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5,000 perished... but officials sank war horror without trace IT was
a disaster so horrific that the loss of the Titanic 28 years earlier
paled in comparison.
5,000 perished... but officials sank war horror without trace IT was a disaster so horrific that the loss of the Titanic 28 years earlier paled in comparison.
Yet 65 years after German bombers sank the Clydebuilt Lancastria, killing more than 5,000 people in a matter of minutes, it barely makes a footnote in the history of World War II.
Now the few remaining survivors and relatives of the dead are urging the Government to give official recognition to the forgotten tragedy.
They say Britain's worst naval disaster has been airbrushed out of history ever since Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered a news blackout on the sinking hours after it happened.
Public morale was at a low as France had just formally surrendered to the Nazis.
The sinking, on June 17, 1940, off the coast off St Nazaire in France, was rarely recognised by successive governments who feared an influx of compensation claims from survivors and their families as the Lancastria was massively overladen.
But Mark Hirst, whose grandfather, Royal Engineer Walter Hirst, survived, said most of those affected only wanted official recognition by the UK Government, with the wreck site made a designated war grave.
They are backed by Nationalist MSP Christine Grahame, who has lodged a motion at Holyrood urging the Government to recognise the tragedy.
She said: 'It's time we commissioned a commemorative medal for those who made the sacrifice.
It would give some heart to those who feel their loved ones have been forgotten by history.' The Cunard cruise liner Lancastria, pressed into service as a troop ship, came under attack from enemy aircraft at She took three direct hits and, within 20 minutes, the 16,243-ton luxury liner sank, taking more than 5,000 souls with her.
Mr Hirst said: 'It claimed more lives than the sinking of the Titanic and Lusitania combined, but it remains ignored.
Even now, the British Government has failed to release all of the official documents.' He said Churchill immediately slapped a D- notice on the disaster to mask the full horror. But his grandfather had given him the full details.
On the fateful day, two Royal Navy officers with Admiralty orders boarded the Lancastria a former Atlantic liner at St Nazaire. Mr Hirst said: 'They ordered the captain Rudolph Sharp to load as many men as possible without regard to the limits laid down by law.' As many as 9,000 may have boarded the ship, which was quickly attacked by bombers.
Many of the victims were killed in the water by German machinegun fire.
Mr Hirst said: 'My grandfather said it was a desperate and horrific sight that changed the lives of all those who saw it and survived.' He added: ' Officials fear a comeback as relatives might have a legal case based on the order given to the ship's captain.' This Friday, Mr Hirst will travel to the wreck site with some of the few survivors still able to make the journey. His father, John, an ex-bugler with the Royal Marines, will play the Last Post over the scene.
A Ministry of Defence official said commemorative medals were awarded only for campaigns, not for specific incidents.
He added: 'The site of the wreck is already a maritime military grave.
Changing its status to a designated war grave would be purely symbolic since it lies in French waters.'
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