The dark waters of the Firth of Clyde are icy cold today as families gather to mark a secret wartime tragedy that set the sea ablaze – and claimed the lives of 379 men.
It is exactly 70 years since aircraft carrier HMS Dasher exploded off the Ayrshire coast at Ardrossan, sending debris 60ft into the air and spewing burning petrol across the surface of the water.
But seven decades on from the disaster on March 27, 1943, relatives of many of those sailors are still fighting to find out exactly what happened to them.
Author John Steele, who has spent years researching the tragedy, is convinced that Dasher’s sinking is the subject of a cover-up and delicate information is being withheld because the ship was a “floating bomb” from the start.
He said: “Dasher was a disaster waiting to happen. It was an embarrassment to the Ministry of Defence.
“The Navy were so desperate for ships that they bought five converted aircraft carriers from America – Dasher used to be a banana boat.
“The ships weren’t up to scratch. They failed on over 20 Royal Navy regulations – the most significant being petrol leakage.
“Sometimes the pilots were sloshing about in petrol lying in the ship’s hangar. Sometimes they couldn’t use their cabins because of the petrol fumes.
“And the extractor fans weren’t up to the job. It was an explosive cocktail – and the worst happened.
“But it was covered up and it continues to be covered up. The bodies of 68 casualties which were recovered from the sea have never been found. It seems they were buried in a mass grave, probably somewhere near Ardrossan, but we still don’t know where.
“The relatives of these men have no graves. Surely they have suffered enough? Surely now is the time to release the information? Where are these boys buried?”
The Dasher was carrying 75,000 gallons of diesel, 20,000 gallons of aviation fuel and a full load of torpedoes and depth charges when she went up in a massive explosion. She took just eight minutes to sink.
There were no German U-boats in the area and Germany never claimed responsibility.
Official war diaries record the cause as suspected internal explosion.
John suspects that something as simple as a discarded cigarette or the spark from a dropped spanner could have ignited leaking petrol, though no official details were released.
It became one of the biggest wartime disasters in British waters.
John said: “Everything was kept secret for 30 years – and much of the information is still secret. But after 30 years, they slipped some documents into the public records office, which is now the National Archives.
“They did that without an announcement so only professional researchers would come across it.
“Only a handful of people found out – none of the relatives who had written letters pleading for information.”
Retired company manager John, 73, and his wife Noreen, 72, live near Ardrossan beach. Their home looks out across the spot where the ship went down – halfway between the Ayrshire coast and the isle of Arran.
They became interested in the disaster after moving from Paisley and listening to some of the locals discuss old memories of a large explosion at sea and bodies being washed ashore.
But when they tried to discover what happened to Dasher, they could find no published details.
John and Noreen were so intrigued, they embarked on relentless research, pursuing secret documents held in military archives and interviewing any of the 149 survivors they could track down.
They uncovered information which shocked the relatives of those who died.
John said: “The parents and wives of the men who died were told nothing. They were just sent telegrams telling them they were killed or missing – not what happened or where or why.
“The men who survived were told never to talk about it. Of those bodies recovered, only 24 burials took place, with no explanation of what happened to the rest.
“We obtained permission to have an area of Ardrossan cemetery excavated last year but there was no sign of a mass grave. So we still haven’t found the location of the burials. It’s a terrible situation.”
Grandmother Eunice Clark, 73, from Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, was only three when her father George Wood became one the Dasher casualties.
He had only joined the crew three weeks before the catastrophe, having previously served in the merchant navy.
Eunice grew up spending holidays in Ardrossan with her grieving mother Betty and little brother George, who was born after their dad died. With no grave to visit, it was her mum’s way of being close to her husband. George’s body was never found.
She said: “I don’t remember much from the time but my mum spoke about it.
“There were so many stories going about – that the ship hit a mine in the water. But my mum never found out what happened before she died and we still don’t really know.
“To me, the ship was a death trap right from the start. As a result, I never got to know my dad and my brother never met him.”
The ship is now an official war grave, lying on the seabed 600 feet down in the firth. John and Noreen arranged for a team of specialist divers to lay a brass plaque on the wreck commemorating the men who died.
There are two memorial plaques to the Dasher victims – one at the seafront in Ardrossan and one in Brodick on Arran.
A special service will take place in Ardrossan today.
Every year there is a ceremony for bereaved relatives aboard the Calmac ferry from Ardrossan to Arran. The ship stops directly above the wreck while prayers are said and floral tributes are cast into the water.
It’s an important gesture for Eunice and one she clings to even 70 years on.
She said: “I go to the memorial service every year. It’s doing something for my dad and for my mum. It’s very sad.”
Sunday 24 March 2013
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/families-seeking-truth-over-wartime-1782540
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