Albert Clay
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
He was the son of Joseph S and Mary E Clay and the brother of Helen and Lawrence Clay of 23, Haywood Road, Mapperley, Nottingham.
Sergeant Albert Clay was not killed on the Lancastria itself, but died on the same day (17 June 1940) during a related tragedy of the British evacuation from France during Operation Aerial. He was killed in the Rennes Railway Station bombing, a devastating German air raid on troop trains that were carrying soldiers toward the coast to board evacuation ships like the Lancastria. Because his death occurred on the same day and involved the same evacuation force, his records are closely linked to the Lancastria tragedy.
The Luftwaffe struck a train laden with French and British troops, refugees, and ammunition. The catastrophic explosions and resulting fires caused an estimated 805 fatalities, though some historical accounts place the death toll between 1,500 and 2,000.
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