RMS Lancastria RMS " Lancastria ( later HMT " Lancastria ) was a British Cunard liner commandeered by the UK Government for war , sunk on 17 June 1940 during World War II causing the deaths of 4 , 000 people , possibly many more . It is the greatest ever loss of life in the sinking of a single British ship , claiming more lives than the combined losses of the and . It had also the highest death toll for UK forces in a single engagement in the whole of World War II . Career . The ship was launched in 1920 as " Tyrrhenia " by William Beardmore and Company of Glasgow on the River Clyde for Anchor Line , a subsidiary of Cunard . She was the sister ship of RMS " Cameronia " that Beardmore ' s had built for the same customer the previous year . " Tyrrhenia " was 16 , 243 gross register tons , long and could carry 2 , 200 passengers in three class es . She made her maiden voyage , Glasgow – Quebec City – Montreal , on 19 June 1922 . In 1924 she was refitted for just two classes and renamed " Lancastria " , after passengers complained that they could not properly pronounce " Tyrrhenia " . She sailed scheduled routes between Liverpool and New York until 1932 , and was then used as a cruise ship in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe . On 10 October 1932 , " Lancastria " rescued the crew of the Belgian cargo ship which had been abandoned in a sinking condition in the Bay of Biscay . In 1934 , the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland chartered the " Lancastria " for a pilgrimage to Rome . With the outbreak of the Second World War , she carried cargo before being requisitioned in April 1940 as a troopship , becoming the HMT " Lancastria " . She was first used to assist in the evacuation of troops from Norway . The sinking and its aftermath . She was sunk off the French port of St . Nazaire while taking part in Operation " Ariel " , the evacuation of British nationals and troops from France , two weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation . After a short overhaul , she left Liverpool on 14 June under Captain Rudolph Sharp ( born 27 October 1885 ) and arrived in the mouth of the Loire estuary on 16 June . She anchored south - west of St . Nazaire . By the mid - afternoon of 17 June , she had embarked an unknown number ( estimates range from 4 , 000 up to 9 , 000 ) , of civilian refugees ( including embassy staff , employees of Fairey Aviation of Belgium ) , line - of - communication troops ( such as Pioneer and RASC soldiers ) and RAF personnel . The ship ' s official capacity was 2 , 200 including the 375 man crew . Captain Sharp had been instructed by the Royal Navy to " load as many men as possible without regard to the limits set down under international law " . At 1350 hrs , during an air - raid , the nearby a 20 , 000 - ton Orient liner , was hit on the bridge by a German bomb . " Lancastria " was free to depart and the captain of the British destroyer advised her to do so , but without a destroyer escort against possible submarine attack , Sharp decided to wait . A fresh air raid began before 4 p . m . " Lancastria " was bombed at 1548 hrs by Junkers Ju 88 aircraft from " II . Gruppe / Kampfgeschwader 30 " . Three direct hits caused the ship to list first to starboard then to port ; she rolled over and sank within twenty minutes . Over 1 , 400 tons of fuel oil leaked into the sea and was set partially on fire , possibly by strafing . Many drowned , were choked by the oil or were shot by the strafing German aircraft . Survivors were taken aboard other evacuation vessels , the trawler " Cambridgeshire " rescuing 900 . There were 2 , 477 survivors , of whom about 100 were still alive in 2011 . Many families of the dead knew only that they died with the British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) ; the death toll accounted for roughly a third of the total losses of the BEF in France . She sank around south of Chémoulin Point in the Charpentier roads , around from St . Nazaire . The " Lancastria " Association lists 1 , 738 deaths . The immense loss of life was such that the British government suppressed news of the disaster through the D - Notice system , but the story was broken in the United States by " The New York Times " and in Britain by " The Scotsman " on 26 July , more than five weeks after the incident . Other British newspapers then covered the story , including the " Daily Herald " ( also on 26 July ) , which carried the story on its front page , and " Sunday Express " on 4 August ; the latter included a photograph of the capsized ship with its upturned hull lined with men under the headline " Last Moments of the Greatest Sea Tragedy of All Time " , but the full story of the " Lancastria " never came out . Due to the government - ordered cover - up , survivors and the crews of the ships that had gone to the aid of " Lancastria " did not discuss the disaster at the time due to the fear of court martial . The British Government has refused to make the site a war grave under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 although documents obtained under Freedom of information legislation ( FOIA ) show that it could be done . Early in the 21st century the French Government placed an exclusion zone around the wreck site . In July 2007 another request for documents held by the Ministry of Defence related to the sinking was rejected by the British Government . The " Lancastria " Association of Scotland made a further request in 2009 . They were told that release under the FOIA would not be given because of the following exemptions : Rudolph Sharp survived the sinking and went on to command the , losing his life on 12 September 1942 when that ship was torpedoed and sunk off West Africa . Remembrance . All service personnel killed during the Second World War are recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and where known that they lost their lives on the " Lancastria " . 