Some of the survivors later recalled feeling excited about this strange new adventure. They didnt have anyone at the ends holding it steady. Once filled, the lifeboat was lowered into the raging sea. 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. She was subsequently salvaged by the Germans and re-entered service as. 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. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. His parents found out Colin was alive only when they spotted a photo of him in a newspaper. World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (1,160 GRT, 1934) struck a mine of Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France and was beached. 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. Chapter 5 focuses on the actual sinking of the Lancastria while Chapter 11 focuses on its aftermath. The only comfort came from urinating in the water: for a few brief seconds, he could feel the warmth swirling around his legs. Decades after Apapa was lost , on the 15th of November 1940 the identically named MV APAPA was bombed and sunk by a German FW 200 Condor aircraft, two hundred miles from County Mayo in Ireland. The only sound was from a ball bearing hed placed in his bedside drawer, which was sliding ever more frantically from side to side. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (1,256 GRT) was scuttled at Brest, France. Initiated in 1889and then revised in 1911, 1920, and 1939it sets out offences related to spying, sabotage, and related crimes. Just as importantly, in an era where radar technology was in its infancy, airplanes were the most effective tool for scouting out vast swathes of the ocean to locate enemy fleets. Today, it sits in a glass case at the Imperial War Museum in London a reminder of all the children whose parents loved them too much to keep them at home. World War II: The cargo ship (1,373 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The sailing vessel (26 GRT) struck a mine and sank at, World War II: The coaster (509 GRT, 1937) struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off. The youngest known Second World War service death being that of Raymond Victor Steed, age 14, Galley Boy from the S.S. Buried Ben M' Sik European Cemetery, Morocco, Plot 59A. There were multiple air raids and, in addition, the British feared possible U-boat attacks, so Captain Sharp decided to wait for a Royal Navy and/or RAF escort. The SS Cap Arcona was a large ocean liner originally built in 1927 for the Hamburg-South America line. Two of the youngest serving Merchant Seamen killed in WWII. Then, mercifully, he threw himself overboard. The CWGC has the names of 513 Merchant Seamen aged 14 to 16 who died between 1939-1945. The rest of the convoy sailed on, obeying standing orders not to stay in a danger zone. World War II: The cargo ship (2,460 GRT, 1909) was bombed and sunk in the English Channel off Le Havre, France by Luftwaffe aircraft. List of shipwrecks: 3 March 1940 Ship Country Description Arucas Germany World War II: The passenger ship (3,369 GRT, 1927) was intercepted in the Atlantic Ocean east of Iceland by HMS York ( Royal Navy) and was scuttled by herTen crew members were lost at sea. Although he could no longer feel his hands, he helped a crew member heave her body out to sea. Chapter 4 Secret Session Speeches by Churchill provides extracts of five speeches made between June 20th 1941 and December 10, 1942, including one made in response to the sinking of HMT Lancastria on June 17, 1941. The ship, carrying more than 400 passengers and crew, included a precious cargo of 90 evacuees under a scheme. The Story of the Evacuation in Britain, 1939-1945. Armed Guard Casualties World War II: The armed merchant cruiser (17,046 GRT, 1925) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of. The ship was hit by a torpedo on the morning of 2 July, killing many of those on board. She was 578 ft. in length and 16,000 gross tons, designed to accommodate 2,200 passengers in three classes. public. Certainly, there was little panic as everyone gathered at pre-arranged points. The prevailing narrative of naval warfare in World War II concerns how the carrier decisively unseated the battleship as the dominant naval weapon system. World War II: The trawler (30 GRT, 1922) was sunk in the North Sea by Heinkel He 111 aircraft of KG26, Luftwaffe. Early in 1923 the vessel together with two other . This is a revised edition of the book published in 1985 as Who Will Take Our Children? World War II: The ocean liner (28,124 GRT, 1932) struck a mine in the, World War II: The cargo ship (3,651 GRT, 1912) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,147 GRT, 1912) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The tug was scuttled at Brest, France. All rights reserved. DOyly-Hughes ordered the destroyer Ardent to turn about and visually investigate the sighting, while