TNA ADM 199 788 A

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To present a comprehensive view of the whole of the naval
operations at Dunkirk between May 27th and June 5th is a task
for the historian. No man who took an active part can hope
to describe anything beyond the activities of his own particular
unit or section, and only with the passing of time will the
expert be able to piece together the various reports of all who
took part.
This is the story of the small motor-boats and the part
they played, but even here a connected narrativeis difficult,
if not impossible. Each boat with its own tiny crew was thrown
more or less upon its own resources; and upon the fortunes of
war and the initiative of each boat's captain depends the story
each may subsequently tell.
From all around the compass they came. From up the river,
along the coast, from the yachting harbours, the pleasure
beaches, Naval ports and fishing towns - anything that would
float, move under its own power, and collect a dozen men or SO
from the beaches where they waited.
The first assembly to gather at Sheerness was typical of the
whole of this miniature armada. A dozen or so of motor yachts
from 20' to 50' in length; nicely equipped and smartly
maintained by proud individual owners; a cluster of cheap
"conversion jobs" mainly the work of amateur craftsmen who had
set to work in their spare time to convert a ship's lifeboat
or any old half-discarded hull into a cabin cruiser of sorts
for week-end trips on the quiet waters of the up-river reaches.