TNA ADM 199 790

Collection details

TNA ADM 199 790

Admiralty records concerning Operation Dynamo and the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk, dating from 1940.

Holding archive: TNA
Collection reference: ADM 199 790

View the archive catalogue entry ↗

Source: The National Archives, Kew, ADM 199/790. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing only pages tagged with the vessel name Doggersbank. Tags are exact matches from this collection’s OCR tag index. Clear vessel filter ×

2 matching pages. OCR may contain transcription errors.

List page 1 of 1 Showing document pages 448–507 of this collection

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Page

Image

OCR text

OCR tags

448

OCR table 1 from document page 448
And	page AMAZONE 29	13 SAN ANTONIO	tage 129 +22
	ATLANTIC 33+2y 33	+2y SURSUM CORDA	132
	1 BART 39	TINY	136
	BORNRIF 40,274	TWENTE J	138
	BRANDARIS ICEDS-	VREDE	147
abovat p.267)	CARIBIA J	4635 ZEUS	152 123
	DELTA 50	Tilly (vol	III 6265)
	DESPATCH IIV	51023
	DOGGERSBANK 53
	FREDANJA 58	Hebe 22
	FRISO	61+23
	Hele 63 HILDA V
MB	HONDSRUG	79,27
1)300/-	JAVA 84	Elgs 24
also vol III	88 JUTLAND
"	ORANJE	95
	PACIFIC	10/125
	PASCHOLL	106 $23,27
	PATRIA J	111
	REIGER	1224.27 Ruja
	RIKA	126 Lena	27

Abel Tasman Alice Amazone Atlantic Bart Bornrif Brandaris Caribia Delta Doggersbank Fredanja Friso Hebe Hilda Hondsrug Java Jutland KaapFalga Lena Oranje Pacific Pascholl Patria Reiger Rika Ruja San Antonio Sursum Corda Tilly Tiny Twente Vrede Zeus May Page Poole Senior

507

CONFIDENTIAL.
Dynam. 97.
H.M.S. Tynedale.
52
c/o Alex. GOvan Stephen & Sons Ltd.
Glasgow.
7th. June 1940
Sir,
In accordance with verbal instructions received from the
Commodore's secretary R.N. Barracks, Chatham, I have the honour to make the following report of proceedings of H.M.S. Doggersbank for the period Sunday 26th. May to Wednesday 5th. June, in connection with the evacuation of military personnel from
Dunkirk beaches.
2.
I took over the Dutch Scoot "Doggersbank" from her owner captain at Gravesend and commissioned her with a crew of one other Lieutenant R.N. and 9 ratings. We sailed P.M. for Sheerness where we secured alongside at about 2000. Stores adequate in quantity and description were all ready to be loaded into the ship on arrival, the whole organisation being extremely good.
Ship was swung at 0930 next mOrning and we sailed at I600 for
Dunkirk, anchoring in the Thames estuary during the hours of tark darkness.
3. We arrived at Dunkirk about noon on Tuesday 27th. and were told to proceed to Brai Beach where I grounded the ship with a kedge anchor payed out from astern. Our draught (6ft.)
proved however to be too great to enable the soldiers to wade out to us so the life-boat and life saving raft were hoisted out and used to ferry the men from beach to ship. The boats were inx immediately mobbed on arrival inshore and swamped. They were righted and bailed out but considerable difficulty was experienced in preventing too many men trying to embark each trip. Later in the day the Army officers ashore organised their men and military police prevented the men rushing the boats and shot anybody who attempted to do so. This very much expediated the embarkation
By about 2000 Ihad embarked some 450 men most of whom had been on the beach 3 days without food or water though a great many had water bottles full of Whisky. Our stores and fresh water were consequently finished within an hour.
5.
At this time there was a great lack of boats on the beach so I considered that I would be most usefully employed going as close inshore as I was able, colecting a full load X
and then transferring them to bigger craft further out which
I accordingly did, collecting water and biscuits when alongside
Destroyers.
6.
About this time Imanaged to pick up some abandoned boase but had not got the hands to work them so Ijoined all my lines to-gether, sent one end to the beach where I had it hauled up beyond high water mark, the other end I secured to my lifesaving raft which I anchored as far out as my length of lines would allow me. We then proceeded as close inshore as we could, picked up the grass and used it as a ward between ship and shore. The soldiers were very reluctant to wade out to the boats after dark so embarkation became slow despite the guest warp. I had however collected another load by the morning and as there were no Destroyers or other larger craft near the beach I was on I had to take my load up to La Pan.
As far as I....
The Vice-Admiral
Dover.
(Copy to the Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.)

Boat Commodore Doggersbank Thames Day Dover May Ward