re: "In a ceremony at Holyrood later, the Scottish Government will issue its first ever medal to commemorate the thousands of service men and women who died with the sinking of the Lancastria almost exactly 68 years ago. / The loss of the converted Cunard liner was Britain's worst maritime disaster and the country's biggest single loss of life in World War II. /But it was hushed up and, for half a century, relatives and survivors have felt the sacrifice was forgotten. /The ship was lending support to the war effort, evacuating British Expeditionary Forces from France, when it was attacked by German bombers on 17 June, 1940. / ...[snip]... / At least 4,000 died - 400 of them Scots. So soon after Dunkirk, then Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the event to be hushed up to protect national morale. /
It remained a secret long after the war, but this led the bereaved to feel their sacrifice was ignored..."...
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