TNA CAB 103 191

1010
Telegrams: SHIPMINDER, BLACKPOOL."
Telephone: SOUTH SHORE-41006.
17A
6/2
Blackpool 23821.
MINISTRY OF SHIPPING,
Л
"Empire Hotel",
GRAND-HOTEL,
CONFIDENTIAL.
Lansdowne Crescent,
BLACKPOOL, S.S.
M/151359/41
Lancs.
7th March, 1941.
1941.
Dear Mr. Walmsley,
I am sorry not to have replied before to your letter of February 26th but you will appreciate that it has taken a little time to collect the information you to ask for and even now it is not complete. We can, of n
course, only give you such information as we have and this does not always cover all the points you raise.
It may be that in many cases the Admiralty could give h
you more to detailed here information, especially where casualties, are concerned, since they handle all the g
actual Casualty Lists. However, I append all the ed information I can for your help.
S.S. "Lancastria" on 17th June, 1940, was attacked and sunk by enemy aircraft about 3.50 p.m. while at of anchor at Carpenter Roads off St. Nazaire. The ship ad sank in about ten minutes. About twelve boats got
Luding away and a number of the crew and troops were picked it sea up by numerous craft in the vicinity.
nk at
S.S. "Arandora Star" was torpedoed at 6.15 a.m.
over on the 2nd July, 1940, in the North Atlantic -
position 55° 20'N. 10° 33' West. The survivors all got away in the ship's boats and on rafts which hip.
were sighted by aircraft about two hours later and at about 2 p.m. on the 7th a Destroyer arrived and picked up the survivors. It is not known how many voyage were drowned and how many were killed by the explosion. n
W,
S.S. "Mohamed Ali El Kebir" was torpedoed at saved,
8.15 p.m. on the 7th August, 1940, in the North chose
Atlantic 55° 0" N. 15° West. She sank about one
2 sank hour and fifty minutes later. A Destroyer arrived on the scene and picked up survivors.
F. Walmsley, Esq.
Church K call,
Wavertree,
Liverpool.