TNA / ADM 234 360

TNA ADM 234 360

Collection details

TNA ADM 234 360

Naval Staff History No. 41, the official historical study of the evacuation from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo, 26 May–4 June 1940, dated 1949.

Holding archive: TNA
Collection reference: ADM 234 360

View the archive catalogue entry ↗

Source: The National Archives, Kew, ADM 234/360. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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

Showing only document page 41. Show all matching pages ×

1 matching pages. OCR may contain transcription errors.

List page 1 of 1 Showing document pages 41–41 of this collection

A note about image and OCR quality

Every reasonable effort has been made to present these document images as flat, straight and accurately cropped as possible. Historical records can be difficult to photograph or scan because of tight bindings, deep gutters, page curvature, folds, creases, fragile paper, uneven edges, shadows, glare, skewed pages, fading, stains, tears, attachments and restrictions on how a document may be handled. These conditions can distort parts of an image and consequently affect the OCR transcription.

Considerable post-production work has been undertaken to crop, align, flatten and enhance the images where practicable, but the results represent our best effort rather than exact facsimiles. Text showing through from the reverse of a page, printed backgrounds, stamps, ruled lines, marks and text visible from neighbouring pages may confuse or spoil OCR output. Handwriting is not reliably recognised and, in most places, may be missing, incomplete or incorrectly transcribed. Always check the page image and, where accuracy matters, consult the original record held by the identified archive.

OCR is not a transcription. It is machine-generated text used to create research tags and help locate names and references within the source images; it should not be read as a verified narrative.

Page	Image	OCR text	OCR tags
41	Log in to enlarge	MONDAY, 27TH MAY CHAP. IV meantime at 2025, the Vice-Admiral, Dover, received another signal sent only a few minutes later: " Port continuously bombed all day and on fire. Embarkation possible only from beaches east of harbour A.B.C.D.¹ Send all ships and passenger ships there to anchor. Am ordering Wolfhound to load there and sail. T.O.O.2005." To the Vice-Admiral, Dover, the situation must have appeared critical when, later that evening, he received a report from two military officers from G.H.Q., that the plight of the B.E.F. was precarious and that the enemy might, indeed, succeed in cutting it off from Dunkirk.² All ships diverted to the beaches Such was the grim picture presenting itself to the Vice-Admiral, Dover, that night - the B.E.F. in grave and very real danger of being cut off altogether from Dunkirk, and possibly only a bare 24 hours available for its evacuation. Admiral Ramsay reacted to these dire tidings with characteristic drive and energy, and a period of intense activity ensued. Every effort was concentrated on sending as many craft as possible to the beaches without delay². Order followed order in rapid succession. Personnel ships were diverted to the beach, code letters A, B, C and D (i.e. Malo beach). Four paddle minesweepers³ were sailed from the Downs to La Panne beach. Destroyers were rushed to the beaches and urged to embark as many British troops as possible, as this was the last chance of saving them "; the Gallant, and Vivacious, then on patrol, the Windsor, Vimy, Anthony, Impulsive, Sabre and the cruiser Calcutta, were all ordered to proceed with the utmost despatch to the beach at Malo-les-Bains and the beach at Zuydcoote, just east of it; the Grafton and Greyhound, on patrol between Fairy Bank and Kwint Bank buoys, and the Wakeful, just arrived at Dover from Plymouth, were hurried to the beach at La Panne. The wording of some of the signals4 conveying these orders reflects the desperation felt that night, a desperation which, in spite of the course of subsequent events, was at the time only too well-founded. " Had the situation appeared less critical," observes Admiral Ramsay, an organised flow of large and small craft, working in reliefs, would have been arranged."⁵ Yet a further batch of vessels arrived off the beaches that evening; the 17 available flare-burning drifters of the Dover Auxiliary Patrol⁶ had sailed for Dunkirk during the afternoon, and on arriving were diverted to the beaches by the Wolfhound, in accordance with a signal from the Vice-Admiral, Dover⁷, and anchored close inshore. The boats from the Wolfhound and Wolsey, and I These letters refer to an arrangement, whereby at the commencement of Dynamo' the Dunkirk beaches were described by a letter code referring to Map G.S.G.S. 4040, Sheet 29, 1/50,000. The lengths of beach lying in each 1000 metre map square were lettered, west to east, commencing with "A" at square 2686 in sequence to "0" at square 3990. (Appx. N. 10). Under this arrangement, A.B.C.D. actually refers to the beach at Malo-les-Bains. This arrangement appears to have fallen into disuse on and after 29th May, when the stretch of beach, one mile east of Dunkirk to one mile east of La Panne, was divided into 3 equal parts, referred to as La Panne, Bray and Malo, from east to west, with a mile gap between each part. (Appendix O. 11). 2 D.R. page 3, para. 8. 3 The Sandown, Medway Queen, Brighton Belle and Gracie Fields. 4 See Appendices D. 3, D. 4, D. 5, D. 7, and D. 8. 5 D.R., p.3, para. 38. 6 They were the Netsukis, Lord Howard, Lord Howe, Golden Sunbeam, Midas, Golden Gift, Girl Pamela, Paxton, Boy Roy, Eileen Emma, Girl Gladys, Forecast, Ut Prosim, Yorkshire Lass, Young Mun, Shipmates and Torbay II. 7 Appendix D.6. 23	Anthony Boy Roy Calcutta Cruiser Eileen Eileen Emma Evening Forecast Gallant Girl Gladys Girl Pamela Golden Gift Golden Sunbeam Grave Lord Howard Lord Howe Midas Netsukis Paxton Queen Sabre Sandown Shipmates Sunbeam Torbay II Vivacious Windsor Wolsey Day Dover Few Last May Page West Young

