TNA ADM 234 360

TUESDAY, 28TH MAY
CHAP. V
had all come under fire from the shore guns at Calais and Gravelines. At
0415 on the 28th May the Queen of the Channel, loaded with 904. troops, was attacked by one aircraft; 3 or 4 bombs were dropped, which straddled the ship abaft the mainmast and broke her back, the starboard propeller shaft and the rudder. By good fortune the Dorrien Rose, en route for Dunkirk, was in the vicinity and rescued the troops: the Queen of the Channel sank about 1/2 hour later. The St. Seiriol, which left Dunkirk at about 0415 with 494 troops, reached Folkestone in safety.
Civilian crews feel the strain
Some 45 personnel vessels were used during operation "Dynamo"
Of these eight were sunk, at least six were so damaged by bombing or gunfire as to render them unfit for further use during the operation, and two were damaged in collision. Nine of the largest of these personnel vessels had been engaged prior to "Dynamo" in operations at Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne, and their Captains and crews were beginning to feel the strain when Operation
"Dynamo" started.
Thus it was that the Master of the Canterbury, which had already completed
2 round trips to Dunkirk in operation "Dynamo", reported, on the 28th May, that he was too worn out to make a third trip. The P.S.T.O. went on board and explained the gravity of the situation to the Master, and the Canterbury sailed at 0930 the next day. On her return voyage from Dunkirk she was bombed and damaged, and after landing her 1960 troops went into dock for repairs. In the 3 trips she made the Canterbury brought back 4,416 troops;
her Master, Captain C. A. Hancock, was awarded the D.S.C.
Personnel vessels not to be employed during full daylight
On the 28th May, however, it had become apparent that development of the German air threat over the evacuation area, and the increasing artillery fire from shore batteries covering the sea approaches to Dunkirk, prohibited the employment of personnel and similar vessels during daylight, until the position was restored, and that evacuation from Dunkirk by day must for the moment be confined to warships and small vessels².
It was not, therefore, until later in the day, that the P/V Royal Daffodil sailed for Dunkirk, and eight other personnel vessels and a hospital carrier³
received their sailing orders during the afternoon and evening.
The northern Route Y was by this time in general use⁴, but ships proceeding from Dover to Dunkirk were ordered to use the southern and shorter Route Z, if the passage from Calais Bell buoy to Dunkirk could be made in darkness.
N.O.I.C. Ramsgate responsible for servicing skoots
In these circumstances some 20 skoots reached Dunkirk, or arrived off the beaches during the day and evening of the 28th May; others were on the way.
Their speed varied, but most of them were very slow. Eight of them went into Dunkirk harbour⁵, and four to Bray beach⁶. The Abel Tasman, loaded with ammunition, the Alice and Kaap Falga, loaded with food, and three
I This number includes 3 store ships, 3 motor vessels and a few freighters, coasters and tramps.
2 D.R. p. 4, para. 13.
3 The Scotia, Malines, Prague, Manxman, Royal Sovereign, Tynwald, Lochgarry, Killarney and the H.C. Paris.
4 Appendix K.1.
5 The Caribia, Fredanja, Friso, Jutland, Tilly, Patria, Sursum-Corda, and Twente.
6 The Amazone, Doggersbank, Hilda, and Oranje.
29

CHAP, VI
THE EVACUATION FROM
end Buoy, of the Zuydcoote destroyer Pass. Montrose, Eight minutes later, DUNKIRK about collided narrowly Montrose put her helm with had escaped the hard to tug sinking; to Sun starboard, V, the which en but route 11 was cutters she to towing received Dunkirk, were 11 a ran 1 into mile W.S.W. of
Neither part The in Harvester the the evacuation. Mackay, reached the Bray Montrose nor the to tug Dover were by able the to take any Brassey. The be towed, stern-first, lost XXXX
awaiting the charge of embarkation. Sub-Lieut. of E. C. There Croswell, beach was a at R.N., strong 0050, who cross and found sent in her further managed launching to evacuate boats about difficult. During the course of sea the and the the however, the supply of boats 700 for which embarkation included some 100 wounded. Harvester siderable as moved the embarkation to wastage La Panne.¹ of beach boats extended through overcrowding, for over one ceased. mile. which was At There 0500, difficult had the been to Harvester At control 0400, con-
Wakeful sunk against beach with about destroyers. The destroyer Wakeful, returning from successes
In the British meantime, at 0045, there occurred the only two E-boat when 2 650 troops on board, was 1/4 mile west of Kwint Whistle Bray
150 yards away on the starboard bow.
parallel torpedo tracks about 30 yards apart were seen approaching, buoy
Avoiding action was taken, and one torpedo missed ahead, but the other his the Wakeful in the forward boiler room. The Wakeful broke in half and the two portions sank within about 15 seconds, each portion remaining upright with the bow and stern standing about 60 feet above the water.
Most of the guns' crews floated clear, 30 men and an officer remaining on the stern portion. All the troops were asleep below, and all except one went down with the ship. All the Wakeful's engine room department, except one or two, were lost. The Captain, Cdr. R. L. Fisher, R.N., floated clear of the bridge.
After about half an hour, the danlayers Nautilus and Comfort, which were en route to La Panne, arrived and began to pick up those still swimming. The the minesweeper Gossamer, up returning from Dunkirk harbour with 420 troops,
Nautilus picked 6 and the Comfort 16, including Cdr. Fisher. Then arrived, lowered her boats, and picked up a further 15 survivors.
directed the Comfort to go alongside the wreck and take La Panne, off the men Cdr. clinging Fisher to the stern. The Nautilus continued on her way to where she was lost during the afternoon in an air attack.
Grafton torpedoed Lydd arrived on the scene she bringing sighted
300 troops from Dunkirk harbour. of the Wakeful By the light with men an clinging to out her Aldis
It was now 0220, and the minesweeper of Aldis lamp, them. The the Lydd bow lowered and stern her boats, portions but was ordered latter by order the could Gossamer not, to however, put be carried report, lamp Except I Sub-Lieut. and during drop Croswell, the a depth first who day charge remained of evacuation, the at La the Panne bearing until of 1st the June, B.E.F. says at La in Panne his was magnificent." (C.W.23187/40).
36

WEDNESDAY, 29TH MAY
CHAP. VI
out because of the men in the water. By the time the Lydd had picked up
10 survivors, the destroyer Grafton, loaded with about 800 troops from Bray beach, also arrived and ordered the Lydd to circle round her. The Gossamer went on to Dover.
In the meantime, the Comfort had reached the stern portion of the wreck of the Wakeful, and finding that it had fallen over¹, went alongside the Grafton to warn her of the danger of torpedoes. It was then about 0240, and the
Grafton having first sighted a small darkened vessel about 3 cables on the port quarter, signalled it to pick up survivors. Almost at once a torpedo hit the
Grafton's port side and exploded; a second explosion followed, thought to be a shell or grenade hit, which wrecked the Grafton's bridge killing her Captain,
Cdr. C. E. C. Robinson, R.N., and 3 others. The torpedo blew off. the Grafton's stern, abaft the after magazine bulkhead, and broke her back, but she still floated on an even keel. A German submarine, U.69 had fired the torpedo.
The torpedo explosion almost swamped the Comfort; she rose, and Cdr.
Fisher was washed overboard. He seized a rope's end, but with the Comfort going full speed ahead soon had to let go. The Comfort came round in a wide circle until within about 50 yards of the stricken Grafton, whereupon the
Grafton and Lydd, mistaking her in the darkness for an E-boat, opened a heavy raking fire with 4-inch and Lewis guns.²
Comfort cut in half
When the firing ceased Cdr. Fisher, who had reached the bow of the Comfort, endeavoured to get abord; but the Lydd, having circled round to finish off the supposed E-boat, bore down at full speed and, ramming the Comfort amidships (it was then about 0307), cut her in half. Some of the Comfort's crew attempted to spring aboard the Lydd, but the Lydd, mistaking them for boarders, opened up with rifle fire. Two men were, however, taken off the rammed vessel and it was then discovered that she was the Comfort. Altogether, the number saved from this most tragic occurrence, shrouded in the darkness of the night, were only 5, of which 4 were survivors from the Wakeful. As the Grafton then appeared able to look after herself, the Lydd set course for Ramsgate.
When the Comfort went down Cdr. Fisher again sank, but he came to the surface and, after swimming about until 0515, was picked up by a boat lowered from the Norwegian S.S. Hird, which was en route from Dunkirk to England with about 3,500 troops and refugees on board.
Grafton sunk
In the meantime, at 0400, the personnel ship Malines, which was returning empty from Dunkirk, heard S OS signals; she placed herself alongside the torpedoed Grafton and transferred the destroyer's 800 troops. "The Master handled his ship with extreme skill," reported the acting Captain of the Grafton,
Lieut. H. C. J. McRea, R.N.
It was now 0430, just before sunrise, and the destroyers Javelin, Icarus,
Vanquisher, Intrepid and Ivanhoe, en route from Dover to Dunkirk, sighted the sinking Grafton. The Ivanhoe went to her assistance and embarked the
I On the 30th May the corvette Sheldrake was ordered to destroy the Wakeful's asdic apparatus. She found the Wakeful completely capsized with her stern resting on the bottom. As, by then, information was received that the area had been mined, the Sheldrake, to minimise the risk, sank the wreck by gunfire and a pattern of depth charges.
2 Later the Grafton's fire was shifted to another vessel further away on the port quarter, which was observed to blow up with a bright flash. This may well have been the E-boat.
37

THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
CHAP. VI
and machine gun platforms, a bulkhead wrecking was dished, them was severely shaken, and 13 killed, wounded; of the passengers, and orders killed and 2 men the ship's company, 3 officers 2 officers men and were 10 men were and 18
wounded. Then a fire broke out, further dive bomb were given to flood and burn the signal books. A anchored. attack took bombs fell wide. The Bideford and the tug St. Clears The in tow; she was,
The M/S Kellett came endeavoured alongside the to take Bideford, the Bideford and took off about 300 troops, in tow, but again the tow parted.
ever, fast aground, and the tow parted. dr. Havant then tried to take how-' her
Bideford towed to Dover embarked in the Bideford. from La Panne dawn, gunboat Locust, carrying 620
During the night of 29th-30th Near May, 350 the French and 50 British troops and at daylight she less than 21/2 knots course was set for
British and French troops floated - in tow. At beach, passed a tow to the Bideford,
Dover; en route, during the first 3 miles, the tow parted 3 times. Throughout the 30th May the Locust struggled on with her burden. During the night
French soldier jumped overboard, fully equipped. The tow was stopped, a buoy was dropped and a boat lowered; but, in spite of good visibility and a calm sea, the unknown soldier was not recovered although a search was made a at 1130 on the 31st May and disembarked 436 troops.
for 30 minutes. In spite of the tow again parting, the Bideford reached Dover
The momentous issues at stake in Operation "Dynamo" were not to be attained without grievous losses, but the Bideford's heroic voyage to safety marked a momentary respite from the rapidly mounting toll of lives and ships.
Twelve hundred troops wade out to a skoot
At about 2300 on the 29th May the skoot Patria arrived off Bray from Rams-
The Captain of the Patria, who decided to ground his ship, records that "The gate and, in the glow of the still burning Crested Eagle, saw troops on the beach.
troops, holding hands, waded out and clambered on board by nets, ladders and ropes' ends. The sight of two solid phalanxes of men, delineated by phosphorescence in the water and steadily advancing to the ship, will be memorable them Over 1,000 men were embarked in just over two hours." Among
Crested Eagle and the Fenella.
were naval ratings - casualties with severe burns from the Grenade, the
Dover unaware of losses filtered heavy Lord Lord to Little Earlier Dover, Gort bombardment Gort through information in and and the and at the day to 3rd 0127 Dover, 3rd of other and Corps the Corps the that important except disastrous Vice-Admiral, destroyers at La that information losses Panne it there was Dover, of known the were had, afternoon informed being that however, hit Dunkirk the and soon come Calcutta early after was through evening 1600. under that effort the beach was and to be embark made to the concentrate force. of the B.E.F. destroyers were and at La light Panne, craft and at that that end every of
I D.R.
46