nonchalantly maintaining his westward course at cruising speed. Once his infection had cleared, he was told to get out of bed. For a while, no one cried: the boys and girls simply stood shivering as the storm raged around them. After the Navy, Colin became a Lloyds underwriter, married first wife, Gill, and adopted a baby of six weeks who grew up to become Changing Rooms presenter Anna Ryder Richardson. For the first few days after his rescue, he remained very weak as the Hurricane took the survivors to Glasgow. . It was no ordinary jacket. World War II: The harbour defence vessel (608 GRT) was scuttled at Dieppe, France. There are no actual transcripts of these speeches, but they have been reconstructed from Churchills notes given to Charles Eade. The ferrying trip took three to four hours. She once described him affectionately as a big child. Find out how you can use this. Theyd just woken up.. It was in the 1970s a challenge, but I eventually, after many disappointing follows, found a second hand copy, with a book dealer. Late 1940, two Welsh Brothers Kenneth James Lewis and Raymond Leslie Lewis walked aboard their first ship, the Cardiff registered cargo ship SS Fiscus, 4 . As HMS Hurricane approached Lifeboat 2, Colin and the remaining passengers started singing Rule Britannia. However, an exact number of Lancastrias casualties may never be known. Ships Within half an hour, four of the crew members on his boat had slipped into unconsciousness and died. She was later salvaged by the British, repaired and re-entered service. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 Ships Captured or Detained 1939 (80 ships) Ships Sunk, Damaged or Detained 1940 (48 ships) Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Wynn has previously authored and co-authored books for the Your Towns & Cities in the Great War series published by Pen & Sword in addition to half a dozen non-fiction books and crime thrillers.. Many survivors perished from hypothermia or suffocated on fuel oil. She was requisitioned as an accommodation ship in 1940, but was briefly removed from service in 1942 so she could play the part of the Titanic in a crude German propaganda film about the sinking of the famous vessel. I was barefoot, wearing pink pyjamas and my life-jacket, when I walked into the Central Hotel in Glasgow. Four chapters are personal accounts from survivors or their close relatives. I stayed on board the ship in 2011 and have always found the history of the ship to be fascinating. Abandoning his grip on the gunwales, Colin helped pull out the corpses and consign them to a watery grave. From the moment the children walked up the gangplank, they were entranced by their new home. Warships, submarines, tankers, cargo, passenger, troopships and so on. 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. It was his mother who came to collect him. World War II: The auxiliary patrol vessel (302 GRT, 1906) was scuttled at Brest, France. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (301 GRT, 1907) was scuttled at, World War II: The naval tug (179 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The cargo ship (1,199 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The cargo ship (3,594 GRT, 1920) was scuttled at Rochefort, France. I realised she was sinking, so I put my arm around her and tried to keep her head above the water.. World War II: The naval tug (100 GRT) was scuttled at Lorient, France. web page as long as you cite American Merchant Marine at War, www.usmm.org, The term RMS dates to 1840 when only the fastest and most reliable ships were contracted by the British government to carry mail. The Royal Navy apparently remained unaware of the battle and made no rescue effort, only learning what happened after Germany announced the victory. Then he caught a whiff of the telltale smell of explosives. This is what happenned. On 17 September 1940, a passenger ship called the City of Benares was sunk by a German U-boat while crossing the Atlantic. September 3, 2020 Call it fate, coincidence, predestination, or just bad luck, somehow Michael McShane ended up on the British passenger liner SS Athenia during the first few days of September 1939. The first lifeboat it found contained only corpses. However, Chapter 10, Those Who Died, comprises nearly one-third of the book and lists the names of 1,431 individuals from 39 different military units along with, where possible, their ranks, service numbers and designations of regiments or corps. please notify usmm.org @ comcast.net, Taken to Norway; Soviet Unio; Norway; released Five minutes later, in one of the longest-range hits in naval history, the Scharnhorsts third volley screamed over fifteen miles to slam straight into the Gloriouss flight deck, blasting open a huge hole that rendered it unusable and knocking two Swordfish bombers into the water. Your email address will not be published. