Marchioness Disaster
The ''Marchioness'' disaster was a collision between two vessels on the River Thames in London in the early hours of 20 August 1989, which resulted in the deaths of 51 people. The pleasure steamer ''Marchioness'' sank after being hit twice by the dredger ''Bowbelle'' at about 1:46 am, between Cannon Street railway bridge and Southwark Bridge. ''Marchioness'' had been hired for the evening for a birthday party and had about 130 people on board, four of whom were crew and bar staff. Both vessels were heading downstream, against the tide, ''Bowbelle'' travelling faster than the smaller vessel. Although the exact paths taken by the ships, and the precise series of events and their locations, are unknown, the subsequent inquiry considered it likely that ''Bowbelle'' struck ''Marchioness'' from the rear, causing the latter to turn to port, where she was hit again, then pushed along, turning over and being pushed under ''Bowbelle''s bow. It took thirty seconds for ''Marchi ...
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Dunkirk Evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour