TNA ADM 234 360

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THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
CHAP. VIII
Lieut. Wells says that at 0100/31 he was continued. informed that Some naval personnel would
Division, original have the The to Brigadier' shelling party evacuate who was had of the at [?Major embarked already dawn beach left, General if continued, at the and about shelling W. at 0330. 0300/31 embarkation and G. Holmes] (says he Lieut. swam in command Wells) out to officers fetch the of not a order the boat in 42nd was his for
passed from Headquarters that as the would probably be over
dawn the following day [Ist June], all naval personnel were to embark forth- at
with". Lieut. Wells accordingly remained in the Halcyon, where he had taken
the Brigadier". The Halcyon arrived at Dover at 0845/31.
There is clearly some connection between the above order from Head-
quarters' and Captain Howson's arrangement for embarking naval personnel
during the early hours of the 31st May.
The only other account of the activities of the beach parties comes from Cdr.
H. du P. Richardson, R.N., who worked with Lt. Cdr. D. B. Dowling, R.N.,
and a naval platoon at Malo beach from 2000 on May the 27th until the beach
was cleared of troops at about noon on the 28th May.
S.N.O. Dunkirk then ordered him to Bray beach to embark 5,000 troops, and
he arrived there at about 1700 on the 28th May, with Cdr. Ken² [?Kerr] and
16 men. They found about 30,000 troops, stretching from Bray to the east-
ward, awaiting embarkation. Cdr. Richardson's beach party, as will be seen,
also returned on the 31st May.
At 0130 on the 29th May a high wind got up which made beach embarkation
almost impossible. Cdr. Richardson therefore sent off about 20,000 troops to
Dunkirk in batches of 1000.
During the night of 29th/30th May another naval embarkation party arrived
on the beach to the eastward³, and this reduced the limits of Cdr. Richardson's
beach.
Early on the morning of the 30th May Cdr. Richardson went to Brigade
H.Q.4 at Bray and suggested that piers be built by running lorries into the sea.
This, he says, was quickly done and proved successful.
Between 1800 and 2000 on the 30th May the enemy directed accurate artillery
fire on to the beach, and continued firing throughout the night. Cdr. Richard-
son's beach was completely evacuated by allied soldiers. " No boats", he says,
" had now been in for 16 hours on our beach".
During the night of the 30th/31st May, the weather became bad once more,
and a heavy surf was running. By about 0300 on the 31st May it was impossible
to carry out embarkation from the beaches.
Cdr. Richardson's men were by now showing signs of extreme exhaustion,
and as it was impossible to communicate with the S.N.O. he decided to take
over S.N.O. a whaler they had salved and go to the nearest destroyer to report to the
They waited for high water, and at about 0730 put to sea. There was a very
heavy surf running, and they had an uneven set of oars, rope crutches and only
Two other destroyers passed at about 7 cables, but paid no attention.
an oar to steer by. They approached 2 destroyers, but both got underway.
2 I Cdr. There Richardson's report (R.O.III, p.367).
3 is no officer of this name in the May 1940 List.
These Evidently the party landed at E.F.G.H., Cdre. Hallett's Navy sections of the beach.
headquarters 4 were probably (p. 59). the same H.Q. as those referred to by Capt. Howson as Corps
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