HMT Lancastria – Britain’s Forgotten Naval Tragedy

If asked about the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, it is undeniable that many will be familiar with the story – even if it is only due to the James Cameron film. Occurring three decades later and known by too few people, the sinking of the HMT Lancastria in 1940 remains the greatest naval tragedy in Britain. When looking into the history of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and the regiments before this, it is difficult to find a corner of the world that they have not been to. And unfortunately, it is known that men of the Argylls were involved in this loss.

HMT Lancastria, as it was known from 1940, had many purposes throughout its time. Built by the company William Beardmore owned for the Anchor Line sibsidiary of Cunard, it was originally a Royal Mail ship. The RMS Tyrrhenia (1921–1924) was launched on the Clyde in 1922 and had the capacity to carry over 2,200 people but also weighing in at over 16,000 tonnes and being over 570 foot long, this was a large ship.

In 1924, she was refitted for two classes and renamed Lancastria after passengers complained that they could not properly pronounce Tyrrhenia.

So, after years of being used as a cruise liner, why was the Lancastria now known as a troopship? At the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Lancastria was She  requisitioned and refitted as a troopship. Unnecessary fittings were removed, she was repainted in battleship grey, the portholes were blacked out, and a 4-inch gun was installed. On the 15^th June 1940, HMT Lancastria was sent the order to sail from Plymouth down to ports in France to assist with evacuations from the aftermath of Dunkirk.

Lancastria headed to Quiberon Bay as part of Operation Aerial, which was the evacuation of the remainder of the British Expeditionary Force. British troops had been cut off to the south of the German advance through France, amounting to some 124,000 men, mostly logistic support troops. Finding that she was not required for the evacuation from Lorient, the captain of Lancastria, Rudolph Sharp, was sent on towards the port of St. Nazaire, where many more troops were waiting to be lifted.  She arrived in the mouth of the Loire estuary late on 16 June.

With German forces getting through most of France, by June 17, St Nazaire was the focal point of evacuation efforts. We know this ship is built to carry 2,200 passengers, but Captain Sharp was willing to allow 3,000 troops aboard. At the last count before he stopped any more embarking, the First Officer reckoned 5,000 soldiers had boarded. But we know it wasn’t just British troops aboard, but civilians also. However, the reality is will never know how many individuals were onboard – records vary vastly from 4,000 all the way to 9,000. We do know that there were Argylls aboard this ship, mostly from the 6^th and 7^th Battalions who had been part of the fighting taking place in France in May and June 1940.

Around 2pm, the first Luftwaffe bombers appeared, attacking – and damaging – a second troopship, Oronsay. Rather than take it as a cue to set sail, Lancastria’s skipper decided to wait until Oronsay was repaired and a strong destroyer escort was available.

The delay proved fatal. A second wave of Junkers 88 dive-bombers soon appeared. This time they concentrated on the Lancastria, hurling 250 and 500kg bombs at the liner as sirens on their undercarriage howled.

First Officer Harry Grattidge is noted to have said that she “bucked and shuddered like an animal in pain”. One bomb landed in a hold containing around 800 RAF personnel, another exploded in a second hold, causing fuel to spill out.

The troopship went down in less than 20 minutes, turning over as she went.

Those who could jumped into the oily water – there was little chance to launch the lifeboats – grabbing on to wreckage in a bid to stay afloat. They sang to maintain morale – and remain conscious – as they awaited rescue by destroyer HMS Highlander or other ships.

Some 2,477 people were rescued from the Lancastria: mostly troops, but also British and French civilians of all ages. There is no known confirmed number for the number of people who lost their life during this sinking.

Upon the sinking of HMS Lancastria, Winston Churchill stated that he did not want this news to be shared as there had been too much bad news that day and his intention was to allow this to be published in the days that followed. However, with the constantly news of loss, Churchill claimed he forgot to lift this order about HMS Lancastria. The news broke in Germany and the United States before finally being announced in Britian, but not until the 26^th July. Some newspapers didn’t announce the sinking until August.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Audrey – the individual who made us aware of the men of the Argylls who lost their lives at the sinking of HMT Lancastria, including her own grandfather, Private Robert Smith. We would also like to extend our gratitude for her donation of a copy of the HMT Lancastria Book of Remembrance.

Confirmed Argylls who lost their life during the sinking of HMT Lancastria:

Private Robert Brand, aged 20, 7^th Battalion

Sergeant John Blain, age unknown, 6^th Battalion

Private John Caulfield, aged 30, 6^th Battalion

Private Richard Cooper, aged 19, 7^th Battalion

Private William McLean, aged 32 – most likely on Lancastria but will never be known

Private Roland Nock, aged 36 *

Private Robert Smith, aged 34, attached to AMPC *

Ne Obliviscaris, Sans Peur

* Whilst we cannot find what Battalion Pte Nock and Pte Smith belonged to, we do know that these men served in the Argylls before the outbreak of WW2. Coincidentally, we know Pte Nock and Pte Smith signed up on the same day, February 18th 1925, but at different locations – Pte Nock in Stirling and Pte Smith in Paisley. Pte Nock’s and Smith’s records have not yet been digitised by the National Archive, once they have we will be able to confirm what battalion they were in and we will update this blog.

Written by Caitlin Meldrum, Audience and Communications Officer