THE daughter of a war survivor has been given a medal for her father’s part in a maritime disaster.

More than 5,000 people died, both soldiers and civilians, when the Lancastria was bombed not far from France on June 17, 1940.

Only 2,500 of the passengers survived and one of those was George Richard Thomas Waters, engineer and father of Judy Waters.

At the time, Prime Minister Winston Churchill decided against telling the public about the disaster, because of its harm to morale.

However, some authorities are now acknowledging the tragedy as the worst maritime disaster in Britain’s history.

George Waters died three years ago at the age of 91, but daughter Judy, 63, has been presented with a medal by the Scottish government.

She wore the medal at the Remembrance Sunday service in Walton.

Judy said: “When I see the medal, I am so proud of my dad. He was just an ordinary chap, but he survived. I was so proud to wear the medal at the Remembrance service, it was very moving.

“My father only spoke to me about the Lancastria once. They were told when they came back they were not allowed to speak about it.

“I don’t suppose they want to talk about what they saw. It must have been horrific.

“My dad couldn’t swim. He was in the water for three-and-a-half hours, surrounded by burning oil and bodies.”

The survivors were pulled from the water by numerous vessels that came to their rescue, ranging from Navy destroyers to fishing boats.

While the Scottish government has honoured those who were a part of the tragedy, the UK Government has yet to do so.

Judy, of Walton, said: “I think our Government should recognise this. More people died in that incident than any other like it.

“I am writing to David Cameron about it, and I’m not the sort of person to just give up when I am ignored.”