Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Secretary of State for Defence on 9 May 1996 (HC Deb, vol 277, cols 225–6W), how many bodies were recovered after the sinking of HMS Dasher on 27 March 1943; how many of those lie in marked graves, whether as a sailor known unto God, or named; and where those gravestones are.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
HMS DASHER tragically sank in March 1943 following an explosion onboard where no enemy action was involved. Records show that 23 servicemen are buried in marked graves at the following locations, Ardrossan Cemetery (13), Greenock Cemetery (7), Frizington Roman Catholic Cemetery (1), Mearns Cemetery (1) and at Paisley (Hawkhead) Cemetery (1).
It is Government policy that, where a wreck of a ship is the final resting place for our Service men and women, they should be allowed to lie undisturbed. As DASHER is the last known resting place for 356 servicemen, the wreck is designated as a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986; this means the site can only be accessed under a licence granted by the Secretary of State for Defence. The lives of those lost are commemorated on war memorials around the country.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Secretary of State for Defence on 9 May 1996 (HC Deb, vol 277, cols 225–6W), how families can claim the bodies of those that died as a result of the sinking of HMS Dasher on 27 March 1943; what steps they have taken to support families that could not claim their relatives bodies as a result of war time security measures; and what further information they have provided to those families about the whereabouts of their relatives’ bodies.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
HMS DASHER tragically sank in March 1943 following an explosion onboard where no enemy action was involved. Records show that 23 servicemen are buried in marked graves at the following locations, Ardrossan Cemetery (13), Greenock Cemetery (7), Frizington Roman Catholic Cemetery (1), Mearns Cemetery (1) and at Paisley (Hawkhead) Cemetery (1).
It is Government policy that, where a wreck of a ship is the final resting place for our Service men and women, they should be allowed to lie undisturbed. As DASHER is the last known resting place for 356 servicemen, the wreck is designated as a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986; this means the site can only be accessed under a licence granted by the Secretary of State for Defence. The lives of those lost are commemorated on war memorials around the country.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any records relating to the loss of the escort aircraft carrier HMS Dasher in March 1943 have (a) been retained from transfer to and (b) remain closed in the National Archives; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
Cabinet Office holds no records relating to HMS Dasher.