Raw OCR

Unformatted machine-generated OCR for document page 41.

MONDAY, 27TH MAY
CHAP. IV
meantime at 2025, the Vice-Admiral, Dover, received another signal sent only
a few minutes later :
" Port continuously bombed all day and on fire. Embarkation possible only
from beaches east of harbour A.B.C.D.¹ Send all ships and passenger ships
there to anchor. Am ordering Wolfhound to load there and sail. T.O.O.2005."
To the Vice-Admiral, Dover, the situation must have appeared critical
when, later that evening, he received a report from two military officers from
G.H.Q., that the plight of the B.E.F. was precarious and that the enemy might,
indeed, succeed in cutting it off from Dunkirk.²
All ships diverted to the beaches
Such was the grim picture presenting itself to the Vice-Admiral, Dover, that
night - the B.E.F. in grave and very real danger of being cut off altogether from
Dunkirk, and possibly only a bare 24 hours available for its evacuation. Admiral
Ramsay reacted to these dire tidings with characteristic drive and energy,
and a period of intense activity ensued. Every effort was concentrated on
sending as many craft as possible to the beaches without delay². Order
followed order in rapid succession. Personnel ships were diverted to the
beach, code letters A, B, C and D (i.e. Malo beach). Four paddle minesweepers³
were sailed from the Downs to La Panne beach. Destroyers were rushed to the
beaches and urged to embark as many British troops as possible, as this was
the last chance of saving them "; the Gallant, and Vivacious, then on patrol,
the Windsor, Vimy, Anthony, Impulsive, Sabre and the cruiser Calcutta, were
all ordered to proceed with the utmost despatch to the beach at Malo-les-Bains
and the beach at Zuydcoote, just east of it; the Grafton and Greyhound, on
patrol between Fairy Bank and Kwint Bank buoys, and the Wakeful, just
arrived at Dover from Plymouth, were hurried to the beach at La Panne.
The wording of some of the signals4 conveying these orders reflects the
desperation felt that night, a desperation which, in spite of the course of sub-
sequent events, was at the time only too well-founded. " Had the situation
appeared less critical," observes Admiral Ramsay, an organised flow of large
and small craft, working in reliefs, would have been arranged."⁵
Yet a further batch of vessels arrived off the beaches that evening; the
17 available flare-burning drifters of the Dover Auxiliary Patrol⁶ had sailed
for Dunkirk during the afternoon, and on arriving were diverted to the beaches
by the Wolfhound, in accordance with a signal from the Vice-Admiral, Dover⁷,
and anchored close inshore. The boats from the Wolfhound and Wolsey, and
I These letters refer to an arrangement, whereby at the commencement of Dynamo'
the Dunkirk beaches were described by a letter code referring to Map G.S.G.S. 4040,
Sheet 29, 1/50,000. The lengths of beach lying in each 1000 metre map square were
lettered, west to east, commencing with "A" at square 2686 in sequence to "0" at
square 3990. (Appx. N. 10). Under this arrangement, A.B.C.D. actually refers to the
beach at Malo-les-Bains.
This arrangement appears to have fallen into disuse on and after 29th May, when the
stretch of beach, one mile east of Dunkirk to one mile east of La Panne, was divided into
3 equal parts, referred to as La Panne, Bray and Malo, from east to west, with a mile gap
between each part. (Appendix O. 11).
2 D.R. page 3, para. 8.
3
The Sandown, Medway Queen, Brighton Belle and Gracie Fields.
4 See Appendices D. 3, D. 4, D. 5, D. 7, and D. 8.
5 D.R., p.3, para. 38.
6 They were the Netsukis, Lord Howard, Lord Howe, Golden Sunbeam, Midas, Golden
Gift, Girl Pamela, Paxton, Boy Roy, Eileen Emma, Girl Gladys, Forecast, Ut Prosim, York-
shire Lass, Young Mun, Shipmates and Torbay II.
7 Appendix D.6.
23