View source for Slamat disaster

{{Italic title|string=Slamat}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
|title = ''Slamat'' disaster
|image = 
|caption = 
|location =
|coordinates = 37º01'N, 23º10'E {{coord|37|01|N|23|10|E|display=title}}
|date = {{start date and age|1941|04|27}}
|time =
|timezone =
|weapons = [[Junkers Ju 87]] [[dive bomber]]s
|fatalities = 983
|perps = ''[[Luftwaffe]]''
|target = The [[troopship]] {{SS|Slamat||2}} and [[destroyer]]s {{HMS|Diamond|H22|6}} and {{HMS|Wryneck|D21|6}}
|type = Air attack on ships
}}
{{location map many
|Greece
|relief=1
|width= 300
| label = Nauplia
  | mark = Blue pog.svg
  | marksize = 8
  | pos = top
  | lat_deg = 37 | lat_min = 34
  | lon_deg = 22 | lon_min = 48
| label2 = ''Slamat''
  | mark2size = 6
  | pos2 = left
  | lat2_deg = 37 | lat2_min = 01
  | lon2_deg = 23 | lon2_min = 10
| label3 = ''Diamond'' & ''Wryneck''
  | mark3size = 6
  | pos3 = right
  | lat3_deg = 37 | lat3_min = 03
  | lon3_deg = 23 | lon3_min = 15
| label4 = Ananes Rock
  | mark4 = Blue pog.svg
  | mark4size = 8
  | pos4 = 
  | lat4_deg = 36 | lat4_min = 31
  | lon4_deg = 24 | lon4_min = 08
| label5 = Souda Bay
  | mark5 = Blue pog.svg
  | mark5size = 8
  | pos5 = bottom
  | lat5_deg = 35 | lat5_min = 29
  | lon5_deg = 24 | lon5_min = 08
|caption= Locations involved in the disaster
}}
The '''''Slamat'' disaster''' is a succession of three related shipwrecks during the [[Battle of Greece]] on 27 April 1941. The Dutch [[troopship]] {{SS|Slamat||2}} and the [[Royal Navy]] destroyers {{HMS|Diamond|H22|6}} and {{HMS|Wryneck|D21|6}} sank as a result of air attacks by ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' [[Junkers Ju 87]] [[dive bomber]]s. The three ships sank off the east coast of the [[Peloponnese]] during Operation Demon, which was the evacuation of British, Australian and New Zealand troops from Greece after their defeat by invading German and Italian forces.

The loss of the three ships caused an estimated 983 deaths. Only 66 men survived.

==Operation Demon==
On 6 April 1941 Germany and Italy [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|invaded Yugoslavia]] and [[Battle of Greece|Greece]]. An expeditionary force of British, Australian and New Zealand troops was already in Greece, but they and Greek defenders lost ground to the invaders and by 17 April<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38293/supplements/3044 |title=Report on Evacuation of British Troops from Greece, April, 1941 |newspaper=Supplement to [[The London Gazette]] |issue=38293 |page=3044 |date=19 May 1948 |accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> the British Empire was starting to plan the evacuation of 60,000 troops.

''Slamat'' was a {{GRT|11406}} Dutch troop ship, converted from a [[Nedlloyd|Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd]] ("Royal Dutch Lloyd") [[ocean liner]]. Since October 1940 she had been operating in the [[Indian Ocean]], but in April 1941 she was ordered through the [[Suez Canal]] to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to join Operation Demon.

