Details

ALPHACCA
Motor lifeboat of the Dutch S.S. Alphacca.
25th May
(See Glen Avon)
united from Poole to Fortanouth.
26th May
At Portemouth+ ship and
stored with provisions,
Datta
swong ship for complise adjustment.
Salled at dear for Nowanvon, In
company the Thoots vacific. Atlontic,
1030 and Freeboll.
27th May
0005
Sighted & surfaced subscribe * mile
anot of Owars L.V.
0400
Anchored outside Demaven harbour.
Suiled at dark for the Downe, In
company with other skoots, led by the
Foxglove,
2016 say(1)
0500ca
Arrived Dover.
130000
Called "for operation Dynamo", in
company with 5 other skoots (including
the Pacific and the Poscholli
Amazone led the skoots first, but
Toil Schind.
cile enst of Bray, besched the
bowe the Sent the ship's
2 bonts in.
19th May
0500
About 100 troops embarked. Proceeded.
1000am
Accived Dover. Discmbarked 100
3
0230
Sailed in company with Pacific but seen
lost touch.
1000m
Areived off Bray, Embarked about 400
troops, and sent in water druns by
the expty Sests.
1915
Proceeded, by route Y, the St. Fredanja
in concery.
2010
orr Middel Kerite bucy, a bomber dropped
3 bowns Please the Fredania.
1013
3 more bombo dropped close to
1018
5 before dropped between Amazone and
No damage to America.
2050es
Mashine gunned: 4 soldiers wounded.
Proceeded in company with Fredanja
whose engine bolts were fractured
and compasa damaged.
31st way
06:5ea
Arrived Ramagate, Disembarked 320
.E.P. And 16 Tranch, (3)
1215
Left Hamagate for
1440
Amazone fired at & bomber (wirendy
desaged by destroyers) with flow
past, low on the port fell
in eea 200 yarde actern.
1550
east or
Dunkiys. Sent ropa In to lirebont
with the intention or hauling it off
(1) Lt. Cdr. Phillips given two reporte, In one he states that
he sailed from Dover D.C. 27th) in the other, Date 20th.
It 1n considered that p.m. 20th to correct.
(2) D.R. dates this disemberkation 28th May. D.R. also states
that on 29th way, the Americane diseabarked 400 troops.
[The Amergone only made 3
(3) Recisgate report, and D.R.
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/
GLEN AVON (P.m/s). 8th M.S.F.
Ty. Lieut. B.H. Loyns, R.N.R.
30th May
1340
2225
Left Harwich for Dunkirk beaches.
La Panne. Anchored close inshore.
Engaged inshore. enemy aircraft. Sent boats
2245
Embarkation of troops commenced.
31st May
0400ca
Ship went aground.
0525
587 officers and men of the B.E.F. and
3 French officers on board.
Refloated. Engaged enemy A/C, be-
lieved to have been shot down.
Proceeded.
1520
Arrived Harwich. Secured alongside the
M/S Snaefell. Disembarked 590
troops. (1)
1st June
1450
Sailed for the beaches, with cutters
and a motor boat in tow.
on passage two of the cutters became
damaged and were cut adrift.
[2230ca]
When one mile west of Dunkirk mole, what
was "apparently a trawler" [it was
the F.A.A. yacht Grive] was seen to
blow up. There were several small
craft in her vicinity. (4)
2245
Arrived off Malo-les-Bains beach.
2315
Sent away lifeboats and commenced em-
barkation. The ship's M/B broke
down and had to be abandoned.
2nd June
0300
Ordered by the beach officer to sail.
There were 295 officers and men
aboard.
0430
Met a M.L.B. of the S.S. Alphacca(2)
with 3 French soliders and 24
Spaniards. Embarked them, searched
them and placed them under arrest.
Sank the M.L.B.
1145
Arrived Harwich. Disembarked 295
troops(3) and the 27 rescued men.
Total 888
Authority - R.O.I., p.252.
The following awards were made:
Mention in Despatches
Sea. A.G. Farrow.
(1) D.R. states that the "trawler Glenavon" disembarked 652
(2) A Dutch troops. ship of 5759 tons. port of Co. origin, Rotterdam.
(3) Owners, Van that the "trawler Glenavon" the Grive disembarked blew up 294. at
Nievelt Goudriaan &
(4) D.R. Including states the tr. Gula, which says
2345.
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DUSK TO DUSK, 1ST-2ND JUNE
CHAP. x
valuable service in the operation. The Glen Avon, which sailed a quarter
of ing an hour after the Medway Queen, also picked up 24 Spaniards, from the
Dutch S.S. Alphacca; it is not known how they came to be afloat, for the
Alphacca was not sunk until 4 April 1942. The Lydd left at the same time as
the Medway Queen, with 200 troops, but defective degaussing then necessitated
and Royal Eagle all sailed within half an hour of one another. The last ship
putting an end to her service in Operation' Dynamo". The Niger, Snaefell,
to leave Malo beach was, by her own account, the Glen Gower at 0320, as day
wa breaking, by which time it was low water. Her Captain, Acting Commander
M. A. O. Biddulph, R.N., S.O. 8th M.S.F., reported that the embarkation
had been very trying, for the enemy's gunfire during the night had been
mainly directed at the beaches, which had been very heavily shelled¹,
and the Glen Gower was continually under fire from guns and howitzers on shore
from the time she anchored at 2355. "Sight and hearing were almost over-
whelmed by the ruddy glow of flames, the flashes of gunfire, the shrieking of
shells all around, and the noise of their explosion as they burst". When the
Glen Gower sailed, with 435 troops, she had lost two of the boats (one from shrap-
nel hits) which she had brought from England to ferry troops from the beach
to the ships, whilst a third was left aground.