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring. LANCASTRIA (June 17, 1940) The loss of the Lancastria was the fourth largest maritime disaster of the war. Kenneth Lewis was only 14 years old, His Brother Raymond 15. Just seven minutes later, the Scharnhorst opened fire on the investigating Ardent, busting open a boiler. Contributed on: 22 May 2005. The other ten or so whod been with them had drowned. 39 days; Cargo removed, Crew 3; Japanese POW: 164; Died POW:12 including 4 lost on Row 1. A history of Tyne shipbuilders and the ships they built", "Norwegian Homefleet - WW II, Ships starting with So through S", Egypt Red Sea Shipwrecks - The Umbria, A Veritable Time Bomb at 30 metres, Ned Middleton, alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (C), "Kriegsverluste Italienischer Handelsschiffe 1940-1943: Verluste Italienischer Handelsschiffe 1940", "British Admiralty War Diary, 11 June 1940", "Naval Events, June 1940, Part 3 of 4, Saturday 15th - Friday 21st", "HNLMS O 13 of the Royal Netherlands Navy", "Naval Events, June 1940, Part 4 of 4, Saturday 22nd - Sunday 30th". The wording was puzzling: at 11, hed obviously never served in the Merchant Navy. Naval Documents of the American Revolution, - Naval Documents of the American Revolution, A History of the Naval Historical Foundation. At 5 PM a shell slammed into the Gloriouss bridge, killing DOyly and most of the command crew. Captain Sharp would lose his life on September 12, 1942, when the HMT Laconia, was sunk northeast of Ascension Island off the coast of West Africa by Kriegsmarine U-156, a Type IXC boat then attached to the 4th U-boat Flotilla. You may not use more than a few lines without permission. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe Watch on YouTube Hell Below 2 seasons . They werent the only parents desperate to send their children abroad. The auxiliary patrol boat sank off Dunkerque after running in a sandbank during a storm. About 124,000 troops were assembling and the Admiralty had dispatched some 30 merchant vessels of all sizes to the rescue. In fact, HMS Hurricane, a Royal Navy destroyer, was already combing the area. The Glorious then was assigned to pick up the fighters she had just dropped off. World War II: The trawler (108 GRT, 1931) was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of. The ship was built by William Beardmore and Company of Dalmuir on the River Clyde and launched in 1920 as Royal Mail Steamship (RMS) Tyrrhenia for the Anchor Line, a subsidiary of the better-known Cunard Line. Object description. She was subsequently salvaged and repaired by the Germans and entered. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (261 GRT, 1918) was scuttled at Lorient, France. Not a member of the Naval Institute? Under the Official Secrets Act, the report on the Lancastria cannot be published until the year 2040. Captain Rudolf Sharpe later lost his life when the ship he commanded, the Laconia, was sunk. The 17th June 1940 saw one of the most horrific events of World War II and the single worst maritime disaster in British history. Despite his mothers disapproval, Colin developed a curious desire to return to the sea. For his part, Colin was starting to realise how hard it would be to marshal all the children into the lifeboats. World War II: The cargo ship (2,483 GRT, 1894) was scuttled in Churchill Sound, World War II: The cargo ship (5,403 GRT, 1919) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The naval trawler (357 GRT, 1928) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The dredger (1,832 GRT, 1903) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The tanker (8,215 GRT, 1931) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (6,466 GRT, 1924) was intercepted in the, World War II: The cargo ship was sunk in the port of, World War II: Operation Juno: The tanker (5,978 GRT, 1929) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo liner (13,212 GRT, 1939) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Finisterre (. (RIN SS) is sometimes credited with sinking Rainbow on Oct. 15. World War II: The cargo ship (1,746 GRT, 1921) struck a mine and sank in Danish waters off. 'What had happened was that I'd lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. 