A GROUP of surviving veterans from Britain’s worst maritime disaster have returned to the port of Saint-Nazaire in the Loire-Atlantique to mark the 70th anniversary and remember the thousands who died.

Up to 6,000 people were killed when German bombs hit the RMS Lancastria on June 17, 1940, sinking it in just 20 minutes.

The ship was one of a fleet of ocean-liners requistioned by the British government and dispatched to France’s Atlantic ports to evacuate servicemen.

Initially those joining the ship were given numbered boarding cards, but only 2,000 were made and these soon ran out.

Despite knowing that enemy aircraft were in the vicinity, the Lancastria continued to take people aboard.

It was never known just how many passengers embarked, but the total is estimated at between 6,000 and 9,000.

Only 2,447 survivors made it to the UK – where the disaster was initially deemed such a catastrophe that the Ministry of Defence banned newspapers from reporting it.

The story was broken by papers in the US and followed up in the UK.

Anniversary co-ordinator David Glossop, whose late father-in-law was among the survivors, said: “Pilgrimages from the UK have taken place over many years, but this year the last survivors of the disaster said they were able to make the journey, including a crew member.

“There are many stories of individual acts of bravery in the rescue drama. Many survivors were in the sea for three hours or more being picked up by Royal Navy craft, French tugs, fishing vessels – even rowing boats.

“The German local command banned the burying of British military personnel in parish cemeteries – but this order was in the main ignored by the French.”

Representatives from the UK and French armed forces also attended the series of remembrance ceremonies around the Loire-Atlantique port last month.

They were joined by members of the Royal Naval Association and Royal British Legion.

-- The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) provides practical and emotional support to current and former service personnel and their families.

In France, the network of trained volunteers help about 100 people every year, arranging mobility vehicles for the elderly and disabled, helping those in financial difficulty and supporting the lonely, ill or bereaved.

If you think SSAFA can help you or someone you know, contact 05 53 01 64 54 or email france@ssafa.org.uk