Arthur Ball and RMS Lancastria

 Ball Arthur (35) Pte 46 Coy AMPC 2188568 Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps

80 years ago next week, on 17th June 1940, Arthur Ball lost his life on his 35th birthday, when the RMS Lancastria was sunk by enemy action. Arthur was born In Old Blackwell in 1905, youngest son of John George Ball and Charlotte nee Moakes of Old Farm Cottage. His siblings were Luke, Frederick, Mary ( Polly), Samuel, John George, Joseph, William, George, Albert, Harry, and Edward. Both parents, as well as Joseph, Albert and Harry had passed away by 1940, Harry as a child of 5 years. Many of their descendants live on in our villages.

Arthur had moved from Blackwell, and is thought to have lived at Holmewood, but his name is not listed on the Newton or Holmewood war memorials, so it is fitting to remember him here. His name is on the Dunkirk memorial to the missing.

The story of the sinking of the RMS Lancastria, the worst single disaster in British maritime history, and why that is almost unknown, is told in the website http://www.lancastria.org.uk/ which includes a short video. In summary there were between 2500 and 6000 lives lost, and the news at the time was hidden from an already demoralised public. The Lancastria was a Cunard liner, drafted to the services for the evacuation of France, and up to 9000 men and refugees had been ferried to her by a fleet of smaller vessels off the west coast of France near St Nazaire

As 2188568 Private Ball, with the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps (AMPC), it is believed that Arthur had been evacuated from France to The Lancastria. The site https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/royal-pioneer-corps details the background to the AMPC. An extract reads:

In September 1939, Works Labour Companies were formed from Reservists. A month later, these were grouped together to form the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps (AMPC).

From its inception, this was ranked as a combatant unit - a status no previous pioneer unit had achieved. In June 1940, many of the AMPC's companies had to be pressed into use as combat troops during the Battle of France (1940), before being evacuated.