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 carrying between 800 and 1,200 people, mainly refugees, and most were lost when her ammunition cargo exploded. Lost were 514 navy men, 26 Fleet Air Arm men and 36 RAF servicing crew. Ships starting with Ba", "The History of the Eastbourne Lifeboat Station", "Norwegian merchant ships 1939 - 1945, Ships starting with N", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_shipwrecks_in_March_1940&oldid=1118868228, World War II: The cargo ship (2,390 GRT, 1922) was intercepted off, World War II: The cargo ship (1,388 GRT, 1909) was bombed and sunk in the North Sea 12 nautical miles (22km) east by south of, World War II: The cargo ship (6,530 GRT, 1925) was intercepted in the, World War II: The cargo ship (2,818 GRT, 1929) was shelled and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (695 GRT, 1937) was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off. Only extraordinary circumstancesparticularly the lack of Combat Air Patrolmade the ambush of the Glorious possible by two large capital ships on a clear day. British and Allied evacuation vessels took Lancastrias survivors aboard, the trawler HMT Cambridgeshire alone rescuing nearly 900 souls. It was used until 1993, when the name was changed to DSMA-Notice (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notice). While her smaller 15-centimeter cannons exchanged shots with the Ardent, Scharnhorsts big 11 turrets blazed away at the distant flat-top. World War II: The cargo ship (3,577 GRT, 1918) was torpedoed and sunk in the, The cargo ship (1,478 GRT, 1924) collided with, World War II: The fishing vessel (96 GRT, 1919) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off, World War II: The cargo ship (3,584 GRT, 1910) was scuttled at, World War II: The tanker (603 GRT) struck a mine in the English Channel off, World War II: The cargo ship (2,317 GRT, 1904) was shelled and sunk in the, The cargo ship (351 GRT, 1920) collided with, World War II: The minesweeper (682/874 t, 1939) struck a mine off, World War II: The cargo ship (2,863 GRT, 1937) struck a mine in the, World War II: The sailing vessel (183 GRT, 1902) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The coaster (798 GRT, 1904) was torpedoed, shelled and sunk in the, World War II: The coaster (145 GRT) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The trawler (217 GRT, 1904) struck a mine in the North Sea (, World War II: The cargo ship (5,888 GRT, 1936) was torpedoed and damaged in the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,212 GRT, 1927) was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 15 nautical miles (28km; 17mi) off Tory Island by, World War II: The cargo ship (5,415 GRT, 1933) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: Operation Juno: The tanker (5,666 GRT, 1928) was shelled and sunk in the Norwegian Sea off Jan Mayen (, World War II: Operation Juno: The troopship (19,840 GRT, 1924) was shelled and sunk in the Norwegian Sea (. Chronological List of U.S. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (208 GRT, 1917) was scuttled at Brest, France. World War II: The fishing vessel (57 GRT) struck a mine and sank at Taranto, Italy. She did not return to Liverpool in time to take part in the famous Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk, which evacuated 338,226 Belgian, British, and French troops between May 26 and June 4,. Sold for scrap in August 1954 at Blyth. By then the crippled Glorious was listing and turning in circles while being relentlessly pounded by German guns. World War II: The Type M-1935 minesweeper (682/874 t, 1939) struck a mine and sank in the Norwegian Sea north of Kristiansand, Norway (, World War II: The tug (400 GRT, 1919) was scuttled at Brest, France. And what of Colin? Oscar Cainer tells all. Andrea Doria, Italian passenger liner that sank on July 25-26, 1956, after colliding with the Stockholm off the coast of Nantucket in the Atlantic Ocean. 11, two out of 11 children remained. He had a good war by late 1940, sinking eight ships in six wartime patrols, mostly in the North Sea, before the prestigious commission on U-123. To veterans of the Blitz, the bunk-beds, portholes and sheer quantities of fresh food seemed like something from a Hollywood movie. Then, one day, he developed an infection and had to be sent to an isolation ward to recover. uboat.net FR Cyclone, accessed 30 July 2016. by Sebastien Roblin. This was the date on which, the RMS Lancastria was sunk off the French port of Nantes, with an unknown loss of life. Every type of ship is here, warships, submarines, MTBs, tankers, cargo, passenger, troopships and so on, totalling over 3,000. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. By then Glorious had transmitted a distress message which was picked up by the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire thirty to fifty miles away. 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. When Bess and Beth were rescued, their frozen fingers had to be prised off their capsized lifeboat. This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 08:28. 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. When sent to newspapers or other publications it prevented particular information from being made public for reasons of state security. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites The following brief overview of the Lancastrias history is augmented with verified information from sources that Wynn might have consulted. 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