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I was back late on Friday and out over most of the weekend, so have been delayed in adding the second part of my post. Before I head off, I just wanted to share a true story that I wrote a few years back - one that is very close to my heart.
One Of Five Brothers
Something about the permanence of the blockchain has compelled me to tell and thus record this story. Indeed, much like the melting snow of spring if these words remain unspoken they will slowly disappear, obscured by the sands of time. From my perspective that would be a travesty, for it’s a story that needs to be recorded and a life/lives that deserve to be marked.
My Grandfather (Arthur) was one of five brothers who were all conscripted to fight in WW2. They were separated and sent to various hotspots throughout the world and amazingly they all survived. Although they each have important stories to tell, today I’m going to focus on Arthur for he was aboard the Lancastria. Never heard of it? Well, there’s a reason for that.
The Lancastria
RMS (HMT) Lancastria was a Cunard liner that was requisitioned by the UK government at the beginning of WW2. She was also sunk on the 17th of June 1940. Until this day the sinking of the Lancastria represents the largest loss of life in British maritime history. Equally, throughout WW2 it was also the British forces worst catastrophe. Estimates are that between 4,000 - 6,000 men, women and children died in this incident, their lives scattered to the summer breeze. Certainly, there were more souls lost on the Lancastria than the Titanic & Lusitania combined. The ship was filled with both military personnel and refugee men, women, and children, and yet it remains a largely forgotten tragedy.
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Following her sinking Prime Minister Winston Churchill imposed a media blackout. This was because the government feared the effect that this news would have upon the moral of the British public. It also didn’t fit the narrative of the time, Dunkirk, the subsequent Battle of Britain and the Lancastria? To this day there are still both missing chunks of the story and differing perspectives of how the events of that fateful day unfolded. Today I'm going to add another piece of the puzzle.
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The Journey Home
An exhausted Arthur boarded the Lancastria on a warm June afternoon. Two weeks prior he had been at Dunkirk and the thought of an (albeit fleeting) journey back to England filled his heart with both joy and promise. The Lancastria was taking part in Operation Ariel which was the evacuation of both troops and refugees, as such she was unarmed. For all on board the thought of heading away from danger and an omnipresent warzone must have been a great relief. Alas, they were unaware of the events that were to follow.
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We’re Going Down!
It was now late afternoon and the ship was just a few miles off the coast of St Nazaire. The clouds began to chase the weakening summer sun from the sky and the ship gently rocked in the open ocean. It was on the deck that Arthur found himself, laughing and joking with his friend and an exiled French family. Feeling a gentle pull of his clothing, looking down he noticed the French couple’s young (about 4- 5 years old) daughter tugging at his sleeve and pointing in the direction of a group of children a bit further down the ship.
I imagine the prospect of a military escort must have been exciting for the little girl (Marie) and so, after much hand pulling and gesturing Arthur agreed to take her. A quick nod of approval from her father and off they set, leaving her family and his fellow serviceman behind.
Within a matter of minutes all hell broke loose! The unarmed ship had been spotted and the Nazi bombers began their brutal assault. As he turned heel to walk back toward her family the bomber scored a direct hit where they had all been standing. A hit that instantly killed both the girls parents and his friend! From the commencement of the bombing campaign, until the ship's sinking was a timescale of just 25 minutes, what followed was a whirlwind of confusion and terror.
Alas my grandfather is no longer alive and so the exact details of how he entered the water are now lost in time. In this instance, I have relayed his personal story and icorportated some historical references to elucidate the broader context.
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Eyewitness Account Of The Sinking
I have added an eyewitness account below from Albert Nadin so you can at least gain an insight into how quickly this all played out.
My mind was made up for me when she started to sink, turning slowly over on to her side and within seconds the top deck rail was almost level with the water. I was not a good swimmer but I stepped over the rail into the sea and made every effort to get away from the ship as far as I possibly could. I got about thirty yards away, looked back and saw she was sinking fast but a lot of troops were still on board and were scrambling up the bottom of the ship as she turned over.
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I managed to get hold of an oar and another chap joined me and we managed to keep afloat by kicking out and holding the oar in front of us. By this time the oil was covering the whole area and we could feel it coming up from below. We were just drifting around while the German bombers were flying low and machine-gunning the survivors in the sea. By this time I was scared stiff and was covered in oil and could not seem to be able to keep my head out of the water.Source
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Into The Water
The fatal bomb exploded on the port side and ruptured the fuel tanks. A black cloud of oil began oozing into the sea and coating all that tried to escape it’s oppressive embrace. As the ship went down and pandemonium erupted all around him, Arthur was suddenly in the water. Luckily, throughout the confusion he had managed to keep hold of Marie, and he now held her tightly. To let go would have ensured her certain death for neither of them had lifejackets.
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The ship belched smoke and fire, the acrid plumes stinging their eyes and scorching their lungs. As the thick oily sludge weighed him down, he held her close and kept her above the water. Whilst some of the soldiers sang “there will always be an England” from the upturned deck, the screams of the drowning and injured filled their ears and echoed through the evening sky. And then, in a hail of gunfire they were back!! The bullets of the bombers riddled the ocean as they began to indiscriminately shoot at the struggling survivors. I remember him telling me of the panic that gripped them as word began to spread that the Nazi's were mercilessly trying to set fire to the oil filled water.
