The 17th June 1940 saw one of the most horrific events of World War II and the single worst maritime disaster in British history. The two boys are believed to of forged a letter from their Father stating he had given permission for them to join the ship. The badly damaged Alexia was acquired by the Royal Navy and converted to the auxiliary escort carrier HMS Alexia, commissioned in December 1943.After the war, the ship was rebuilt for merchant service and renamed Ianthina in 1951. 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. Initiated in 1889and then revised in 1911, 1920, and 1939it sets out offences related to spying, sabotage, and related crimes. The prevailing narrative of naval warfare in World War II concerns how the carrier decisively unseated the battleship as the dominant naval weapon system. But the battlecruisers retaliatory fire was devastating, and the Acastas blazing wrecked dipped stern-first into the water after 6 p.m. By then, the starboard-listing Glorious had also sunk. Home, www.USMM.org 1998 - 2006. The great betrayal: How journalist Isabel Oakeshott leaked Matt Hancock's WhatsApps after they worked Don't just stick to the Malbec! as the source. http://www.british-merchant-navy.co.uk/TOWER.htm. World War II: The cargo ship (6,201 GRT, 1915) was intercepted north of Iceland (, World War II: The cargo ship (710 GRT, 1914) struck a mine and sank in the, The cargo ship (6,281 GRT, 1919) ran aground at night 85 nautical miles (157km) south of, The cargo ship (2,679 GRT, 1922) collided with, World War II: The cargo ship (3,072 GRT, 1918) was torpedoed and sunk in the Bristol Channel 32 nautical miles (59km) off, World War II: The fishing vessel (26 GRT) sunk in the North Sea off the, The tanker barge (1,155 GRT, 1904) ran aground at, World War II: The coaster (643 GRT, 1922) was torpedoed and sunk in the, The collier (1,323 GRT, 1924) ran aground on the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,097 GRT, 1920) was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea (, World War II: The cargo ship (2,719 GRT, 1926) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the north coast of, The cargo ship (1,918 GRT, 1911) collided with, The auxiliary patrol vessel ran aground near, World War II: The cargo ship (4,979 GRT, 1913) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The fishing vessel (33 GRT) was sunk in the North Sea off, The cargo ship (5,760 GRT, 1916) collided with, World War II: The tanker (6,236 GRT, 1936) was torpedoed and damaged in the, World War II: The trawler (165 GRT, 1897) caught a mine in her nets whilst fishing in the North Sea. please notify usmm.org @ comcast.net, Taken to Norway; Soviet Unio; Norway; released World War II: The cargo ship (7,405 GRT, 1914) was bombed and damaged in the Bay of Biscay off. Stephen Wynn, a retired police constable with 30 years service in Essex, began writing prior to his retirement. On Lifeboat 10, just one child had survived and 14 had died. Enclosed was a certificate, signed by Churchill, that commended him for brave conduct in the Merchant Navy. World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west . Estimates of the loss range between 3,000 and 5,800 fatalities. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The first lifeboat it found contained only corpses. I realised she was sinking, so I put my arm around her and tried to keep her head above the water.. Wynn does not clarify what materials he utilized from these sources and there are no footnotes, in-text citations, or endnotes. The RAF Hurricanes of No.46 squadron were relatively fast and lacked arrestor hooksbut by tying on sandbags, the pilots managed to weigh their tails down and pull off short carrier landings. The Story of the Evacuation in Britain, 1939-1945. 11, two out of 11 children remained. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (464 GRT) was bombed and sunk at Dunkerque, France, by Luftwaffe aircraft. But once he had returned home, the subject of his ordeal became taboo. Even so, he was already freezing and soaked to the skin. What had happened was that Id lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. World War II: The water carrier (107 GRT) was scuttled at Lorient, France. These advantages meant that battleships and battlecruisers were repeatedly sunk by carrier-based aircraft, from Pearl Harbor to Taranto to the Battle of the Philippines Sea. World War II: The cargo ship (2,975 GRT, 1906) struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea north of Pantelleria. Ardent was finally caught darting out for another torpedo run and set ablaze by repeated hits. To order a copy for 16.99 (incl p&p), call 0843 382 0000. Another day nearer America! he remembers thinking. The youngest known Second World War service death being that of Raymond Victor Steed, age 14, Galley Boy from the S.S. It stayed upright, but the big waves breaking over the bows quickly swamped it. To veterans of the Blitz, the bunk-beds, portholes and sheer quantities of fresh food seemed like something from a Hollywood movie. Goodbye, Colin. He recalls feeling relieved that his buttoned-up family didnt go in for the kind of tearful scenes that were going on all around him. Captain Rudolf Sharpe later lost his life when the ship he commanded, the Laconia, was sunk. 8 was the first to be lowered. World War II: The cargo ship (7,340 GRT) was bombed and sunk off Le Havre, France by Luftwaffe aircraft. In fact, HMS Hurricane, a Royal Navy destroyer, was already combing the area. Some survivors claimed that a bomb had gone straight down a funnel, others thought bombs hit No, 4, 2, and 3 holds. Refitted in 1924 for two classes and renamed Lancastria, she travelled the route from Liverpool to New York and back, but in 