==Convoy AG 14==
[[File:HMS Calcutta.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Calcutta|D82|6}} led the evacuation flotilla from [[Nafplio|Nauplia]] and carried 960 British, Australian and New Zealand troops]]
''Slamat'' was in the Mediterranean by 23 April, and on the 24th she was one of six merchant ships that left [[Alexandria Port|Alexandria]] with Convoy [[List of World War II convoy codes#A|AG]] 14 for Greece. British, Australian and New Zealand forces were spread over much of Greece, so on 26 April when AG 14 reached Greek waters, it split to reach different embarkation points.<ref name=Ziggo>{{cite web |url= http://members.ziggo.nl/haddock2/slamat/bron/sinkingofslamat.htm |title=The sinking of the Slamat, April 27th 1941. Operation Demon |work=Dutch Passenger Ships: Willem Ruys, Sibajak, Slamat, Indrapoera, Insulinde, Patria |date=4 November 2010 |accessdate=7 January 2014}}</ref> ''Slamat'' and a smaller troop ship, the {{GRT|7513}} {{SS|Khedive Ismail||2}} managed by [[British-India Steam Navigation Company|British-India Line]], were ordered with the cruiser {{HMS|Calcutta|D82|6}} and a number of destroyers to [[Nafplio|Nauplia]]<ref name=Gazette3052>{{cite news |url= http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38293/supplements/3052 |title=Report on Evacuation of British Troops from Greece, April, 1941 |newspaper=Supplement to [[The London Gazette]] |issue=38293 |page=3052 |date=19 May 1948 |accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> and [[Tolo, Greece|Tolon]] on the [[Argolic Gulf]] in the eastern [[Peloponnese]]. The corvette {{HMS|Salvia|K97|6}} swept Nauplia Bay for [[Naval mine|mines]] before the ships arrived.<ref name=Ziggo/>

''[[Luftwaffe]]'' air reconnaissance found AG 14 at noon on 26 April.<ref name=Ziggo/> The invaders had air superiority, and [[Royal Air Force]] capacity to resist was being reduced daily.<ref name=Gazette3050>{{cite news |url= http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38293/supplements/3050 |title=Report on Evacuation of British Troops from Greece, April, 1941 |newspaper=Supplement to [[The London Gazette]] |issue=38293 |page=3050 |date=19 May 1948 |accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> On 24 April the [[Belfast Steamship Company]] troop ship {{MV|Ulster Prince|1929|2}} had grounded in the fairway in Nauplia Bay, blocking ship access to the port. The next day an air attack turned the grounded ship into a total loss.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38293/supplements/3047 |title=Report on Evacuation of British Troops from Greece, April, 1941 |newspaper=Supplement to [[The London Gazette]] |issue=38293 |page=3047 |date=19 May 1948 |accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> Ships would now have to anchor in the bay and [[Ship's tender|tenders]] would be needed to bring troops and equipment out to them from the shore, so the [[landing ship, infantry]] {{MV|Glenearn|1938|2}} (a converted [[Glen Line]] merchant ship) was sent to deliver several [[Landing Craft Assault]] to Nauplia. However, on 26 April a [[Junkers Ju 87]] ''Stuka'' attack disabled ''Glenearn'',<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38293/supplements/3048 |title=Report on Evacuation of British Troops from Greece, April, 1941 |newspaper=Supplement to [[The London Gazette]] |issue=38293 |page=3048 |date=19 May 1948 |accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref> so she put her LCAs ashore for use at [[Monemvasia]] and was towed to [[Souda Bay]]. ''En route'' to Nauplia the convoy was attacked by aircraft and a number of bombs hit ''Slamat'', causing heavy damage on B and C decks, destroying two of her lifeboats and wounding one crewman. The Germans recognised that the ships would embark troops overnight and leave early the next morning (27 April), so ''[[General der Flieger]]'' [[Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen]], commander of the ''[[8th Air Corps (Germany)|VIII. Fliegerkorps]]'', planned to attack the ships as they left their various embarkation points.<ref name=Ziggo/>