1 , 816 burials are recorded , over 400 of them in France After the war the " Lancastria " Survivors Association was founded by Major Peter Petit , but this lapsed on his death in 1969 . It reformed in 1981 as The HMT " Lancastria " Association and continues the tradition of a parade and remembrance service at the Church of St Katherine Cree in the City of London , where there is a memorial stained glass window . In 2010 the HMT " Lancastria " Association was wound up . The " Lancastria " Association of Scotland was formed in 2005 and holds its annual service at St George ’ s West Church in Edinburgh . A memorial on the sea - front at St Nazaire was unveiled on 17 June 1988 , " in proud memory of more than 4 , 000 who died and in commemoration of the people of Saint Nazaire and surrounding districts who saved many lives , tended wounded and gave a Christian burial to victims " . " Lancastria " is represented at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire by a Sessile oak tree and a plaque . The " Lancastria " Association of Scotland began a campaign in 2005 to secure greater recognition for the loss of life aboard " Lancastria " and the acknowledgment of the endurance of survivors that day . It petitioned Downing Street to have the wreck site designated an official maritime war grave . The British Government refused to do so as it was within French territorial waters and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the Act . The campaign received support from MPs , Lords , MEPs and MSPs from all parties but the MoD claimed that such a move would be " purely symbolic " and have no effect . In 2006 , 14 additional wrecks sunk at the Battle of Jutland were designated war graves ; the " Lancastria " was again omitted . In 2007 the Association began a second petition , this time to the Scottish Parliament , calling for a special commemorative medal to be commissioned and awarded to all those who were aboard the ship that day . Campaigners believe this would represent , at last , formal recognition of what still remains a " forgotten tragedy " . In February 2008 the Scottish Government confirmed it would present the medal to all those who were aboard the " Lancastria " that day . The medal is in recognition of the endurance of survivors and the ultimate sacrifice of the victims . The " Lancastria " Association of Scotland is also fundraising to establish a major memorial to the victims of the " Lancastria " which to erected on the site where the ship was built in Clydebank . In October 2010 the local Council approved a planning application to have the memorial erected . In June 2010 to mark the 70th anniversary of the sinking , special ceremonies and services of remembrance were held in Edinburgh and St . Nazaire . Official recognition . On 12 June 2008 , at a ceremony at the Scottish Parliament , First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond presented the first batch of medals to survivors and relatives of victims and survivors the HMT " Lancastria " Commemorative Medal which represents " official Scottish Government recognition " of the " Lancastria " disaster . 150 survivors and relatives gathered from across the UK and Ireland for this historic event . The medal was designed by Mark Hirst , grandson of " Lancastria " survivor Walter Hirst . The inscription on the rear of the medal reads : " In recognition of the ultimate sacrifice of the 4000 victims of Britain ' s worst ever maritime disaster and the endurance of survivors - We will remember them " . The front of the medal depicts the " Lancastria " with the text " HMT Lancastria – 17th June 1940 " . The medal ribbon has a grey background with a red and black central stripe , representative of the ship ' s wartime and merchant marine colours . Hundreds of medals have been issued to survivors and relatives across the world . According to official guidance issued by the Scottish Government , medal recipients are permitted to wear the medal in public along with their other campaign medals . The MoD continues to refuse to officially commemorate the victims of the " Lancastria " or the survivors who endured that day . The medal is subject to formal application and open to all survivors who were aboard the " Lancastria " on 17 June 1940 . Relatives of victims are also eligible to claim for the medal , so long as they can provide supporting evidence that their relative was aboard the ship . An estimated 400 Scots were amongst the 4 , 000 killed when the " Lancastria " was attacked and sunk . The Scottish Government decided to proceed in light of the " unique scale " of the tragedy and because successive British Governments refused to commemorate the disaster . The " Lancastria " Association of Scotland is also working to have a significant lasting memorial erected to the victims at Clydebank , Glasgow - where the vessel was built . Scottish Ministers have provisionally said they will back the proposals . In 2005 and 2007 the Association held a special exhibition at the Scottish Parliament to highlight the loss . MSPs also signed a special hand bound book of remembrance . The Association maintains the largest online archive of " Lancastria " material on the internet The website received over 250 , 000 hits in 2007 . The Association also organizes the largest memorial service for the victims in the UK . The service , which is attended by survivors and relatives of both victims and survivors together with representatives of the French and Scottish Governments and a number of veterans organisations and is held on the Saturday closest to the anniversary of 17 June each year at St . George ' s West Church , Edinburgh . The " Lancastria " Association of Scotland has members throughout the UK , France and the rest of Europe as well as members in North America , Australia , South Africa and New Zealand . In December 2007 , following a debate in the Scottish Parliament , the Scottish Government said it had held talks with the British Government to try and persuade them to introduce a commemorative medal as a symbol of official recognition and acknowledgment for all those who had been aboard " Lancastria " . The MoD rejected that proposal in January 2008 and said they had no plans to commemorate the disaster . The " Lancastria " Association of Scotland has erected a memorial to the victims on the site where the ship was built , the former Dalmuir shipyard on the Clyde , now the grounds of the Golden Jubilee Hospital . As the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking took place in 2012 , fresh calls were made for official recognition by the UK Government of Britain ' s worst ever maritime disaster , the loss of the Lancastria . In September 2013 a plaque was unveiled at Liverpool ' s Pier Head by Lord Mayor Gary Millar commemorating the loss of the ship . References in popular culture . The Canadian rock band , The Tragically Hip , pays tribute and describes the sinking in the song " Nautical Disaster " in its " Day for Night " album released in 1994 . The French Breton folk - rock group Tri Yann has a song about the disaster called " Lancastria " on its " Abysses " album . The London - based band Gypsy Moth produced the song " To Those Lost At Sea " about the Lancastria . Author David LeRoy features the sinking in the book The Siren of Paris ( published 2012 ) , through the experiences of a character named Marc Tolbert who leaves Paris with other refugees and boards the ship . He is rescued by Joan Rodes and later returns to Paris but is haunted by the ghost of the ship , specifically two orphans from Belgium who died in the sinking , and his other friends who perished with the sinking .