1932 was reassigned to cruise in the Mediterranean and through northern European waters. Survivors: Five survivors of the S.S City of Benares passenger ship which was sunk by a German U-Boat in September 1940. About 124,000 troops were assembling and the Admiralty had dispatched some 30 merchant vessels of all sizes to the rescue. Wynn states that there were 2,488 survivors and a minimum of 2,385 perished. Kenneth Lewis was only 14 years old, His Brother Raymond 15. World War II: The cargo ship (3,921 GRT, 1917) was beached in the, World War II: The cargo ship (6,140 GRT) was scuttled in the, World War II: The sailing ship (102 or 112 GRT) struck a mine and sank at, World War II: The cargo ship (1,302 GRT, 1925) was bombed and damaged in the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,262 GRT, 1920) was sunk as a blockship at. There, he attended a local school until it was evacuated to Cornwall. I knew that if I fell asleep, Id die. (Look 18/06/1940), World War II: The naval trawler (348 GRT, 1929) ran aground at Brest, France and was abandoned without loss. Then, mercifully, he threw himself overboard. In fact, the Northampton was secretly evacuating the Norweigian royal family to the UK, and commanding Vice Admiral John Cunningham had strict orders to maintain radio silence, and thus neither intervened nor relayed the message. World War II: The fishing vessel (57 GRT) struck a mine and sank at Taranto, Italy. The reason? 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. Alexia British Motor tanker The Alexia after conversion to the MAC ship HMS Alexia. 2: Their Finest Hour , Geoffrey Bonds 1959 Lancastria, John Wests 1988 The Loss of Lancastria, Brian Crabbs 2002 The Forgotten Tragedy: The Story of the Loss of HMT Lancastria, Jonathan Fenbys 2005 The Sinking of the Lancastria: Britains Greatest Maritime Disaster and Churchills Cover-up, Jacques Perruchon and Jacques Leroux 2005 Juin 1940 sur les ctes charentaises: ces trangers qui ont refus notre dfaite, Hugh Sebag-Montefiores 2006 The Sinking of the Lancastria in Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man, Jonathan Fenby and James Goodes 2008 The Sinking of the Lancastria, John Hanleys 2013 The Last Boat, Chair of the HMT Lancastria Association Raye Dancocks 2011 The Lancastria a Secret Sacrifice in World War Two, Graham Frasers 2015 Lancastria: The forgotten tragedy of World War Two, and the Lancastria Archive. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (150 GRT) was scuttled at Lorient, France. From the half-submerged Lifeboat 2, Colin watched as the Benares sank below the waves. 10 Historical Prophecies That Actually Came True 10- RMS Titanic Disaster. Despite his mothers disapproval, Colin developed a curious desire to return to the sea. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. 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. She managed to complete a seventh and final torpedo run before capsizing twenty-five minutes later. It was carrying 406 passengers and crew, of whom 100 were children. Early in 1923 the vessel together with two other . World War II: The cargo ship (873 or 909 GRT, 1904) struck a mine off Cape Granitola, Italy and sank. World War II: The harbour defence vessel (608 GRT) was scuttled at Dieppe, France. Chris Pleasance explains how Do not sell or share my personal information. 'What had happened was that I'd lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. Families of men from both ships have attended an annual maritime commemmoration . This elderly nurse sitting next to me whod earlier been comforting me became distressed, he says. The unusual disaster continues to evoke controversy, and even questioning in Parliament, decades later. World War II: The unfinished, 84% complete, World War II: The cargo ship (1,885 GRT, 1904) was torpedoed and sunk in the, The auxiliary schooner (144 GRT) sank off, World War II: The coaster (276 GRT) was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel south of, World War II: The cargo ship struck a mine in the, World War II: The cargo ship (569 GRT, 1889) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (48 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The cargo ship (5,253 GRT, 1911) was captured in the, World War II: The cargo ship (5,968 GRT, 1921) struck a mine and sank in the, The cargo ship (7,881 GRT, 1922) ran aground south of, World War II: The cargo ship (4,005 GRT, 1924) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The tanker (2,580 GRT, 1928) was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 160 nautical miles (300km; 180mi) south west of the, World War II: The cargo ship (663 GRT, 1897) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The trawler (211 GRT) was bombed and sunk by a Do17Z aircraft of 3./Kstenfliegergruppe 606 (, World War II: The cargo ship (5,053 GRT, 1929) was torpedoed and sunk in the. A camera crew onboard the Scharnhorst filmed the engagement, and the Gloriouss sinking, which you can see here. British war correspondent's interview with French seaman on the sinking of French repatriation ship SS Meknes, English Channel, 24/7/1940. 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. Already 600 miles out to sea, the SS City of Benares was carrying Colin and 89 other child evacuees to the U.S. and Canada, where they could wait out the end of the war in safety. Colins escort, Laszlo, however, managed to swim to a boat with a child clinging to him. On 1 July 1940, the SS Arandora Star began its final, fateful voyage, transporting internees from Liverpool to camps in Canada. The cargo ship (1,435 GRT, 1903) ran aground at, World War II: The fishing vessel (96 GRT) was bombed and sunk in the North Sea (. 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