TNA ADM 199 795

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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 as 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 narrative is 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. Prom up the river,
along the coast, from the yachting harbours, the pleasure
beaches, Naval porta and fishing towns - anything that would
float, move under its am power, and collect a dozen men or 80
from the beaches where they waited.
The Meat assembly to gather at Sheerness was typical of the
she tlyuermads. A dozen or so of motor yachts
esquipped and amartly
erund a cluster of cheap
itin supueur craftamen who had
sng tound a ship's lifeboat
a that cruiser of sorts
as 1 cruioze up-river reaches.
anotell.