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- Government papers reveal the wreck of Britain's worst ever maritime disaster can be made an official war grave under UK law despite public denials by Ministers
- Scottish National Party demand Lancastria is now designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act
- Relatives of victims and survivors urge Ministers to 'show commitment to the memory of the 4000 + victims'
The wreck of the troopship Lancastria which sank on 17th June 1940 with the loss of an estimated 4000 lives could be designated an official war grave despite contrary claims by Government officials. The British Government has been publicly resisting calls from relatives of victims and survivors to designate the wreck site an official war grave under the Protection of Military Remains Act because the Lancastria lies in French territorial waters but papers passed to the Scottish National Party highlight an email exchange between Government officials in London and their colleagues at the Royal Navy which demonstrate that the wreck could in fact be designated under the Act but that UK law could not be used to actively police the area. Christine Grahame, a SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament said:
“For over a year the MoD has been resisting calls to make the wreck of the Lancastria an official war grave. This disaster is the worst single maritime disaster in British history and claimed more lives than the Titanic and Lusitania disasters combined. It is also the worst single loss of life for British forces in the whole of World War 2, yet despite that the Government has maintained a consistently dismissive attitude towards those who wish to see the site given official war grave status.
The papers which have been passed to me highlight that in January this year officials had concluded that the Lancastria could be designated an official war grave under the Protection of Military Remains Act. Yet despite this publicly they have used excuse after excuse not to recommend designation of the wreck. First they claimed it would simply not be appropriate and would bring ‘undue attention’ to the wreck. Then they said Lancastria was not a Royal Navy vessel, before it was pointed out to them she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy as an official troopship at the time of her attack. Later again they claimed there were ‘diplomatic’ difficulties with the French only for French officials to point out they had no difficulty with the British designating the wreck an official war grave.
In May 2006 the French Government placed a 200 meter exclusion zone around the wreck in addition to the long standing maritime order they had placed over the Lancastria which helped protect the site. That is extremely welcome and a real testament to the dignity and honour which the French have afforded the Lancastria and her victims. However the relatives of victims and the survivors insist they want the maximum protection and dignity that can be afforded and that means designating the wreck under UK law.
“Notwithstanding the French exclusion zone, it would represent that at last the wreck of the Lancastria and the remains it holds was being given the respect and formal acknowledgement it deserves. I will now be writing to the Veterans Minister again to make sure that this grave which holds thousands of former British servicemen is finally designated.”
Mark Hirst of the Lancastria Association of Scotland, whose grandfather Walter was a survivor of the disaster added:
“The relatives of victims and survivors of our Association have been working very hard to secure designation. The French Government have committed themselves to policing the site and now we need a show of support from the British Government to demonstrate their commitment to the memory of the victims of the Lancastria disaster. After 66 years of virtual silence, much of it direct state imposed censorship about the sacrifice made on Lancastria, the time is now right for the Veterans Minister to sign the relevant order and have Lancastria made an official war grave.”
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Note to Editors:
· The email extract which was obtained by the Lancastria Association of Scotland and passed to Christine Grahame MSP is dated 11th January 2006, subject title: “PMRA [Protection of Military Remains Act] 1986 & HMT Lancastria”. After quoting relevant sections of the Act the Whitehall official, who has had his name redacted in line with civil service guidance, states: “It seems, oddly, that a vessel sunk in French waters could be designated but this would not have the effect of making the place comprising its remains a protected place.”
· Previously the Veterans Minister has said that Lancastria was a “prima facia” case for designation under the Act.
· The Act allows for a vessel “while in military service” to be designated under the Act “irrespective of whether the situation of the remains of the vessel is known”. (Section 1 (2)(b) - Protection of Military Remains Act 1986).
· The MoD has recently begun a “rolling programme” of designations of vessels sunk in military service, but this will not cover the Lancastria. These include vessels sunk in International waters. 17 vessels are currently designated under the Act including a German U-Boat.
· The Commissioner for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Alan Meale MP in December 2005 backed the calls by the Lancastria Association of Scotland to have the site declared an official war grave.
· The Lancastria Association of Scotland has members throughout the UK, France, the US, Canada, and New Zealand and this year organised the largest memorial service in the UK to the victims of the Lancastria at a memorial service in Edinburgh. Their website of the Association can be found at http://www.lancastria.org.uk
· The Clyde-built Lancastria was sunk off the French coastal town of St. Nazaire on the 17th of June 1940 after being attacked and bombed by German JU88 bombers. She sank in just 20 minutes. It is estimated that more than 4000 people lost their lives including French and Belgian refugees but mostly troops of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) who were being evacuated from France. Many believe that the BEF were evacuated through Dunkirk, two weeks before the sinking of the Lancastria, but in fact there were still 150,000 British troops still left in France after the last small boat left the beeches of Dunkirk with exhausted soldiers.
· Pictures of the Lancastria taken during the attack in June 1940 and TV quality footage of the vessel and previous memorial services are available on request (Courtesy of France 3/Atlantic TV).
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