[[File:HMS Diamond (H22).jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Diamond|H22|6}} patrolled against submarines off Nauplia, rescued survivors from ''Slamat'', but was then sunk by aircraft.]]
At 2340 hrs on 26 April the light cruisers {{HMS|Orion|85|2}} and {{HMAS|Perth|D29|6}} joined ''Khedive Ismail'', ''Slamat'', ''Calcutta'' and four destroyers in the Bay of Nauplia. The destroyer {{HMS|Diamond|H22|6}} patrolled against the risk of submarines while the other ships took turns to embark troops. The only available tenders were landing craft ''A5'', local [[caïque]]s and the ships' own boats. One caïque, ''Agios Giorgios'', was a large boat with capacity for 600 men. There was a swell and a light wind, and in the dark there were one or two accidents and one ship's [[Whaleboat|whaler]] capsized. ''Calcutta'' and ''Orion'' embarked 960 and 600 troops respectively; the destroyers {{HMS|Hotspur|H01|6}} and {{HMS|Isis|D87|2}} 500 and 408. The slow rate of embarkation meant that ''Khedive Ismail'' did not get her turn and did not embark any troops.

At 0300 hrs ''Calcutta'' ordered all ships to sail, but ''Slamat'' disobeyed and continued embarking troops. ''Calcutta'' and ''Khedive Ismail'' sailed at 0400 hrs; ''Slamat'' followed at 0415 hrs, by which time she had embarked about 500 troops: about half her capacity.<ref name=Gazette3052/> An estimated 700–2,000 men were left behind, but ''Hotspur'' remained at Nauplia to embark as many of them as possible.<ref name=Ziggo/>

==Loss of ''Slamat''==
The convoy steamed south down the Argolic Gulf; ''Calcutta'' and ''Khedive Ismail'' at {{convert|12|kn|km/h}} and ''Slamat'' full ahead at {{convert|16|kn|km/h}} to catch up. At 0645<ref name=Ziggo/> or 0715 hrs<ref name=Gazette3052/> ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' aircraft attacked the convoy off [[Leonidio]]n near the mouth of the gulf. Three [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] fighters attacked first, followed by a ''[[Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–45)#Staffel|Staffel]]'' of nine [[Junkers Ju 87]] ''Stuka'' [[dive bomber]]s from ''[[Sturzkampfgeschwader 77]]'' at [[Almyros]], [[Junkers Ju 88]] and [[Dornier Do 17]] bombers and more Bf 109s.<ref name=Ziggo/> The attackers mainly targeted the troop ships, but anti-aircraft fire from ''Calcutta'' and ''Diamond'' at first prevented aircraft from hitting ''Slamat''. Then a [[SC250 bomb|SC250]] {{convert|250|kg|abbr=on}} bomb exploded between her [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]] and forward funnel, setting the bridge, control room and Master's cabin afire. Her water system became disabled, hampering her crew's ability to fight the fire. Another bomb also hit the ship and she listed to starboard.<ref name=Ziggo/>

''Slamat''{{'}}s [[Sea Captain|Master]], Tjalling Luidinga, gave the order to abandon ship. The bombing and fire had destroyed some of her lifeboats and [[Lifeboat (shipboard)#Liferaft versus lifeboat|life rafts]], and her remaining boats and rafts were launched under a second ''Stuka'' attack.<ref name=KRLMuseum>{{cite web |url=http://www.krlmuseum.nl/Slamat/SLAMAT-Engels.htm |last=van Lierde |first=Eduard |title=Slamat Commemoration |publisher=Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd Te Oudehorne |accessdate=6 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106234624/http://www.krlmuseum.nl/Slamat/SLAMAT-Engels.htm |archive-date=6 January 2014 }}</ref> ''Hotspur'' reported seeing four bombs hit ''Slamat''. At least two lifeboats capsized; No. 10 from overloading and No. 4 when, in the midst of transferring survivors, ''Diamond'' had to speed away from her to evade an air attack. One ''Stuka'' pilot, Bertold Jung, saw "one or two" fellow-pilots machine-gunning survivors in the boats. Jung had served in the 
German navy, and back at Almyros airfield he complained very strongly that people in lifeboats had suffered enough so in future they should be spared.<ref name=Ziggo/>

