Lancastria was attacked, apparently by five Junkers Ju 88 dive bombers, and the ship capsized, and sank within twenty minutes mid-afternoon on June 17 off the French port of St. Nazaire. [4] All the photographs of the sinking were taken by Frank Clements, a volunteer storeman aboard HMS Highlander, who was exempt from the regulations prohibiting the use of cameras by service personnel. British Expeditionary Force troops back to Britain. "[40], All service personnel killed during the Second World War are recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and were known that they lost their lives on Lancastria; 1,816 burials are recorded, over 400 of them in France. There are a number of Commonwealth war graves (some with named dead soldiers from the Pioneer Corps but many commemorated as unknown) in fishing ports on the French islands of le de R and le d'Olron (cemeteries at Saint-Martin-de-R, Saint-Trojan-les-Bains, Saint-Clment-des-Baleines, Ars-en-R and others) with graves dated 17 June 1940. The Ministry of Defence said all known documents relating to the Lancastria have been available at the National Archives at Kew since the early 1970s. Approximately four thousand men, women, and children were buried beneath the waves. [49] The day of the 75th anniversary of the loss of Lancastria was marked in the Westminster Parliament on 17 June 2015 at Prime Minister's Questions by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who was standing in for the Prime Minister. [citation needed], In June 2010 to mark the 70th anniversary of the sinking, special ceremonies and services of remembrance were held in Edinburgh and St. Nazaire. Your email address will not be published. Mr H J Cooper is quoted in the Chelmsford Chronicle on 28 June: "I am afraid thousands died, but tell the world they sang 'Roll out the Barrel' as they died. text of this web site is available under the Creative Other soldiers, meanwhile, performed acts of bravery and helped civilians while there was "no panic".

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