TNA ADM 234 360

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FRIDAY, 31ST MAY
CHAP. VIII
from the beach, apparently stragglers. A large rearguard
party probe to Dunkink.of to the the
men the 4th Division) marching along the beach decided
Bray Beach parties return to England
It was on this day that the majority of the beach parties returned to England.
that the enemy were closing in and that it might be expected that the final
Captain Howson records that on the evening of the 30th May he had learnt
evacuation would take place during the following day (31st May) or night at
latest". As he had received orders that beach parties were not to be taken
prisoner², and anticipated that very many troops would be left ashore, he
deemed it undesirable for all naval personnel to embark in the final rush".
Accordingly he arranged that half the naval personnel should embark during
the early hours of Friday (31st May)3.
This arrangement to some extent accounts for V.A. Dover's 1229/31 to Rear-
Admiral Wake-Walker saying that officers and men of beach parties had re-
turned to Dover on instructions from Dunkirk, and that they must be retained
to the last⁴; and his further signals notifying that more beach parties were
being sent out with all despatch in the destroyer Worcester5.
An account of the activities of the beach parties at Bray has been given by
Lieutenants G. W. Vavasour and J. G. Wells, R.N. They were among the 12
officers and 60 ratings, who sailed from Dover in the Esk with Rear-Admiral
Wake-Walker and Commodores Stephenson and Hallett on the 29th May
(Page 49).
On the way over the 12 officers were divided into 3 groups of 4 officers, and
to each of the 12 officers was allocated a party of 1 P.O., 1 Leading Seaman,
2 Able Seamen and a Signalman. Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker told the officers
that on no account were their parties to be captured, and that with this in mind,
they were to re-embark when they thought fit.
On arrival off the various beaches at about 2330 on May 29th the Esk stopped
off each and the 3 beach parties were landed in whalers; one party went to
La Panne where Cdre. Stephenson was to be S.N.O., Afloat, off the beach⁶,
one went west of Bray, and the third went to Bray where Commodore Hallett
was to be S.N.O., Afloat, off the beach. There is no report available of the
activities of the first two parties.
The 4 officers in Cdre. Hallett's section were Lieuts. Vavasour, Wells, Tibbits
and Cameron, R.N., all of H.M.S. Excellent. Cdre. Hallett had previously
explained to these officers that he himself would be afloat approximately in
front of his sections (E, F, G and H) of the beach, and repeated the warning
that the officers were to be the sole judges of when to evacuate the naval parties.
I Capt. Pim's report (R.O. IV, p.52), Italics not in original.
2 Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker says that the V.A. Dover had stressed that Naval ratings
(in beach parties) were not to risk being taken prisoner (M.017978/41, p.3).
3 Capt. Howson's Report (R.O. IV, p.117).
4 Appendix Q.12.
6 5 Appendices Q.13 and Q.14.
Lt. Vavasour's report, R.O.III, p.422. Lt. Vavasour says that Cdre Stephenson was
S.N.O., A.B.C.D. Sections. But the beaches had been lettered A to O, from west to east
and so the La Panne beach was L.M.N.O. It was probably because of the almost invariable
confusion about the lettering of the beaches that this method of designating beaches was
changed by signal at 1906/29 (Appendix 0.11), and the whole length was divided into 3
equal parts, referred to as Malo, Bray and La Panne, from west to east with a mile gap
between each part.
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