Customer Reviews

Sinking of the Lancastria

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In June 1940 Britain's war efforts against Germany were truly on the back foot and the Dunkirk evacuations were in full swing. Only by recovering our troops could we hope to regroup, rearm and then rejoin the fight. Off Normandy, an armada of small boats did an amazing job of work ferrying as many troops as possible safely home to England. Further away, off St. Nazaire a few large ships were also working to that same common cause.

Then, on 17 June 1940, more people died - as one particular troopship was bombed, sunk and then strafed, than on the more famous losses of the Titanic and Lusitania combined. Sadly, apart from the survivors, the relatives of those who perished plus a few divers who visit the wreck, few people have ever heard the name of that ship.

She was the Cunard passenger liner "Lancastria" and in this book the author brings her back to life in a most vivid and poignant fashion.

Nowadays, more and more people are asking questions about what "really" did happen with regard to specific incidents during both world wars - and quite right too. Furthermore, divers have begun to ask all the right questions about the shipwrecks they are visiting. It is accounts, such as this that go a long way towards answering those questions and filling in the gaps created by the historical events which followed the sinking of this once great ship.

Altogether, this is more than just a book about a ship that was lost in dreadful circumstances. With the skills of a consummate wordsmith, author Jonathan Fenby has carefully brought this tragedy back to back to life because people had forgotten it had happened. In so doing, he has created an historical document of great importance - a document which is of great interest to divers and historians alike.

If you really want to know how the Lancastria met her end, this book is possibly the only document you will ever need.

NM