[[File:HMS Wryneck 1940 AWM P00219.013.jpeg|thumb|{{HMS|Wryneck|D21|6}} came to ''Diamond''{{'}}s aid, rescued survivors from ''Slamat'' but was then sunk along with ''Diamond''.]]
''Orion'', ''Isis'' and ''Khedive Ismail'' kept moving to reach [[Souda Bay]], while ''Calcutta'' rescued some survivors and ordered the destroyer ''Diamond'' to go alongside ''Slamat'' to rescue more. At 0815 hrs ''Diamond'' reported that she was still rescuing survivors and still under air attack. At 0916 hrs the destroyers {{HMAS|Vendetta|D69|6}}, {{HMAS|Waterhen|D22|6}} and {{HMS|Wryneck|D21|6}} arrived from [[Souda Bay]] in [[Crete]] to reinforce the convoy, so ''Calcutta'' sent ''Wryneck'' to assist ''Diamond''. At 0925 hrs ''Diamond'' reported that she had rescued most of the survivors and was proceeding to Souda Bay. She left several people behind on life rafts, where aircraft machine-gunned them. ''Calcutta''{{'}}s captain said the attack continued until about 1000 hrs.<ref name=Ziggo/> ''Wryneck'' reached ''Diamond'' about 1000 hrs<ref name=Ziggo/> and signalled a request for aircraft cover at 1025 hrs.<ref name=Gazette3052/>

''Diamond'' accompanied by ''Wryneck'' returned to ''Slamat'', arriving about 1100 hrs. The destroyers found ''Slamat''{{'}}s No. 10 and No. 4 lifeboats, both of which had been righted. They rescued 30 troops and two Dutch crew from No. 10 and ''Slamat''{{'}}s [[Second mate|Second Officer]] and several other survivors from No. 4. ''Slamat'' was afire from stem to stern, and ''Diamond'' fired a torpedo at her port side that sank her in a ''[[coup de grâce]]''.<ref name=Ziggo/><ref name=KRLMuseum/> By now ''Diamond'' carried about 600 of ''Slamat''{{'}}s survivors, including Captain Luidinga.<ref name=Ziggo/>

==Loss of ''Diamond'' and ''Wryneck''==
About 1315 hrs a ''Staffel'' of between four and nine Ju 87 bombers came out of the sun in a surprise attack on the two destroyers.<ref name=Ziggo/>

One bomb hit ''Diamond''{{'}}s [[engine room]], stopping her engines and bringing down her funnel, mast and radio aerial. Another exploded in the sea off her port side, holing her hull below her foredeck. Her engine room [[petty officer]], H.T. Davis, had been on deck, but rushed below and released the pressure from her No. 3 boiler to prevent the risk of a boiler explosion.<ref name=Ziggo/> She sank in eight minutes. Both of her lifeboats were destroyed, but her crew launched her three [[Carley float]]s.<ref name=Ziggo/>

Three bombs hit ''Wryneck''. The first exploded on her port side and damaged her hull; the second and third hit her engine room and bridge. Her [[Petty officer#United Kingdom|Commissioned Engineer]], Maurice Waldron, shut down her boilers and brought on deck a wounded Australian officer whom he had been looking after and put him in a Carley float. ''Wryneck'' capsized to [[Port and starboard|port]] but managed to launch her [[Whaleboat|whaler]] and three Carley floats before she sank in 10–15 minutes.<ref name=Ziggo/>

[[Lieutenant commander#Royal Navy|Lt Cdr]] Philip Cartwright, who commanded ''Diamond'', was on a Carley float but gave his place to a sailor who was in the water. Cartwright was not seen again.<ref name=Ziggo/> Several men in the Carley floats died either from wounds or from drowning in the swell. They included Lt Cdr Robert Lane who commanded ''Wryneck'', and Dr G.H. Brand who was the civilian [[ship's doctor]] on ''Slamat''.<ref name=Ziggo/>

