'TITANIC' - in every respect
The memorial in Saint-Nazaire to the sinking of the troopship Lancastria
The memorial in Saint-Nazaire to the sinking of the troopship Lancastria
As a 'Belfastian' I am naturally only too aware of the impact of nautical disasters, as evidenced by the recent deluge of programmes and articles about the ill-fated RMS Titanic.
Yet, for those who visit Saint-Nazaire, or, more specifically the Monument du Commando on the seafront, there is evidence of a far greater tragedy, sadly almost forgotten in today's media-led society: for beside the Monument stands the memorial to the Cunard liner Lancastria, sunk in June 1940 at the height of the evacuations from a collapsing France. Converted to a troopship, and with 6,000+ troops and civilans on board, she was bombed with a loss of all but 2,500 of the souls on board. So great would the impact of the losses have been on already fragile morale at home, Churchill forbade all publicity. Titanic sank within sight of another vessel, the Californian: Lancastria sank within sight of shore. In each case salvation might have been expected to be at hand - but was not.
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