TNA ADM 234 360

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THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
CHAP. XII
Moyle rammed the As Inner she sank, Western she Pier slid off abreast the bank the wreck towards of the Westcove
scuttled line channel, intention The of Pacifico the herself. as was channel, the to decided Westcove proceed her to after between had scuttle part done, down and in being and the between beyond finally against position the them settled the allotted wrecks Westcove. at of to a slight the the the Edvard Gourko. centre angle to of Her and the the
and Westcove and defeated then drift this the Pacifico broadside on. Nissen
the strong current after hold, dropped manoeuvre, anchor so into her and rammed However,
The stern then swung not over turn further owing to the tide Nissen, but, after
cove abreast her to port towards the Edvard secured
ships. of certain point, Orders would were then accompanied given for the by scuttling considerable of the Pacifico; race between As in the the case two a
due in this instance to vapour.
the Westcove, this was oil fuel a sheet of flame, probably
One shell hit the pier, causing many casualties, for there were still some 200
The time now was about 0330 and at this juncture shelling recommenced.
French troops on the East Pier. General Bathelemy, Commander of the
Flanders Garrison, who was taken off by the Shikari, stated that 12,000 French
troops still remained in Dunkirk. The Shikari carried 383 when she sailed
from Dunkirk at 0340 by orders of Captain Dangerfield; she was the last ship
to leave. Apart from an air attack, which caused no damage, her passage
home was uneventful.
An M.T.B. had been detailed to evacuate Admiral Abrial but the latter
could not be found, and as a matter of fact he was brought out from Dunkirk
in a French M.T.B. V.T.B. 25. Near the North Goodwin Light Vessel the
vessel's propeller became disabled by wreckage, and the Malcolm towed her
to Dover about 0600.
On the conclusion of the blocking operation there remained a gap of about
100 to 120 feet unobstructed on the west side of the channel. Part of this gap
was, however, shoal water, because of the shelving bank.
Disembarkation figures, 4th June
There were landed in England on 4th June 26,175 persons, of which British
ships had evacuated 21,600, French 3,838, and Belgian 737. These figures
included a number of survivors, both troops and ships' crews, from sunken
ships and some refugees. It was recorded that 622 of the total were evacuated
from the beaches, but it is doubtful whether any of these were actually
evacuated from the beaches, for the figure includes many such as the 43 French
troops landed by the Pangbourne, who were taken from a French vessel
(probably the mail packet Rouen) which had run aground on a sand bank: the
260 brought over by the Beatrice Maud: a number (apparently 210) recorded as
evacuated from the beaches and landed in England but actually ferried from
Dunkirk pier to various transports, by the motor launch Bonny Heather.
Operation Dynamo completed, 1423/4th June
Ammunition in Dunkirk was exhausted, enemy were and reported the remaining consisted
When the Shikari sailed, the to be only 3 miles away.
principally the of non-combatant units. troops Admiral Nord agreed that
was dispersed at 1030.
operation should be considered as Accordingly, terminated. The fleet of rescue ships
The decision to terminate the operation was agreed to by the French
120