Yes but equally I don’t want to be labelled with the same brush . In my research all I keep reading is about the forgotten tragedy is it was but equally their are the lives of the people and they deserve a mention ie the builders /the captain/ the crew and more and that’s what I’m doing . I’m not writing a book about the loss of life I’m writing about the ship the men sadlyhow the ship was sunk and the bomb didn’t go down the chimney that’s a sheer impossi illy that’s my book then there is the maritime Law no other book written has this it’s all about death and gloom . I can’t write about these people unless their families agree that’s copyright it’s just not about this so if you feel it is then my book isn’t for you .
My book is about the ship but it’s also about other people’s lives . Before I can write about a person I have to abide by the decision of the families left and their grandsons plus from the association of all the troops and so much more . It’s not about the death and destruction it’s about lives written as best I can and with permission. My books differ so much from others which makes me unique in this field ask my RAF historian mr Paul Allonby then my graphic artist Mr Tony Brooks and my printers Fakenham prepress . Look on my website at my testimonials JDB Booklets Ask my Norwich company who design my letter heads and envelopes the company is Dynamic Print ask Sarah the owner then the two Marks . What I’m trying to say is I’m grateful for the help being given but I can’t and won’t change the format I work in as I’m a disabled hobbyist author fund raising for mnda. My book the paper used is different than from Amazon so you see ship 557 is something I’ve dreamed of writing since I’ve written successful Dunkirk and the little ships association backed me and the book is available via their website and Facebook page . Books went to the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy and the RNLI at pool and more . So you see why o have to be so precise with this book not just about the loss . I have found something interesting which will be in my book but I’m also looking for names in The London Gazette for 1940 . I hope you understand more and why .
I do not think you will be labelled with any brush by stating the casualties. We are not asking you to change the format neither will we ask the people you deal with about anything. You are dealing with a number of WW2 experts on this forum ( not me though thick as sewerage sludge me is) who try to assist and advise new and old members alike. You asked a question and you have many forum members who have experience in all manner of stuff to a very high level and offer what they think is helpful. As we said there is tons of stuff about this tragic era on this forum and on the internet If you need to find out how thick the steel was give this a try HMT Lancastria remembered they might point you in the direction of plans etc Have a look here for a bit of info Battle of Britain : Frederick George Berry ,563426 ,DFM , Royal Air Force Good luck moving forward
Wow thanks for understanding and giving me a way forward I wasn’t being funny in any way I just feel my side this book to be different when you type Lancastria up comes mainly the Lancastria Association formed via mark Hirst from Brian Crabbs book the forgotten tragedy. I wrote to him and he got rather shirty with me couldn’t use names copyright and mark Hirst hasn’t had the decency to write to me so you see my shackles had been torn in places and this Brian crabb is aware of me and is now marking his files with a watermark stopping people like me from using items, he to me still wants to be top dog . I don’t want to tread on his toes or anything and I do appreciate what people are doing for me and advice being given. Of course it’s got to be correct and equally different stories have to be told but a perimeter of 500-600 pages is the most because of people reading it and cost factor to me for as it is what I pay the reader pays and books are not selling well so you see it’s got to have a new twist to sell . Yet the interior leads you in , the tragedy comes later and the mark of respect comes last
I would add Not being an expert but dont use new twist 80 odd years later you must get your facts spot on
Agreed I have just written to the data protection officer At Liverpool Museum asking what can and can’t be used. . Looking at your divisions under ideally it would be to my advantage as to who was there.
Hello and Thankyou for responding two matters, firstly I have written to the data protection officer at Liverpool museum to see what I’m allowed to use. Secondly as I did in my Dunkirk book I put all the BEF units (42) A4s and all the little ships that took part again (42) pages. It’s knowing though the units boarding the Lancastria. I can add further pages to this as I’m not going into detail too much of the sinking as the families left won’t want to read that,but how and why, it’s this I’m concentrating on for their are several factors leading to this and briefly they are ; buoyancy,deadweight,( not gross weight) bomb type used ( here their are many) ship built ie metal used; because ship sailed in cold waters then warm was metal fatigue partially to blame, so much to check. So you see that’s what I’m trying to do. See the difference on angles in ones minds as you say 80 years on. Strangely not many stories being told to me who sailed upon her from families left over which makes Research long.