==Rescues==
''Wryneck''{{'}}s whaler suffered two holes but was repaired. Her occupants were wet through, her compass was damaged and her drinking water contaminated. Her four oars were serviceable, so Commissioned Engineer Waldron took command and she set off east past [[Cape Maleas]], towing two Carley floats and their occupants.<ref name=Ziggo/> In the evening the wind increased, causing the floats to strike the boat, so Waldron reluctantly cast them adrift. Waldron was also nursing a Leading Seaman, George Fuller, who had bullet wounds in his belly and thigh.<ref name=Ziggo/>

At 1900 the cruiser {{HMS|Phoebe|43|6}} and seven destroyers reached Souda Bay and disembarked evacuated troops. The [[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]], Light Forces, [[Henry Pridham-Wippell]], became concerned that ''Diamond'' was not among them. Between 1922 and 1955 hrs repeated attempts to radio ''Diamond'' drew no reply. ''Wryneck'' had been ordered to keep [[radio silence]] so no attempt was made to radio her. Instead ''Phoebe'' and ''Calcutta'' were asked if they had seen her, but their replies at 2235 and 2245 hrs were indefinite.<ref name=Gazette3053>{{cite news |url= http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38293/supplements/3053 |title=Report on Evacuation of British Troops from Greece, April, 1941 |newspaper=Supplement to [[The London Gazette]] |issue=38293 |page=3053 |date=19 May 1948 |accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref>

[[File:HMS Griffin (H31) IWM FL 013646.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Griffin|H31|6}} rescued survivors from ''Wryneck'' and ''Diamond'', some of whom were survivors from ''Slamat''. She later took the survivors from [[Souda Bay]] to [[Port Said]].]]
Pridham-Wippell sent the destroyer {{HMS|Griffin|H31|6}} to the position in the Argolic Gulf where ''Slamat'' had been lost. ''Griffin'' found 14 survivors in two Carley floats. At 0240 hrs she reported the rescue, said both destroyers had been sunk about 1330 hrs and she was still looking for ''Wryneck''{{'}}s whaler. In the morning she found more floats and another four survivors. She took the survivors to Crete.<ref name=Ziggo/>

The last living survivor from ''Slamat'',<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.krlmuseum.nl/Slamat/Slamatbirmail.htm |last=Chadwick |first=Edward |title=Move over, Clooney, meet George Dexter |newspaper=[[Birmingham Mail]] |year=2009 |accessdate=6 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108030705/http://www.krlmuseum.nl/Slamat/Slamatbirmail.htm |archive-date=8 January 2014 }}</ref> [[Royal Army Service Corps]] veteran George Dexter, states that after ''Wryneck'' was sunk he and three other men were rescued by ''Orion''.<ref name=BMail>{{cite news |url= http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/birmingham-veteran-tells-luftwaffe-escape-6310225 |last=Richardson |first=Andy |title=Ships I was on were BOTH sunk on the same day – and I lived to tell tale |newspaper=[[Birmingham Mail]] |date=5 November 2013 |accessdate=6 January 2014}}</ref>

On the morning of 28 April the whaler was about {{convert|30|nmi|km}} off [[Milos]] in the [[Aegean Sea]], so she set course for the island. At noon she sighted Ananes Rock, about {{convert|13|nmi|km}} southeast of Milos, so Waldron decided to land there as everyone was exhausted. The rock has a bay, where the whaler found a caïque full of Greek refugees and British soldiers who had set out from [[Piraeus]], were headed for Crete, but were sailing only by night to avoid detection. In the evening the caïque left Ananes and headed south for Crete. As many as possible of the survivors transferred to the caïque, but she was very full so she towed the whaler with five men still in it. On the morning of 29 April the caïque sighted a [[Landing Craft Assault|small landing craft]], ''A6'', which had set out from [[Porto Rafti]] near Athens. She took aboard everyone from the caïque and whaler, and the next day they reached Souda Bay. After a short stay the survivors from ''Slamat'', ''Diamond'' and ''Wryneck'' were taken on HMS ''Hotspur'' to [[Port Said]], Egypt.<ref name=Ziggo/>

