reader's ticket to do this. Furthermore, estimates are that 36% of all BEF troops killed in action between September 39 and June 1940 were lost on theLancastria. Walter managed to hold on before the animal disappeared. [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. 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. Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and Copyright Historic UK Ltd. Company Registered in England No. 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. He passed away four years ago, the last Scottish survivor to die. Walter ended up in the water and saw a dog swimming away from the wreckage. Survivors mark secret wartime disaster that killed 7,000 troops You. 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. 79 Years Ago Today;RMS Lancastria is attacked and sunk by the Luftwaffe Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The term RMS dates to 1840 when only the fastest and most reliable ships were contracted by the British government to carry mail. They had no chance because the ship went down in 15 minutes. If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. . Read about our approach to external linking. Walter was in the water for around four hours before he was picked up. The name Tyrrhenia proved problematic for her passengers to pronounce and was subsequently changed to Lancastria in 1924. Many other survivors were machine-gunned in the water by the German planes. 1912-05-28 RMS Laconia Passenger List Steamship Line: Cunard Line Class of Passengers: Second Cabin Date of Departure: 28 May 1912 [20] People were crowded into whatever spaces were available including the large cargo holds. Jun 17 1940 Sinking of the RMS Lancastria A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. Kate Murphy Schaefer is an undergraduate history instructor who studies the human impact of wars and revolutions. [35] The story was finally broken in the United States by the Press Association on 25 July,[36] in The New York Times, and the next day in Britain by The Scotsman, more than five weeks after the sinking. "We want recognition that this was the biggest sea disaster ever," she said. 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. [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. Jacqueline Tanner is one of a handful of people who was on the Lancastria and is still alive. She was 578 ft. in length and 16,000 gross tons, designed to accommodate 2,200 passengers in three classes. 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. Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and 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. This of course would mean ignoring virtually all safety rules and regulations. Remembrance St Nazaire: the HMT Lancastria Memorial on the left and the Operation Chariot Memorial on the right. The loss of His Majesty's Troopship Lancastria on 17 June 1940 still resonates 80 years on from the disaster. Many lifeboats could not be launched as they had been damaged, and there were only 2,500 life jackets on board. Under the British Official Secrets Act, the report on the Lancastria cannot be published until the year 2040. 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. The Lancastria Association names 1,738 people known to have been killed. 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. RMS Lancastria and Operation Chariot memorials, St Nazaire. I think the tag '' should be removed from: Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events, All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, AIR - Records created or inherited by the Air Ministry, the Royal Air Force, and related bodies, Division within AIR - Records of the Royal Air Force, AIR 35 - Air Ministry: British Air Forces in France: Registered Files, About our
There is no reliable count of how many people were crammed onto the liner. The government feared what the news would do the British nation in the midst of its darkest hour. The details that are known about the event have all come from witness statements. 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. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. 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. 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. This drew on all known information held at Kew. 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 was only attended by 10 people. Lancastria Association of Scotland made a further request in 2009. A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. 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. Listing Includes Date Voyage Began, Steamship Line, Vessel, Passenger Class and Route. RMS Lancastria - Encyclopedia Britannia And at15:55 on the 17 June the first bombs fell almost simultaneouslyfrom a German bomber causing theLancastriato catch fire and capsize; hundreds would have been killed immediately whilst others struggled in the oil-coveredsea.In a act of pure evil JU 88s weremachine-gunning survivors from the air many of them women and children but amidst the carnage smaller vessels did their best to assist,the anti-submarine trawlerCambridgeshirepicking up no less than 900. [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. There were multiple air raids and, in addition, the British feared possible U-boat attacks, so Captain Sharp decided to wait for a Royal Navy and/or RAF escort. 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. Because of the losses of the other requisitioned transports, Captain Sharp postulated, based on the figure of 2,653 men he had rescued during Operation Alphabet that his ship could accommodate 3,000 persons. Another liner, the SS Oronsay, was damaged, so Captain Sharp was advised to depart. She was refitted for just two classes and renamed Lancastria in 1924, after passengers complained that they could not properly pronounce Tyrrhenia. 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. RMS Lancastria: 17 June 1940. | Liverpool Ships and Sailors Survivors were taken aboard other evacuation vessels, the trawler Cambridgeshire rescuing 900. Late that afternoon, she was packed with servicemen, air force personnel, embassy staff, and their families and some civilians with their families. Following the sinking of the Lancastria, Prime Minister Winston Churchill imposed a media blackout. 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. 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. text of this web site is available under the Creative The British government had requisitioned the Cunard ocean liner to continue bringing British Expeditionary Force troops back to Britain following the evacuation of Dunkirk. When they reached the water, Jacqueline was kept alive on a floating plank of wood. She was the sister ship of RMS Cameronia which Beardmore had built for the Anchor Line the previous year. 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. Over 1,400 tons of fuel oil leaked into the sea and was set partially ablaze, possibly by strafing. I've briefly mentioned the experience of four survivors during this talk: Major Plunkett, Wing Commander MacFayden and Captain Rudolph Sharp, Master, as well as his Steward. This was the date on which, the RMS Lancastria was sunk off the French port of Nantes, with an unknown loss of life. 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". In February 2008 the Scottish Government confirmed it would present the medal to all those who were aboard the Lancastria that day. (5). The testimony of an engineering officer, Frank Brogden, who was in the engine room at the time contradicts this. [13][14], At the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Lancastria was in the Bahamas. [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". After the war the 'Lancastria Survivors Association' was set up by Major Peter Petit, but this lapsed on his death in 1969. 1)www.bbc.co.uk(2017)Dunkirk a few facts. 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). Over 1,400 tons of fuel oil leaked into the sea and was set partially ablaze, possibly by strafing. HMT Lancastria remembered 75 years on - National Museums Liverpool 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. people who designed and built them. "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. Lancastria survivor Charles Napier with a copy of the newspaper which reported the news of the Lancastria sinking. "When we have tried, they (the government) have said it (documents on the Lancastria) are secret. 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. "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.". Lancastria was hit by three or possibly four bombs. Grace's Guide web site design is Copyright 2021 by Grace's Guide Ltd. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 . 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.
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