A WWII disaster that was almost forgotten due to a media blackout imposed by Winston Churchill has been brought to light, after a picture painted by a Falmouth artist was unearthed in Australia.

The artwork, created by Charles Pears, depicts the sinking of the Lancastria, which cost 4,000 people their lives and remains Britain’s worst maritime disaster.

German bombers hit the ship on June 17, 1940, and it sank within 25 minutes, a few miles out to sea near the French port of Saint-Nazaire, but the event was largely ignored by history.

Winston Churchill imposed a media blackout at the time, and no known record of the incident existed until now, as a painting by the Falmouth artist has been unearthed in an auction house in Australia.

The painting was discovered by Jamie Rountree, from Rountree Tryon gallery in London, in an ‘obscure’ auction house in Australia, catalogued as a war scene.

Jamie said: “The painting is a unique historical document, as it is the only known painting by an artist of the time of the Evacuation of St Nazaire, where RMS Lancastria was sunk by German bombers causing the largest maritime disaster in British history.

“The disaster was covered up by Winston Churchill, and to this day remains little known in war records."

Charles Pears, who lived in Falmouth, was an admiralty war artist, but it is unknown why he chose to paint this picture, or where he got his information from.

It is believed that he could have completed the work as a commission for Captain Nicholls, who helped in the rescue mission and was a witness to the event.

Jamie added: “There is a mystery with the painting, in that we can’t quite work out how it got to Australia. One possibility is that the painting was commissioned for Captain Nicholls, the Master of the Oronsay, who became a hero after his navigational room was knocked out by a bomb.

“He still managed to navigate the large liner back to England and safety for around 10,000 soldiers and civilians.

“We think that this painting might be in honour of that. Perhaps Captain Nicholls went to live in Australia after the war, which is why the painting ended up there."

To this day, little is known of the sinking of the Lancastria, despite the mammoth death toll which was higher than the Titanic and the Lusitania combined.

Jamie hopes that the image will be bought by an organisation who can display the painting, so more people can learn the story of the Lancastria.

He said: "Personally I think the painting is important as it shows both the heroic courageousness of individuals in wartime, with the Oronsay on one side of the work, and on the other, the destructive hopelessness that war entails and that can involve both soldiers and civilians.

“Luftwaffe bombers not only strafed the oil-slicked water, but also fired flares, burning everything that had survived.

“The true horrors of war are evident in this work, and we hope that it will be purchased by a public UK institution in order to retain memories of this specific event and to provide a context to the incredible feats that enabled Dunkirk to be such a success.”