It’s a sad fact that as they desperately tried to cling onto life, many of those that survived the sinking were either drowned or killed by enemy gunfire. For nearly four hours Arthur and Marie held onto life and each other, My grandfather using anything he could find to keep them above the water and alive. And then as hope began to fade and the last rays of daylight were scattered by the darkness, they were rescued.
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Safety
They were found hypothermic and exhausted, but most importantly alive! Once their rescue ship reached the shore, in the melee that followed, the authorities took Marie and processed her as both a refugee and orphan. And that was the last he saw of her, for in this time period and in these circumstances, to retain contact was akin to impossible. He was allowed a short time for rest and respite and was then sent back to the frontline and remained on active duty until the war ended in 1945.
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The End?
Well I may have stretched the truth a little when I said he never saw Marie again.
It was a hot summer day, Arthur was busy gardening when he heard a knock on the door. Twenty years or so had passed since the events of the Lancastria and yet when he opened the door there she stood! A beautiful young woman, it was Marie! She had tracked him down and was there to ask that he give her away at her wedding, to take the role of her lost father for just one day. As tears filled his eyes and ran down his face, he duly obliged. The wedding would become one of the proudest days in his life, for they were profoundly connected. Two people thrown together in a random sequence of events that would save and define both their lives.
The UK government was eventually pressured into marking the event and giving the survivors and the families of those that perished a lasting memorial. Equally documentary evidence remains sealed and will not be made public until 2040. Sadly to this day the individual acts of bravery remain unrecognised, at least officially.
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Conclusion
For me this is not a post to discuss the futility of war. We can have this conversation every day of the week, but for the majority it’s a conversation that can be held from the comfort of our homes. I write these words as a way of saying thank you to my grandfather and to a whole generation that had no choice. A generation whose minds remained eternally scarred by the horrors they witnessed and the sacrifices that they made. This is Arthurs forgotten voice, spoken from the waters of the Lancastria and written so that it's heroes and it's dead will continue to be given a voice.
This is also a story of the human spirit, humanity in the face of inhumanity, the spark of light that keeps burning and illuminating even the darkest of nights. A light that may at times flicker, but will never be extinguished.
Thank you for reading.
References
1)http://ww2today.com/17th-june-1940-the-lancastria-bombed-and-sunk
2)http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/lancastria_01.shtml
3)http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hmt-lancastria-families-still-refused-memorial-for-britains-worst-sea-disaster-75-years-on-10324668.html
4)http://www.lancastria.org.uk/
Written by perceptualflaws
Stories like these are priceless. I'm glad you added it to the chain. It's personal experiences, not history books that really matter in history. Thanks so much for sharing his story.
Thank you for the kind words my friend.
Yes, I couldn't agree more - his story is not our story, and our stories are where you'll find the essence of the human spirit. :)
Exactly!
A beautiful honouring of your Grandfather's story. I wish mine was still alive to ask... There's snippets (he was a Yorkshireman so fought in the British Army) but much lost to time. Incredible that Marie tracked him down. So many mad stories. How they lived with those memories I don't know. The trauma of it must have haunted many and affected relationships etc. You'd think those two wars would be enough.
Thank you for the kind words my friend - really glad you appreciated it.
Yes, when I heard these stories I was young and thus more of a passive listener. The older I have grown the more questions I have - unfortunately, the missing parts of the story are now lost in time. Equally, I'm blessed that I'm able to record these fragments of memory. Long live the blockchain. :)
It's difficult to imagine how they were able to return to their normal lives - the traumatic memories must have been akin to a weight upon their shoulders. Yet the majority of them never uttered a word of complaint.
I remember hearing a beautiful story from a Dr that was studying the death process. He said there was one elderly gentleman that fought in WW2 and he was involved in a battle that ended with the deaths of a majority of his friends. Throughout his life he had always carried the guilt that he was the one who survived. In the week leading up to his death, each night he was visited by different fallen soldiers. each one telling him that he had nothing to feel guilty for - that it was his time and that he should let go. It gave him peace and within a few days he peacefully died.
Oh gosh that is heart wrenching.
I think they did suffer though, alcoholism and the like. The fact there was no recourse to talk to anyone and get support must have been hell. How would anyone understand that? But strength was required - there was a nation to rebuild, work to be done, families to support. And my grandfather migrated with six kids and a wife. Imagine that.
I really wish I'd recorded his stories. I still here him singing On Ilky Moor Bar Tat.
Another great uncle virtually starved in a Russian Pow camp . If it wasn't for a man who gave him potato skins as he felt sorry for him as he was so young. All his life he keep boxes of food in his attic. He was never going to starve again. He ended up with dementia but, memory being an odd thing, always found his way to the fridge to eat. They had to rope it across and tend him at all times other would eat himself into a stupor. Trauma nestles deep.
