TNA ADM 199 792

Collection details

TNA ADM 199 792

Admiralty records concerning Operation Dynamo and the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk, covering 1940–1941.

Holding archive: TNA
Collection reference: ADM 199 792

View the archive catalogue entry ↗

Source: The National Archives, Kew, ADM 199/792. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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Page	Image	OCR text	OCR tags
281	Log in to enlarge	313 310 - 5 30/5 at 1017 water. Off shore the water deopons very gradually and a destroyer connot get nosrer than half a mile. At intervals along the coast there ore small towns, seaside resorts, which apposr perched on the top of the dunos which slope there more gently to the beach. Such are La Panno, Braye and St. Malo - red brick houses, protentious villes and the typical modern seaside architecture. But now the growing light showed a different picture - at the water' S câge was a dark line of men and there were large groups of mon all over the beaches. Off Brayo the "BIDEFORD" was ashore with her storn completely blown off by a bomb; the "LOCUST" - a shallow draft river-gunboat - was trying to take her in tow and eventually did BO and got her off and back to England. Further down towards Dunkirk another ship was high and dry and burnt out on the beach - this, I think, was the "CRESTED EAGLE" and there were also many boats of one sort and another broached to on the beach. Lying off the beaches were Destroyers and Sloops, Drifters and other X craft, and men were making their way off in whalers, motor boats and portoon craft. There was a slight swell which made landing difficult and many boats broached to and were stranded by the tide. The visibility was not good and overhead there were low lying clouds - a blossing for which tye were preatly thankful, and which we were not always to enjoy. As soon as it Was light I was able to get some clearer idea of the situation and conditions. The beaches were packed with troops, but they appeared to be orderly and under X proper control. Off the beaches were a few ships as close as they could got and these were being slowly filled up by their own boats and a fow local craft. Ships' motor boats were towing off the whalers assisted by NOVOR launches, but these could not get very close in. Pontoon craft were being paddled off by soldiers but it was not easy to got them back inshere again, often they were left to float away empty. All soon as a Sloop 02' D. Destroyer was full up she left and took her boats with her - the boate' crews were guns' crews and no-one wanted to be without thom. To anyone with an appreciation of the practical difficultion of embarking in small Boats with a long pull to seaverd, the sight of that beach black with troops was dismaying. The musibers increased stoudily as more men filed down the sand dunes and at the back of our minds all the	Bideford Crested Eagle England Black Crews Few Light Long

Raw OCR

Unformatted machine-generated OCR for document page 281.

313
310
- 5
30/5
at 1017 water. Off shore the water deopons very gradually and a destroyer
connot get nosrer than half a mile. At intervals along the coast there ore
small towns, seaside resorts, which apposr perched on the top of the dunos
which slope there more gently to the beach. Such are La Panno, Braye and
St. Malo - red brick houses, protentious villes and the typical modern
seaside architecture. But now the growing light showed a different picture -
at the water' S câge was a dark line of men and there were large groups of mon
all over the beaches. Off Brayo the "BIDEFORD" was ashore with her storn
completely blown off by a bomb; the "LOCUST" - a shallow draft river-gunboat -
was trying to take her in tow and eventually did BO and got her off and back
to England. Further down towards Dunkirk another ship was high and dry and
burnt out on the beach - this, I think, was the "CRESTED EAGLE" and there
were also many boats of one sort and another broached to on the beach.
Lying off the beaches were Destroyers and Sloops, Drifters and other
X
craft, and men were making their way off in whalers, motor boats and portoon
craft.
There was a slight swell which made landing difficult and many boats
broached to and were stranded by the tide. The visibility was not good and
overhead there were low lying clouds - a blossing for which tye were preatly
thankful, and which we were not always to enjoy. As soon as it Was light
I was able to get some clearer idea of the situation and conditions. The
beaches were packed with troops, but they appeared to be orderly and under
X
proper control. Off the beaches were a few ships as close as they could got
and these were being slowly filled up by their own boats and a fow local
craft. Ships' motor boats were towing off the whalers assisted by NOVOR
launches, but these could not get very close in. Pontoon craft were
being paddled off by soldiers but it was not easy to got them back inshere
again, often they were left to float away empty. All soon as a Sloop 02'
D. Destroyer was full up she left and took her boats with her - the boate'
crews were guns' crews and no-one wanted to be without thom.
To anyone with an appreciation of the practical difficultion of
embarking in small Boats with a long pull to seaverd, the sight of that
beach black with troops was dismaying. The musibers increased stoudily as
more men filed down the sand dunes and at the back of our minds all the