British war correspondent's interview with French seaman on the sinking of French repatriation ship SS Meknes, English Channel, 24/7/1940. Britain Ship Losses 1940 This page records the details of every British ship lost during the two world wars, including pictures where possible. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring. On September 12, the children assembled at the dockside in Liverpool clutching small suitcases and their gas masks. The carrier sank in about fifteen minutes after being hit by two torpedoes from a salvo of three fired from the U-boat. A young man on another boat descended into madness, screaming and threatening his fellow passengers. World War II: The harbour defence vessel (608 GRT) was scuttled at Dieppe, France. Kenneth and Raymond Lewis are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial in London on Panel 49. Enclosed was a certificate, signed by Churchill, that commended him for brave conduct in the Merchant Navy. As he worked, he knew that a single wave could sweep him away. I felt responsible for losing them and a totally ridiculous guilt came over me., For a few days, reporters made a big fuss of the heroic boy who had helped others in his lifeboat to survive. The following brief overview of the Lancastrias history is augmented with verified information from sources that Wynn might have consulted. Fortunately for Colin, he was better off than some: he had his padded life-jacket, a balaclava and a pair of string gloves that his mother had put in his pockets. web page as long as you cite American Merchant Marine at War, www.usmm.org, 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. 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. This is a revised edition of the book published in 1985 as Who Will Take Our Children? In return, battleships almost never succeeded in closing into gun-range of carriers. It was the first time Id really been able to grieve, he says. This is the story of Beryl Myatt, a child evacuee during the Second World War. Chronological List of U.S. Buried Ben M' Sik European Cemetery, Morocco, Plot 59A. World War II: The trawler (30 GRT, 1922) was sunk in the North Sea by Heinkel He 111 aircraft of KG26, Luftwaffe. She simply said: Theres your ship. This was the date on which, the RMS Lancastria was sunk off the French port of Nantes, with an unknown loss of life. When Bess and Beth were rescued, their frozen fingers had to be prised off their capsized lifeboat. His dreams, however, were rudely interrupted that night by a loud bang. There was no emotional farewell. You must stay awake., Safe: Survivors of the torpedoed S.S City of Benares passenger ship huddle together on one of the life rafts awaiting rescue. The German battlecruisers then hastily left the scene without picking up survivors. public. For any other comments, please Contact Us. World War II: The cargo ship (440 GRT, 1903) was bombed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 13 nautical miles (24km) north of Tobruk, The troopship (2,427 GRT, 1928) suffered an engine room fire, exploded and sank in the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,127 GRT, 1920) was torpedoed, shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of Ireland (, World War II: The cargo ship (3,214 GRT, 1928) was torpedoed and sunk in the. The Lancastria Tragedy: Sinking and Cover-Up, June 1940. LANCASTRIA (June 17, 1940) The loss of the Lancastria was the fourth largest maritime disaster of the war. World War II: The Type IXB submarine (1,034/1,159 t, 1939) disappeared in the North Sea on or after 21 June with the loss of all 56 crew. The loss of the LANCASTRIA was also the most . Some families, such as the Grimmonds from Brixton, South London, faced an almost unimaginable loss: five of their children Violet, Connie, Lennie, Eddie and Gussie had perished. From the 90 whod set out from Liverpool, there were only 13 survivors. The cargo ship (1,537 GRT, 1938) sank off West Point, The cargo ship (1,314 GRT, 1913) ran aground in the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,512 GRT, 1911) struck a mine and sank in the, The trawler (162 GRT, 1897) sank after a collision with the trawler. However, crew members have alleged DOyly-Hughes was in a hurry to attend Heaths court martial. The first lifeboat it found contained only corpses. Your email address will not be published. However, on June 8 DOyly-Hughes received permission to depart independently for Scapa Flow escorted by just two destroyers. Of the 38 people in his boat, only 14 remained. World War II: The cargo ship (3,404 GRT, 1927) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The coaster (253 GRT) struck a mine and sank at, World War II: The auxiliary sloop (1,049 GRT, 1923) was shelled and sunk in the English Channel between, World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (197 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (511 GRT) was shelled and sunk in the English Channel between Fcamp and, World War II: The collier (4,690 GRT, 1853) was bombed and sunk at, World War II: The coaster (264 GRT, 1914) was beached and abandoned in the, World War II: The trawler struck a mine and sank at, World War II: The tanker (8,030 GRT, 1928) was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off, World War II: The coaster (198 GRT, 1929) struck a mine and sank in, World War II: The naval trawler (326 GRT, 1928) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The coaster (209 GRT, 1928) was beached and abandoned in the River Seine in