This if correct put a whole new perspective on this section of the book I have told my RAF historian friend he will check this out for it states it was a ju88 and at the time this man faced them flying fast and in the heat of battle ones mind is to shoot it down before he got shot. But my book is now on hold to see if this is correct.
Further to the above my friend found this it was not ac111 but a ju 88. On No.1's final operational patrol in France on 17th June 1940, Berry was leading a section over the docks at St. Nazaire. A force of Ju88's came in to attack Allied shipping. Berry chased one and shot it down but was unable to prevent the Lancastria, a civilian liner turned troopship, being bombed. It caught fire and later capsized with very heavy loss of life, so bad that the news was censored for some time. For this action Berry was awarded the DFM (gazetted 20th August 1940).
Yes i understand Re metal fatigue that enters into a different arena and proof would be required otherwise it makes the book quess work and a what if
Yes I agree there it’s a challenge that I cannot find but in my head could it be ! No one will ever know,but we can go to buoyancy so many questions , This is what I think that the ship capsized so quickly and the helmsman would had noticed again we cannot answer,he would had to correct all the time. The two bombs were the final act for a ship supposedly been laden with many souls would not in my views have made it across the channel so we are back to why! And what ifs.
I was going to stop it as I had a nasty email from a colonel saying I’m giving misleading information well now to stab him in the back courtesy of the CWGC they have sent me every RAF man on the Lancastria before the tragic sinking so I will finish removing his representations of troops he requested and add these.
As stated before you have to be very careful making statements about an event 80 odd years ago you have to have the fact %100 otherwise as stated before it becomes a what if scenario which does not help anybody Look for info at the National Archives You have to look at it for what it is A desperate attempt to save people from a nazi invader People were doing what they thought best at the time sadly it ended in tragedy
Hello yes I understand as I write not only about this book and what happened if you look at my website JDB Booklets you will read testimonials from people all over the world at my books . Not only WW2 but local. I felt hurt by a certain colonel of a certain association his words to me could be used against him for slander. My book tells the story of the ship how she was built detailed sea trials, Mediterranean cruises, then how WW2 began drawing this ship into the web. Now I’m on the men getting on board some individual and about them, then their will be the stories exact from the German planes and units, then the sinking then the lest we forget from the CWGC the units on board, the RAF , and more so I think I have it right and to be told by this individual it’s useless is in my eyes slander but I intend to write it to complication and I will, more so when I’ve had permissions from the RAF and the CWGC and people whose grandads were aboard so I appreciate the help but if I’m ridiculed again I will take legal proceedings colonels or not. Sorry for the rant.
A new book on the (now not) 'forgotten' tragedy of the Lancastria will have to be something special to stand out from those by Brian Crabb (2002), Jon Fenby (2015) and Stephen Wynn (2020). I became interested in this tragic event when visiting St Nazaire in 2010 and was able to attend the 2020 anniversary ceremony in Liverpool. One thing of family interest was to learn there was a Masonic Meeting Hall on the Lancastria, usable as what is termed a 'travelling lodge' (literally). For members interested in the wider events of May-June 1940, Stephen Wynn's 'Dunkirk & The Aftermath: Images of War', one of a dozen books published by Pen & Sword on the Invasion of France, Dunkirk and its aftermath, holds a key place on my bookshelf. One loss which seems under-reported is the 'Maid of Kent' Hospital Ship, sunk May 21st 1940 at Dieppe with the loss of 17 crew and 26 medical personnel and casualties during a Luftwaffe bombing raid.
Fascinating! Thank-you for posting, it underlines the theory that what is now termed 'forgotten' has already been chronicled in years gone-by. I will run a search for Mr Bond's book. This is also interesting: Miracles and myths: The Dunkirk Evacuation – Part 2: The heroism of the Royal Navy - The National Archives blog
