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For famished shipwreck survivor Morris Lashbrook, the tin of watery soup he shared with 11 other men tasted like nectar.
That's one of his more cheerful memories of the horrific sinking of his troopship Lancastria off the coast of France on June 17, 1940.
Morris, now 88, told me: "After being picked up from the sea by a French fishing boat, I was put aboard a British cargo ship with other survivors.
"The ship was empty and uncomfortable. We were ordered below decks and lay down on the slatted floor.
"About a dozen of us from my No 1 Heavy Repair Shop unit huddled together and were joined by our Captain Abbott. He said he would look around and see what he could find in the way of food.
"After a while he returned with a tin of watery soup which we all shared and because we had gone without food for so long it tasted like nectar to us.
"He also produced a cigarette which again, we all shared. That's one of my happier memories of an otherwise horrifying day."
Exeter-born Morris had been serving near Nantes, in France, with his Royal Army Service Corps unit since the start of the Second World War in 1939.
But German invaders were racing down through France and the epic evacuation of British Forces from Dunkirk had only just been completed.
Morris and his chums, though, were still in Nantes. Then on June 15, 1940, they were told that they had only a short while to evacuate their area and go to the nearest docks. He recalled: "We collected just a few personal things from our billets and burnt everything else on a bonfire. A few vehicles were allocated to take us to the docks, but the rest of the vehicles and equipment were burnt to prevent them being useful to the invaders.
"We all thought it would be a quick run to the docks, board a ship and then home, but how different it was all to be.
"En-route for the docks, our vehicles were attacked so much by enemy aircraft that in the end we decided to go on foot.
"When we reached an airfield near St Nazaire my pal Alan (Chippy) Moore and I scouted around to see the lay of the land and realised we were hungry.
"We found a field kitchen with wood to fire it and made a meal from margarine, potatoes and bully beef.
"Our Captain Abbott produced a bottle of Scotch so we all had a drink.
"After abortive efforts to reach the docks we set off early on June 17 and eventually arrived. A small craft got us out to the Lancastria.
"As Chippy and I walked up the gangplank we were detailed to go on deck and take over a Bren gun.
"We saw some of our own aircraft about and at first all was quiet. Then enemy aircraft attacked and we went into action as bombs dropped on either side of our ship.
"As we watched our own aircraft high above, we heard more bombs. There was a blast and, when I recovered, the deck was clear of kit bags. Alan and I were shaken, but unhurt.
"An officer in a black beret told us to go over to the other side of the ship to balance the listing but it proved no good. In the end he calmly told us: 'I think you chaps had better get off down the side!'
"We stripped off, and having no life jackets slowly entered the water using some ropes. In the confusion I lost touch with Alan, but found an upturned lifeboat to which I clung, meanwhile helping other people who were around me in the water.
"We tried to help one poor chap who was seriously injured, but he died, so we let him slip away. I shall never forget the look in his eyes before he died.
"We were eventually picked up by a French fishing boat whose skipper said he would take us back to the docks, but we insisted he should head out to sea instead and he did. The next thing I remember is being put aboard this British cargo ship and being ordered below as the crew didn't want troops to be seen on deck.
"I can't recall how long it took, but we eventually arrived in Plymouth. All the wounded were taken off first. We were given blankets and allowed ashore.
"We were met by the Salvation Army who gave us sandwiches and mugs of tea which, again, tasted great.
"We were put on Plymouth Corporation buses and taken to Crownhill Barracks where we were housed under canvas.
"We stayed a few days thinking about our friends who were lost. A big surprise came when we were taken to the railway station and met up with the remaining survivors of our unit, including my old mate Alan Moore.
"We were sent to Luton to be kitted out properly. We were told at that time that the gunners on Lancastria's deck had been recommended for the Military Medal, but we never heard any more about that.
"The whole incident of the Lancastria seems to have been hushed up at that time.
"An abiding memory is of how we kept our spirits up by singing Roll out the Barrel, as we waited aboard Lancastria to set sail for home. It still brings a lump to my throat when I hear that song.
"Perhaps my worst memory is of that poor man we rescued but who died as we helped him."
A moving moment for Morris came a few years ago as he was coming home with his family on the liner Oriana from a visit to Australia.
It happened when a woman passenger revealed that she was going to St Nazaire to visit the grave of her husband, an RAF serviceman lost in the Lancastria disaster. Morris was at first reluctant to talk to her about his own experiences of the disaster, but eventually did and he now says: "She was very grateful to learn the full story, as all she previously had was a telegram from the Air Ministry to tell her that her husband had been killed."
One of Charles Coe's heart-rending memories of the sinking of Lancastria is of how, during enemy air attacks, his comrade Fred Bolton who was loading the ammunition magazines for his Bren gun, was killed alongside him.
As the bows of the ship sank into the sea, Charles and his loader Geoff Touzel found themselves afloat and swam clear, avoiding an oil slick which engulfed many other men.
Charles told me: "We swam for about an hour. Then I turned on my back to rest and saw three British fighters attacking four enemy Heinkel III's, one of which they shot down.
"We were eventually picked up by a sailor in a boat lowered from the destroyer, HMS Highlander. He made us row the boat while he fished other people out of the water.
"Once aboard the destroyer we were given rum, tea and cigarettes by the sailors who hosed down those of us coated in oil.
"After the German bombers had been chased off by the RAF, Highlander came alongside the troopship Oronsay, which was even bigger than Lancastria, but which had her bridge blown off by the bombers before Lancastria was hit. It meant that her skipper had to take her home just using a hand compass. She was packed with troops shoulder to shoulder.
"An officer with a megaphone told us there was no food and no escort for the 400 miles back to the UK. Oronsay nevertheless sailed on through the night giving many dead men sea burials as she went.
"At 4am we heard an aircraft overhead but it turned out to be a British Sunderland flying boat which must have summoned help because a heavy cruiser came out and escorted us in to Plymouth.
"The wounded were the first to go ashore. Never in my life have I seen so many ambulances lined up as those waiting for our casualties."
Charles later learned that one in every four of the men of his unit lost their lives in the disaster.
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