大象传媒

The following story appears courtesy of and with thanks to Les Jones and Robert Kennedy

The 23,722 tons liner: the SS Strathallan was built at Barrow-in-Furness and owned by the Peninsular & Orient Steam Navigation Company Ltd and requisitioned by the War Office as a troopship during the war. Its last Captain was J.H.Biggs CBE.

The following report came from Mr JG Trotter Royal Naval Commando.
"I sailed on that convoy to North Africa when the The Strathallan was torpedoed and sunk. I was on the troopship SS Dunnotar Castle sailing behind Strathallan when she was hit but we just sailed on by. We could not stop"
He went on to say "Your letter and report from Jim Gormley brought back too many painful memories I couldn't even finish Jim's report of escaping from 'G' Deck on Strathallan. Please do not send anything on sinking ships I too was in the horror of the Atlantics convoy and I was torpedoed in the middle of the ocean between 1939 - 1941".
"When we got back to Portsmouth Barracks after being rescued, 500 of us (RN Commandos) we were sent to Loch Fyne at Inverary in Scotland where we trained as coxswains of landing craft. We did hundreds of simulated landings before being sent to Dumbarton. This is where we met our crew.(3 of us)".
"It is long story but we where taking soldiers off the troopships practising beach landings. None of us knew where we were going. We joined the SS Dunnotar Castle on the convoy to North Africa. Your letter in The Sunday Mail hit me right away as I had watched the Strathallan has she was hit and ablaze, it is like yesterday....The memories of those days will always be with me".

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