A PETITION will go before MSPs this month calling on them to commission a commemorative medal to honour those affected by Britain’s worst-ever maritime disaster.

The Clyde-built Lancastria was carrying around 9000 troops when it was sunk by German bombers off the coast of France in 1940 during a mass evacuation.

The disaster claimed the lives of 4000 people, an estimated 400 of them Scots.

The disaster was the worst single loss of life for British forces in the second world war and, according to campaigners, the sacrifice of the victims and courage of survivors—who struggled together in the sea for hours after the sinking—has never been officially marked.

Relatives of victims launched a petition for a medal for all on board, or the relatives of those who have passed away.

Mark Hirst, is secretary of the Lancastria Association of Scotland, the group behind the petition. His grandfather, Walter Hirst, from Dundee, survived the sinking.

Mark Hirst said the issue will be formally considered by the Parliament’s public petitions committee and appealed to MSPs to recognise the thousands who gave their lives.

“Back in 1940 when the British government learned of the scale of the disaster, they banned all news coverage, worried about the impact on public morale,” he said yesterday.

“The effect has been that Lancastria has remained largely forgotten and the event has never been officially marked.

“The commemorative medal would have the same status as the Dunkirk Medal, which was in fact instigated by the municipal town council of Dunkirk in 1974.

“Our association is seeking a medal for all those who were aboard that day, not just the majority of veterans.

“As I said previously, if the Dunkirk municipal town council can do it, then why not this parliament?

“MSPs have an opportunity to finally provide formal recognition for the sacrifice of victims and endurance of survivors, which consecutive British Governments have clearly chosen to ignore.”

The Lancastria Association of Scotland has members in Tayside, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire, Stirling, France, Canada and New Zealand.

Fiona Symon, from Kinross, whose father, Andrew Richardson, was among those who died, said, “Sixty-seven years is far too long to have had to wait for official recognition of the sacrifice made by thousands of men who gave their lives for freedom.

“Unless you have walked in the footsteps of the victims, the survivors or their families you cannot even begin to understand the depth of this human tragedy, the effects of which continue to this day.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Parliament said issuing commemorative medals for veterans is a reserved matter but MSPs may take it up with those responsible.

She said, “Whilst having the utmost respect for the Lancastria veterans, the role of parliamentary officials in the processing of petitions is to gather information and advice for the committee.

“It is for the members to determine how to take petitions forward.”

Mr Hirst believes the Scottish Parliament have erroneously thought they are asking for a campaign war medal, rather than a commemorative medal, which, he said, can be issued by “any competent body.”

The Lancastria was hit by three bombs while evacuating troops at the Loire river estuary near St Nazaire.

It capsized and sank in around 20 minutes and its wreck lies about five miles from the coast.

Campaigners want it formally recognised as a war grave.