==Casualties==
Nearly 1,000 people were killed in the loss of ''Slamat'', ''Diamond'' and ''Wryneck''. Of the 500 or so soldiers that ''Slamat'' embarked, eight survived.<ref name=Gazette3053/> Of her complement of 193 crew and 21 Australian and New Zealand [[Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship|DEMS]] gunners, 11 survived. Of ''Diamond''{{'}}s 166 complement, 20 survived. Of ''Wryneck''{{'}}s 106 crew, 27 survived. ''Slamat'' had a mixed crew of 84 [[Goans]], 74 Dutch, 24 Chinese, 10 Australians and a Norwegian. The 11 survivors were six Goans, four Dutch and one other.<ref name=KRLMuseum/>

The bodies of three of ''Slamat''{{'}}s crew washed ashore far from the wreck: apprentice helmsman J Pille on the Greek island of Stamperia, [[Second mate|Second Officer]] G van der Woude at Alexandria in Egypt, and lamp trimmer J van der Brugge at [[Gaza City|Gaza]] in [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]].<ref name=Ziggo/>

==Controversy==
[[File:Winston Churchill cph.3b12010.jpg|thumb|[[Winston Churchill]] called Captain Luidinga's delay "gallant but misguided".]]
Vice Admiral Pridham-Wippell held ''Slamat'' chiefly responsible of the disaster, asserting that her failure to depart until 75 minutes after she was ordered "resulted in her being within range of the dive bombers well after dawn."<ref name=Gazette3050/> In a volume of his history ''[[The Second World War (book series)|The Second World War]]'', [[Winston Churchill]] wrote "At Navplion there was a disaster. The Slamat, in a gallant but misguided effort to embark the maximum number of men, stayed too long in the anchorage". The Dutch historian Karel Bezemer agreed that had ''Slamat'' obeyed orders and left on time, the convoy would not have been attacked.<ref name=Ziggo/>

Frans Luidinga, who in 1995 published a book about his father Tjalling Luidinga, points out that had ''Slamat'' left on time, the convoy would have been only {{convert|20|nmi|km}} further south at the time of the attack. This was still in range from Jg 77's base at Almyros and unlikely to have given enough advantage to the RAF's diminished fighter cover. The Germans knew the convoy would spend the night of 26–27 April evacuating troops from Nauplia and would not be far beyond the Argolic Gulf by daybreak. Frans Luidinga blames the [[Royal Navy]] for including troop ships in the evacuation, asserting that only warships had the speed, manoeuvrability and firepower to return from Nauplia under fire.<ref name=Ziggo/>

Against Luidinga's argument, the troop ship ''Khedive Ismail'' survived whereas the destroyers ''Diamond'' and ''Wryneck'' were sunk. And had the convoy been 20 nautical miles further south, ''Vendetta'', ''Waterhen'' and ''Wryneck'' could have met it at 0800 instead of 0915 hrs, increasing both its anti-aircraft fire and capacity to rescue survivors. The distance from Almyros allowed the same ''Stukas'' to make repeated attack runs, although on the flight back to base one stopped at [[Corinth]] to refuel. Increasing their round trip by 40 nautical miles might have marginally reduced the aircraft's ability to attack repeatedly.

The general situation was such that had ''Slamat'' left on time as ordered, it would have been more likely only to mitigate an attack rather than avert one. The Admiralty may have been as concerned at the general risk arising from Allied and civilian ships not following Royal Navy orders, as at any direct loss that Luidinga's delay may or may not have caused.

