Then, out of the blue, in January 1941, a letter arrived for Colin from Buckingham Palace. Enclosed was a certificate, signed by Churchill, that commended him for brave conduct in the Merchant Navy. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (675 GRT, 1911) was scuttled at Cherborug, France. DOyly kicked Heath off the ship and departed on missions to ferry Royal Air Force Gladiators and Hurricanes to Norway. Once his infection had cleared, he was told to get out of bed. This is the story of Michael McShane and how he survived the sinking of the SS Athenia, the first ship torpedoed by a U-boat in World War II. This elderly nurse sitting next to me whod earlier been comforting me became distressed, he says. World War II: The cargo ship (873 or 909 GRT, 1904) struck a mine off Cape Granitola, Italy and sank. However, some information about the Lancastrias sinking was made public within a matter of days, particularly six individual death notices in local newspapers. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941 Ships Captured or Detained 1939 (80 ships) Ships Sunk, Damaged or Detained 1940 (48 ships) World War II: The passenger ship (2,029 GRT, 1930) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The coaster (957 GRT, 1893) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The naval trawler (109 GRT, 1916) was sunk at Scapa Flow in a collision with trawler, The coaster (216 GRT, 1919) was sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (4,102 GRT, 1931) was bombed and sunk in the, World War II: The cargo ship (3,857 GRT, 1928) struck a mine in the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,463 GRT, 1923) struck a mine and sank in the. by Norwegian commandos 11/03/39, Sent from Gibraltar to Marseilles; Released Then he caught a whiff of the telltale smell of explosives. Couple find note in chimney that reveals their 290,000 house was 100 times cheaper 50 years ago. SS Emidio in Vancouver, June 1932. Wynn does not clarify what materials he utilized from these sources and there are no footnotes, in-text citations, or endnotes. Photographs Beryl Myatt On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The two boys are believed to of forged a letter from their Father stating he had given permission for them to join the ship. Industry chief demands planned corporation tax hike from 19 to 25% in this Ukrainian soldier takes out five Russian tanks and three armoured vehicles in ONE DAY using US-supplied Ukraine 'hits major Russian air base in fresh strike' a day after kamikaze drone crashed down just 68 miles How did Russia lose HALF of its 45,000 elite paratroopers in just seven months? After receiving news of the Lancastria disaster, Churchill had placed a D-notice on the incident, forbidding any knowledge of the sinking reaching an already demoralized public. Just seven minutes later, the Scharnhorst opened fire on the investigating Ardent, busting open a boiler. 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,. The ship was apparently equipped with sixteen lifeboats and 2,500 life jackets, but many of the boats were damaged from the air attacks while others were unusable because of the ships starboard list and hull angle. When do the clocks change in 2023? At 4 p.m. on June 8, 1940, the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious was cruising west across the Norwegian Sea towards the British naval base of Scapa Flow . Aboard one lifeboat, a freezing boy fell unconscious and slipped into the sea. Germany initially denied involvement. Afterwards, he turned his attention to the woman beside him. Archive List > World > North Atlantic and Arctic. Another day nearer America! he remembers thinking. 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. His dreams, however, were rudely interrupted that night by a loud bang. At first, he thought the Benares must have collided with another ship. 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. The rest of the convoy sailed on, obeying standing orders not to stay in a danger zone. It was the first time Id really been able to grieve, he says. I stayed on board the ship in 2011 and have always found the history of the ship to be fascinating. As the night progressed, body temperatures began to fall. British Summer Time begins in March but do you wind your watch forward Sickening CCTV footage shows the moment two trains collided and burst into flames in horror smash Greek PM MPs demands the menopause is made a 'protected characteristic' like race or religion - but Equalities Commando, 28, 'told woman he met on dating app "I love it when you keep telling me to stop" as he raped and Charles evicting Harry and Meghan is the act of a King putting his country first: REBECCA ENGLISH reveals A royal princess at Eton? He states that The time taken to record everybodys name, rank, service number and regiment or corps would have been time consuming and served no purpose (vii). World War II: The cargo ship (1,002 GRT, 1904) struck a mine and sank in the, World War II: The cargo ship (1,766 or 1,894 GRT, 1918) was scuttled at Rochefort, France. Alexia British Motor tanker The Alexia after conversion to the MAC ship HMS Alexia. (RIN SS) is sometimes credited with sinking Rainbow on Oct. 15. Armed Guard Casualties The SS Goslar, a steamboat, was at port in Suriname when Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, causing the country (then a colony of the Netherlands) to begin to intern German men living in the . 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. British and Allied evacuation vessels took Lancastrias survivors aboard, the trawler HMT Cambridgeshire alone rescuing nearly 900 souls. World War II: The cargo ship (1,522 GRT, 1923) was torpedoed and damaged in the, World War II: The cargo ship (3,554 GRT, 1920) was damaged and abandoned at Brest, France. 'This is the most ridiculous thing I've seen!' They didnt have anyone at the ends holding it steady. Once filled, the lifeboat was lowered into the raging sea. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. 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. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. Four chapters are personal accounts from survivors or their close relatives. 