Paris, France. Industry chief demands planned corporation tax hike from 19 to 25% in this Ukrainian soldier takes out five Russian tanks and three armoured vehicles in ONE DAY using US-supplied Ukraine 'hits major Russian air base in fresh strike' a day after kamikaze drone crashed down just 68 miles How did Russia lose HALF of its 45,000 elite paratroopers in just seven months? All morning, Colin continued to heave corpses away from his boat. The Glorious was one of the first flat-top aircraft carriers ever built, converted from a speedy Courageous-class battlecruiser in 1924. : Carron United Kingdom World War II: The Admiralty-requisitioned cargo ship . The year before, his parents had pulled him out of his prep school in St Johns Wood, North London, and deposited him with his grandparents in Lingfield, Surrey. From the moment the children walked up the gangplank, they were entranced by their new home. World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (302 GRT, 1906) was scuttled at Brest, France. 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. Many survivors perished from hypothermia or suffocated on fuel oil. by Sebastien Roblin. Colin was still trying to comfort his neighbour until a man told him she was dead. Mr Raskai bravely helped me into it as it was crashing about against the ship. The Glorious and her two escorting destroyers did not yet have radar, so Capt. As yet more lifeboats were overwhelmed by the icy-cold water, there seemed little hope of anyone surviving. Although he could no longer feel his hands, he helped a crew member heave her body out to sea. (Look 18/06/1940), World War II: The naval trawler (348 GRT, 1929) ran aground at Brest, France and was abandoned without loss. Most likely rammed and sunk Oct. 4; 1940 by Antonietta Costa (Italian Cargo ship) 60 NM ENE of Bari . 'Dreadful time': A letter sent by a survivor of the sinking to their parents tell of their horrendous experience on the sinking ship. Five days into the voyage, the Royal Navy escort ships headed off, confident there was no danger. The evacuees were in several western French ports including Lorient and St. Nazaire on the Loire River. World War II: The passenger ship (2,029 GRT, 1930) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The coaster (957 GRT, 1893) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The naval trawler (109 GRT, 1916) was sunk at Scapa Flow in a collision with trawler, The coaster (216 GRT, 1919) was sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,102 GRT, 1931) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (3,857 GRT, 1928) struck a mine in the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,463 GRT, 1923) struck a mine and sank in the. World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (247 GRT) was shelled and sunk in the English Channel off. And what of Colin? From the half-submerged Lifeboat 2, Colin watched as the Benares sank below the waves. Interestingly, 2040 or 2041 should also be when restricted British documents on the Pearl Harbor attack are made public. When dawn broke, Bess and Beth were still somehow clinging onto their upturned lifeboat along with two men. 39 days; Cargo removed, Crew 3; Japanese POW: 164; Died POW:12 including 4 lost on I realised she was sinking, so I put my arm around her and tried to keep her head above the water.. 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. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (675 GRT, 1911) was scuttled at Cherborug, France. Under the British Official Secrets Act, the report on the Lancastria cannot be published until the year 2040. This story has been placed in the following categories. 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. Germany initially denied involvement. There were only 11 survivors. Below the waves, however, the convoy was being trailed by U-48, a German U-boat. At 4 p.m. on June 8, 1940, the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious was cruising west across the Norwegian Sea towards the British naval base of Scapa Flow . A tragedy in itself made worse by the fact they should never have been onboard to begin with. I knew that if I fell asleep, Id die. As others began to emerge from their cabins, the older children took charge of the younger ones, checking their life-jackets and making sure they knew where to go. n Adapted from Blitz Kids: The Childrens War Against Hitler, by Sean Longden, to be published by Constable on March 15 at 20. 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. I could see people dying around me. A total of 576 men died in this tragedy, the first Royal Navy ship sunk in the war. 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. Postcard of RMS Lancastria. Then, one day, he developed an infection and had to be sent to an isolation ward to recover. 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. She was subsequently salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. By late-June 1940, internees had begun to be moved out of Warth Mills. 11, two out of 11 children remained. She was responsible for the sinking of the HMS Curacoa in 1942 but the Queen Mary survived the war without sinking. Chapter 5 focuses on the actual sinking of the Lancastria while Chapter 11 focuses on its aftermath. 'How much can business take?' The destroyers 4.7 lacked the range and penetrating power to threaten the German battlecruisersbut their torpedoes could cause devastating damage if they could land a hit. 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