I wish to bring to your attention, as well as that of your readers of an upcoming event. On 1st July it will be 75 years since 1053, POW's went down on the Montevideo Maru. The ship was to torpedoed by an American submarine due to there being no flag flying to denote what the ship carried.
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Sadly it wasn't until 2012 when we gathered in Canberra for the dedication of a memorial that we actually had confirmation of who was on the ship. Most of the men were part of "Lark Force", but others were civilians.
This disaster was Australia's greatest maritime disaster yet a greater percentage of the population don't know anything of this disaster.
A wonderful book telling the whole story of this disaster is called "Abandoned and Sacrificed - The tragedy of Montevideo Maru" which was written by Dr Kathryn Spurling.
Sadly my grandparents went to their deaths, not knowing exactly whether their eldest son was on the ship or not.
Judy Ireland
Walcha