Of all the minesweepers that left the beach this night only the Snaefell was
filled to capacity.
Embarkations at Dunkirk
Although there were more ships than were required off the beaches there
was plenty of room at the East Pier, and during the night Rear-Admiral Wake-
Walker, who had come over from Dover and was afloat in M.A /S.B.10, diverted
some of the redundant ships from Malo. He met the minesweeper Sutton at
2121 and sent her to load at the East Pier, where she embarked in about 11/2
hours 725 troops, about a third of whom were French. The Duchess of Fife
arrived off Malo at 2310, found no troops and was sent on to Dunkirk Pier
where she embarked 550 men. The destroyer Venomous had come over to
Malo with a beach party of 10 officers and 90 men; no boats came off from the
shore, and at 0200 Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker sent her to Dunkirk, where
she took on board 632 troops and sailed for Dover about 0230. The paddle
minesweeper Marmion was ordered into Dunkirk Harbour at 0200 on 2nd,
after waiting in the roads for four hours, and embarked 225 French troops.
Ships were led into harbour and allocated to their berths by Commander Maund
in a motor boat.
French troops, to the number of 285, were also embarked by the trawler
(danlayer) Strathelliot alongside the inner jetty amongst them was General
Nicolle and his staff. The Strathelliot grounded outside the harbour on sailing
at 0130 but got off undamaged, by her own efforts. Another small ship to get
away early with French troops only on board was the skoot Reiger which left
the jetty in the Nouvel Avant Port at 2215 on 1st after lifting 330 men in 45
minutes.
The first pair of destroyers to berth alongside the East Pier were the Codring-
ton at 2300 and the Sabre a quarter of an hour later. The former embarked
878 troops, the latter 756 both ships taking only 45 minutes. The Icarus
which left Dover with the Windsor, also berthed at 2300 and took on board
677 troops. On the way home, she was in collision with a trawler in Dunkirk
Channel, and her further service in Operation "Dynamo" was cancelled.
I Report of R. A. Wake-Walker, M.017978/41, p.31.
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INDEX
References are to pages.
A.5, (Belgian), 107n. 29.
Abrial, Abel Admiral, 12, 51, 61, 68, 85, 96, 105-7, 113, 115, 116, 120.
Tasman, 20,
Abukir, Adam, Lt. sunk, Gen. 28. Sir R., 18 (organises Dunkirk bridgehead), 26, 35.
Advance, 53.
Adventuress, 60n.
Aegir, 91.
Aidie, 71n, 95 (sunk).
Ahola, 71n.
Air, (see Royal Air Force) : cover for evacuation ships, 5; co-operation with B.E.F., 7;
co-operation with Navy, 123 ; German ordered to concentrate attacks on shipping, 83.
Aircraft, Naval operating under Coastal Command, XIII.
Albury, 28n, 44, 53-4, 86, 97, 107n, 109, 114n, 116, 119.
A.L.C.3, 52.
A.L.C.5, 47, 52 (rushed by French troops).
A.L.C.4, 51, damaged.
A.L.C.8, 52, 75n.
A.L.C.15, 47, 51, 75n.
A.L.C.16, 45 (sunk), 52.
A.L.C.17, 45, 52 (breaks down).
A.L.C.18, 52 (damaged).
Alcmaria, 71n.
Aldis, Capt. T., 108.
Alexander, Maj.-Gen. Hon. H.R.L.G., 66 (assumes command), 68, 84, 85, 96 (to decide
when evacuation must end), 98, 103, 105, 108 (embarks),
Alice, 20, 29, 30 (abandoned).
Alphacca, 101.
Amazone, 29n.
Ambleve, 60.
A.M.C.3, 71n, 75n.
Amiral du Nord, see Abrial, Adm.
Amulree, 71n, 74 (sunk).
Anderson, Lieut. C. C., 67.
Andora, 71n.
Angèle Marie, 62n, 73n.
Angler II, 32n, 47n.
Ankh, 71n, 74 damaged.
Anna Marguerite, 73n.
Anna Marie, 73.
Anthony, 20n, 23, 24n, 27, 30, 42, 47n, 53, 54n, 55, 64 (damaged), 80.
Archangel, 19, 28.
Argyllshive, sunk, 85.
Arley, 13n, 39, 44.
Aronia, 71n.
Arras, 62, 69.
Arras, lost, 6.
Aura, lost, 100.
Autocarrier, 114n, 118.
Balloons, 75, 84.
Balquhain, 72n.
Barbara Jean, 71n, 95 (sunk).
Barker, Lt.-Gen. M. G. H., 2.
Base Party, British Naval, embarks, 102.
Basilisk, 61, 86, 90-91 (sunk).
Bat, 63.
Bathelemy General, 120.
Beach parties, 21, 49, 65, 70, 77, 79-83.
Beaches embarkation begins, 17, 22 allotted to troops, 18; organised, 23, 31n, 75n
all ships diverted to, 23, 24 ; first supplies reach, 26; weather affects embarkation,
difficulties, 57, 81 ; crowded with troops, 58; difficulties of control, 58 ; marked by
36, 48, 69-70; development of evacuation from, 54, 60; changing situation causes
lights, 58-9; no ships off, 59-60; strewn with motor transport, 69; 30,000 troops
195

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