Tri-Service
Plea From Lancastria Tragedy Families
The Government has been urged to do more to recognise the lives lost in Britain's worst maritime disaster.
The HMT Lancastria troop ship was thought to be carrying more than 6,000 servicemen and civilians - with some estimates as high as 9,000 - when she was hit by German dive-bombers during the Second World War.
Only about 2,500 survived as she sank off the coast of France, representing a greater loss of life than the Titanic and Lusitania disasters combined.
Campaigners including General Lord Dannatt, a former head of the Army, and actress Joanna Lumley have written to Veterans Minister Mark Lancaster to ask what he can do to "ease the suffering" of the victims' relatives.
They also wrote a letter to the Times, which read: "The sinking may have happened 75 years ago, but to those who still grieve it is not a dim and distant memory.
"The sadness of children orphaned that day who are still alive remains, and is exacerbated by the fact that Lancastria has never been given the status of official war grave by the British government.
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