11, two out of 11 children remained. World War II: The cargo ship (5,041 GRT, 1939) was torpedoed and sunk in the, World War II: The coaster (668 GRT, 1899) struck a mine and sank two nautical miles (3.7km; 2.3mi) north of the, The cargo ship (2,744 GRT, 1906) ran aground on, World War II: The tanker (7,101 GRT, 1926) struck a mine in, World War II: The tanker (6,891 GRT, 1925) was captured in the, World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (85 GRT) was scuttled at, World War II: The naval trawler (131 GRT, 1929) struck a mine in the English Channel off. 'What had happened was that I'd lain there, grieving away, and my blood had stopped flowing. Heres how to join! Ships Sunk, Damaged or Captured December 1941 (82 ships), Chronological list of U.S. ships sunk or damaged, Geographical list of U.S. ships sunk or damaged, Alphabetical list of U.S. ships sunk or damaged, Merchant Marine Casualties Also he was going to join the Navy in UK, would like to get the facts from the Navy about him signing into the Navy, also his father, my Great Grandfather, signed the India Shipping documents in Belfast, Ireland in 1921, claims, can I make claim for Great Great Grandfathers son, William George Ellason Myers he was born 1899, he lost his things and what else damages stress, we were also Banker, looking for documents to support the opening of the Bank of England, Ireland and Scotland and all Y.M.C.A., in America we were Bank Starter for all Great West Permanent Loans and Savings company of Canada, and I believe London Life and all Permanent Buildings, we were amazing, last known residence in his WILL, residing in the Union Theology College of British Columbia/United Church of Canada, Esquire, Banker and Methodist Minister, named after 4 priests. you see substantial portions of this page on the Internet or in published material Stephen Wynn, a retired police constable with 30 years service in Essex, began writing prior to his retirement. From the half-submerged Lifeboat 2, Colin watched as the Benares sank below the waves. At 3:45 p.m., crew on the German capital ships spotted the funnel smoke of the British warships and surged forward to close the distance. Information about the Lancastria sinking might be restricted by the Official Secrets Act. The much smaller vessel immediately laid a smoke screen which it used as cover to launch hit-and-run torpedo attacks. Return to Allied Ships hit by U-boats Front page About Contact us FAQ Glossary What's new those of the BBC. Therefore, destroyers, fishing boats, and other small craft had to ferry the evacuees to Lancastria while being bombed and machine-gunned by the Luftwaffes Junkers Ju 11 bombers of Kampfgeschwader 30. Colin acted quickly. Two crew were killed. 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. Within four months of the outbreak of World War II, Lancastria was requisitioned by the Admiralty as His Majestys Troopship (HMT) Lancastria under the command of Captain Rudolph Sharp. The SS Athenia was the first ship sunk by Germany in World War II and resulted in the death of 118 civilians. Then, one day, he developed an infection and had to be sent to an isolation ward to recover. World War II: The coaster (397 GRT) struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with all seven hands. At 5 PM a shell slammed into the Gloriouss bridge, killing DOyly and most of the command crew. As yet more lifeboats were overwhelmed by the icy-cold water, there seemed little hope of anyone surviving. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites 'How much can business take?' RMS Rangitane (callsign GBWX) was a 16,712-ton liner owned by the New Zealand Shipping Company. Battleships accompanied by other surface warships did directly engage carriers one more time in World War II during the Battle of Samar, though this time the U.S. carriers air wings participated in the fight leading to a very different, though no less dramatic outcome. Empress of Ireland: Directed by Stephan Parent. They werent the only parents desperate to send their children abroad. 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. This is the story of Beryl Myatt, a child evacuee during the Second World War. The CWGC has the names of 513 Merchant Seamen aged 14 to 16 who died between 1939-1945. The date was September 17, 1940. 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 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. In another boat, a young mother had reached the limits of her endurance, but she never knew her babies were already dead, because she soon joined the growing list of victims. 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. When sent to newspapers or other publications it prevented particular information from being made public for reasons of state security. It was in the 1970s a challenge, but I eventually, after many disappointing follows, found a second hand copy, with a book dealer. Only a few dozen would survive one of the most controversial naval battles of World War IIperhaps the only time battleships single handedly took out an aircraft carrier. 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. Then, mercifully, he threw himself overboard. World War II: The auxiliary minesweeper (208 GRT, 1917) was scuttled at Brest, France. Her captain, Guy DOyly Hughes, a decorated submariner in World War I, also ordered her Swordfishes to launch raids on land targets, but air group leader J.B. Heath refused, arguing they lacked clear targets and that the pokey biplanes would be shot to pieces by flak. World War II:The auxiliary minesweeper (628 GRT) was scuttled at Le Havre, France. This list of sources is concerning as there are at least a dozen sources that would have provided additional information to flesh-out his brief narrative, namely Winston Churchills 1949 The Second World War, Vol. It was time to evacuate their precious son to safety and that had to be beyond British shores. Estimates of the loss range between 3,000 and 5,800 fatalities. 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. Naval Institute is maintaining and preserving the former Naval Historical Foundation website so readers and former NHF members can still access past issues of Pull Together and other content. The ss alexis ship 1940 sinking sinking might be restricted by the Official Secrets Act the Lancastria sinking might be by. A child evacuee during the Second world War II: the auxiliary minesweeper ( GRT... 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