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SATURDAY, 1ST JUNE
CHAP. IX
move westward with boats in tow in the direction of Dunkirk, towards which
the troops were now marching from La Panne.
The first loaded ship to leave Dunkirk seems to have been the Whippingham,
in time of peace an Isle of Wight paddle ferry boat belonging to the Southern
Railway. She had been embarking troops alongside the mole since 2200 on
the previous day, and when she cast off at 0130 on 1st with 2,700 troops on
board she was overladen and her sponsons were only about a foot above water.
Disaster nearly overwhelmed her at the start, when she was straddled by shell
fire and the troops rushed over to the port side, causing the ship to list 20°.
Fortunately, the sea was calm. The chief mechanician (Ch. Mech. 2nd C1.
F. A. Ford) checked the rush, moved the troops back to starboard, and thereby
probably saved the ship.
Another early sailer was the personnel vessel Lady of Mann, who proceeded
at 0430 for Dover, with 1500 casualties. The hospital carriers St. Andrew and
St. Julien disembarked in England this day 130 and 287 wounded, respectively,
after which no more hospital ships brought wounded from Dunkirk. Space
alongside the large-ship berths was too valuable to be occupied by hospital
ships, and walking wounded went with the troops, whilst those that could not
walk had to be left behind.
The personnel ship Maid of Orleans berthed at the East Mole at about 0330
and for 6 hours, most of the time under air attack, she acted as a floating
stage for the embarkation of troops on board the destroyers Icarus, Vanquisher
and Windsor, whose upper decks were far below the top of the mole. The
pier was crowded and as many troops as possible were embarked over mess
tables rigged across the "B" gun decks of inside ships to the outside vessel.
The Vanquisher was the first of the three to leave, at 0630 with 1200 troops.
An hour later the Icarus and Windsor sailed in company, with 1,114 and 493
troops respectively. Finally, at about 0900 the Maid of Orleans herself pro-
ceeded, during an air attack, with 1,856 troops, which, like the destroyers, she
disembarked at Dover. In six trips, once being diverted without completing
the trip and once returning on account of collision, the Maid of Orleans had
transported in all 5,461 men; but this was her last crossing, for when leaving
Dover again for Dunkirk at 2030 that day she was rammed amidships by the
destroyer Worcester returning from Dunkirk with manoeuvrability impaired
through damage to propellers and rudder, caused by air attack at 1630 in
which she had 6 men killed and 40 wounded, and shot down two enemy air-
craft. No lives were lost in the collision, but the Maid of Orleans was too
badly damaged to continue her voyage. For the Worcester, too, this was
the final crossing she had evacuated 4,545 troops in 6 trips.
Other destroyers were embarking troops at the same time alongside Dunkirk
pier. The Vivacious, after being dive-bombed whilst waiting to enter harbour,
went alongside at 0630, embarked 475 troops in a quarter of an hour, and
sailed again for Dover at 0645. The Winchelsea was bombed at 0745 and again
at 0830, but was not damaged, and she sailed at 0830 with 1150 troops on
board.
Despite vicious air attacks, the embarkation of troops continued. The
gunboat Locust, after embarking troops for four hours from Malo beach in her
whalers, having no power boat, moved to Dunkirk at 0415 and took on board
a further 500 at the east pier under air attack before sailing for Dover at 0610.
The corvette Kingfisher left the east pier at 1130 with 210 troops and some
wounded, embarked under almost continuous high level bombing.
There were times, however, during the day when the harbour was deserted.
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