Oh yes, they definitely suffered - unfortunately for the majority it was in silence. :(
Same with my grandfather - he had to come back and support eight children, all living in a prefab post war building . I can only imagine how hard it must have been for your grandfather to migrate at that period of time. The war finishes - and once again you find yourself thrust into the great unknown - certainly, their generation deserves our utmost respect. Unfortunately we appear to learn from history that we don't learn from history.
Indeed it does - traumatic experiences such as your uncles leave a brand on their very psyche. Equally, it's a testament to him that he was able to survive and live to tell the tale. What a crazy world this is eh?
Oh my! What a story! I am so glad you chose to put it down here for us all.
And she found him!
I wonder how many stories like this one are gone forever, never told.
It is that spark of light that can turn our future into a blaze of love.
Thank you for the kind words my friend.
Yes, I don't know how she managed to track him down - but I think it gave them the closure they both needed. I imagine that there are thousands of such stories that will never be told - people that were too traumatised to tell them - and acts of bravery that will never be recognised.
As they say - it' s always darkest before dawn. :)
What a good story and how important that you tell it from the family context. I think it's good to know the family and to want to understand certain things. It's a way of knowing yourself better and forgiving one' s parents and grandparents for some of the resentment one might otherwise bear towards them.
Remarkable. My family was the same way. They all survived both wars in full numbers. I also told the whole story in two parts from the perspective of my grandparents and parents (more on my mother's side). You can read it here if you're interested.
Arthur's story is also interesting because just before the ship was bombed, he took little Marie by the hand to satisfy her curiosity. A strange coincidence, if you will. If she had stayed with her parents, she would have died, it sounds like. It would have been all the more tragic if she had drowned after all. Arthur and her were certainly connected in a way that only exists in such extreme experiences.
Thank you for sharing this slice of your grandfather's life.
What a pity that you got only such low votes on this :( (I am not regularly visiting, so I missed it).
Thank you for your kind words my friend - much appreciated. :)
In the face of such insurmountable odds - it is truly remarkable that families such as ours were left relatively unscathed - physically at least. Thank you for sharing the link to your own personal story, it sounds really interesting and I will certainly be reading it. Capturing the essence of our personal stories is probably far more important than we could know. My mothers side of the family are of German heritage and they arrived in the UK 2-3 years before the outbreak of war.
Yes, ultimately it was a turn of events that saved both their lives and connected them for life. If she hadn't been so insistent and they'd remained where they were, they would have both died. In a strange way - she saved his life, and then he was able to return the favour. I'm just really glad they were eventually able to find some closure. I have wondered whether she is still alive and whether I could speak to her - but wouldn't know whether to start. Equally, maybe some things are best left unsaid.
Thank you for taking the time to read and leave a great comment. Regarding the views/votes - they do appear to be rather low at the moment - but I think it's a similar story across the board. As long as I'm creating something that I'm happy with - that's the most important thing to me. :)
I agree. That leads away from the big theatre of history. It supports to identify more with the family than with celebrities and well known people from the history books. The media emphasis and repetition of the characters who have become famous seems a bit like the characters in our favourite soaps. You start to identify with them more than with your own story. The rich and beautiful of the television world seem like our own family and their absence is often more painful than the absence of family contact, it seems to me. A modern phenomenon.
Do you know, where they lived back then?
Yes I couldn't agree more - real people and authentic stories, as opposed to the celebritised archetypes regurgitated by the media. Our personal stories and time associated myths have been the bedrock of society for thousands of years. The selective mass media dissemination of them - has a far deeper effect than many may realise.
I think Berlin, but I will have to check with my Mum. I'm away at the moment so just grabbing a few moments here and there, but I'll ask when I get back. I'll also have a chance to read your story. :)
Yes, I assume that that is so, too.
I hope, you have a good time away from keyboard. I just did a trip myself to a friend of mine.
Tell me, if it was Berlin, if you talked to your mom.
Oh, and I really hope, you are going to read my families story.
Bye bye!
An incredible story and a testament to the human spirit - I'm going to read part two before leaving a more substantial comment. Thank you for sharing your family history. It's both appreciated and incredibly important.
I am glad you enjoyed it. Thank you. I am curious about your further thoughts.
Hey there - sorry about the delay in getting back to you. I have been delayed returning home, but am happy to say that now I'm back!
I did ask my Mum and I got it completely wrong! It was Dusseldorf.
Most certainly, I'll be sitting down to read your families story tonight. :)
Congratulations, your post has been curated by @r2cornell-curate. Also, find us on Discord
Felicitaciones, su publication ha sido votado por @r2cornell-curate. También, encuéntranos en Discord
Thank you kindly @abiga554
After reading through and then finding out at the end Arthur got to meet Marie and give her away for her wedding was a beautiful outcome from all the war caos and tragedy.
Yes, I think the wedding gave them both some closure that they needed. It's a beautiful end to a tragic turn of events - and it's difficult to tell it face to face without getting a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. :)
I think it would have been a very good thing for them both having been able to meet again, as you say a closure for them.
8.88
Hey - thanks for the support. Curious about the 8.88? :D
Oh the price was 8.88 when I saw it till I upvoted it
Gotchya - thank you. :)