==Awards and monuments==
In November 1941 Philip Cartwright of HMS ''Diamond'' was posthumously made a Companion of the [[Distinguished Service Order]]. From HMS ''Wryneck'', Maurice Waldron received the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Cross]] and George Fuller the [[Conspicuous Gallantry Medal]]. The [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] took the unusual step of publishing in ''[[The London Gazette]]'' its citation for Fuller: ''"who, though badly wounded, fought his gun till the last, and when his ship was sunk, heartened the survivors by his courage and cheerfulness"''.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/35342/supplements/6494 |title=Admiralty |newspaper=Supplement to [[The London Gazette]] |issue=35342 |page=6494 |date=7 November 1941 |accessdate=7 January 2014}}</ref>

In May 1945 [[Netherlands in World War II#Liberation|the Netherlands were liberated]] and the Dutch government returned from exile. In August 1946 Queen [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands]] wrote to Captain Luidinga's widow, expressing her sympathy for her husband's death, gratitude for his war service and commending him as ''een groot zoon van ons zeevarend volk'' ("a great son of our seafaring people").<ref name=KRLMuseum/>

[[File:Συμμαχικό νεκροταφείο μνήμης 2ου παγκοσμίου πολέμου στο Φάληρο.jpg|thumb|Part of the Athens Memorial in the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|CWGC]]'s [[Phaleron Allied War Cemetery]]]]
British and [[British Commonwealth|Commonwealth]] troops and naval personnel who were lost in the sinking of ''Slamat'', ''Diamond'' and ''Wryneck'' are named on the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]]'s Athens Memorial in [[Phaleron Allied War Cemetery]] at [[Palaio Faliro]] southeast of Athens.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2022200/PHALERON%20WAR%20CEMETERY |title=Phaleron War Cemetery |work=Cemetery details |publisher=Commonwealth War Graves Commission }}</ref> Royal Navy personnel are also commemorated in Britain on the Royal Navy monuments at [[Chatham Naval Memorial|Chatham]], [[Plymouth Naval Memorial|Plymouth]] and [[Portsmouth]]. George Dexter commissioned a monument to all the service personnel lost when the three ships were sunk. It is in [[The Royal British Legion]] Club, [[Shard End]], [[Birmingham]].<ref name=BMail/>

There was no Dutch monument to ''Slamat'' until 2011, when one commemorating victims from all three ships was made by the Dutch sculptor Nicolas van Ronkenstein. It was installed in the ''[[Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk (Rotterdam)|Sint-Laurenskerk]]'' ("St Lawrence Church"), Rotterdam and formally unveiled on the 70th anniversary of the disaster, 27 April.<ref name=KRLMuseum/>

On 27 June 2012 the current {{HMS|Diamond|D34|6}} hosted a wreath-laying ceremony at the position where ''Slamat'' was sunk. Participants included ''Diamond''{{'}}s commander, descendants of some of the dead from the Netherlands and New Zealand, and the Commander in Chief of the [[Hellenic Navy]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/News-and-Events/Latest-News/2012/June/27/120627-Diamond-HMS-Diamond-pays-tribute-to-wartime-victims |title=HMS Diamond pays tribute to wartime victims |publisher=[[Royal Navy]] |date=27 June 2012 |accessdate=8 January 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources and further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Bezemer |first=K.W.L. |year=1987 |title=Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse Koopvaardij in de Tweede Wereldoorlog |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=90-100-6040-3 |language=nl }}
*{{cite book |last=Crabb |first=Brian James |year=2021 |title=Operation Demon. The story of the evacuation of British Commonwealth troops from mainland Greece and the tragic loss of the Dutch troopship Slamat and HM destroyers Diamond and Wryneck in April 1941 |publisher=Angela Young |isbn=978-1-527271-01-2 |language=english }}
*{{cite book |last=Luidinga |first=Frans |year=1995 |title=Operation Demon. Het Scheepsjournal van Tjalling Luidinga 1890-1941. Gezagvoerder Bij de Rotterdamse Lloyd. |publisher=self-published |isbn=978-90-802461-2-6 |language=nl }}

[[Category:Battle of Greece]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1941]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:History of the Aegean Sea]]