WEDNESDAY, 29TH MAY
CHAP. VI
were the 8 assault which landing had been craft loaded (A.L.C.'s), into, and under brought the command of
Cassidi, R.N., were A.L.C.'s 3, 4, 5, 8, 15, 16, 17 over by,Whe S.S. R. A.
Macalister. They off No. 6 W buoy, at about and 18. Clan was being hoisted causing out, the Clan Macalister to roll passed at speed, and both craft were rendered unfit down on A.L.C.18 did valuable work ferrying ing from six the A.L.C.'s beaches. however, some troops
French troops rush A.L.C.5.
Cdr. Cassidi, who was in A.L.C.5 proceeded some way up the coast and soldiers, SO many of them got on the boat was grounded. French carried on inshore; his craft was board immediately that rushed on all sides by then
The second attempt to embark troops failed, SO A.L.C.5 proceeded of the troops had to be forced off the French boat before she could be got off the beach. Some at the rate of about 3 trips an hour, air 50 men per trip, throughout the day, to La Panne beach¹. Thence, British troops were ferried to off-lying ships except for interruptions by frequent attacks. The A.L.C.5 made 15 trips.
A.L.C.16 is sunk
The A.L.C.16 (S/Lt. R.O. Wilcoxon, R.N.V.R.) made 7 trips, after which
"she was boarded by French soldiers, who overwhelmed the boat to such an extent that she became partially swamped, the starboard battery was flooded and both engines failed. Eventually sufficient French were evicted to enable
A.L.C.16 to be floated off and the port engine started"². In going astern, however, the port stern tube was damaged and water poured into the boat;
nevertheless, continually pumping and bailing, A.L.C.16 continued ferrying for a further 11 hours. She then went alongside the sloop Bideford to transfer a load of troops. S/Lt. Wilcoxon went on board the Bideford to arrange for a tow back to England. Then came the dive-bomb attack in which the
Bideford's stern was blown off. S/Lt. Wilcoxon was mortally wounded.
A.L.C.16 was heavily damaged, and sank in a few minutes; she had ferried about 600 troops.
French troops rush A.L.C.17
A.L.C.17 followed A.L.C.5 up the coast towards Bray beach. "On approaching the beach she was promptly boarded by a crowd of French troops who SO overloaded the boat that she grounded"³. With a falling tide she remained stranded for 3 hours. As the tide rose, the French. again attempted to rush the boat [but] the cox'n of A.L.C.17 procured the assistance of some
British troops, who, drove off the French "3. Ferrying was continued all day and throughout the night from La Panne, until the A.L.C.17's engines broke down; she was towed by a drifter to England next day for repairs.
A.L.C.'s 3, and 8 also ferried troops, and transported 20 and 10 troops respectively to Dover, where they arrived at 0400 next day.
M/B Minikoi sunk was the Minikoi. Unfortunately, at 0015/29, while still in the Downs, she
One of the earliest of the privately owned M/B's to start for the beaches was rammed and sunk by the M.A./S.B.6, which picked up her crew of three.
3 Report by A.L.C.16.
I 2 Report by A.L.C.5.
Report by A.L.C.17.
52

WEDNESDAY, 29TH MAY
CHAP. VI
M/B Sceneshifter swamped and lost
The M/B Silver Moon, from Ramsgate, arrived off the beaches at 0800 and ferried troops to ships at anchor. Without charts or compass she returned to
Ramsgate that night. The M/B Sceneshifter, on arrival, was rushed by French troops, swamped, and became a total loss.
M/B Viewfinder dragged aground and lost
The six motor yachts, Advance, Bobeli, Elizabeth Green, Hanora, Reda and
Viewfinder sailed from Dover for La Panne beach and were machine-gunned from the air off Gravelines. They arrived off La Panne beach at about
1500/29, and at once began towing whalers full of troops to off-lying ships.
At 1830, the Viewfinder was dragged aground by Belgian soldiers and became a total loss.
M/B's Hanora and Bobeli abandoned
At 1900, the Hanora fouled her propeller and was abandoned; her crew transferred to the Elizabeth Green and thence to the minesweeper Lydd. At
1900 also, the dr. Sabre requisitioned the Advance and embarked in her a W/T
transmitter and 2 operators for transportation to G.H.Q. at La Panne. The
Reda, having ferried troops, sailed for Ramsgate at 2200 with 21 troops on board. The Bobeli having received some damage while alongside a destroyer which suddenly went full ahead on account of an air attack, subsequently fouled her screw and rudder; she made fast. to the minesweeper Albury, but was abandoned when the Albury departed and became stranded on the beach.
The Elizabeth Green and Advance sailed in company that night for Ramsgate.
M/B Glitter II brings drinking water
The Glitter II arrived off Bray beach at 1600 on the 29th May, loaded with tins of fresh water. She then ferried troops. Next day she lost her rudder and was towed to Dover by a drifter.
M/B Queen of England sunk
A number of other small motor craft left Southend, Sheerness or Dover for the beaches on the 29th May, but did not arrive until 30th May. Among them was the Shamrock, and in company with her were the Princess Maud, Canvey
Queen and Queen of England. On the way over on the night of the 29th/30th
May the Queen of England was rammed amidships by the skoot Tilly and sank immediately; her crew were picked up by the Shamrock and transferred to the Tilly1. The remaining three motor boats were all abandoned and lost next day after ferrying troops to various destroyers, among them the Anthony;
the Canvey Queen and Shamrock fouled their propellers, and the Princess Maud went aground.
The Mirasol², alongside Dunkirk mole, was damaged by a near miss. She was taken in tow by a trawler, but later sank.
Other M/B's that sailed for the beaches on 29th May
The Triton and Silver Queen, with 6 motor launches in company, sailed for
La Panne at 2200. Three of the motor launches broke down on the way over
I Shamrock's report, unconfirmed. The name of the vessel is in doubt; the matter is not referred to in Tilly's report.
2 Commonly, but erroneously referred to in reports as the " Marasole."
53

THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
CHAP. VII
thousands of troops, tired, depressed, for the and whole without food or water for broke into a double and kept it up I length of the Eastern Arm days, more than two hours. During that period estimate that more than 15,000 for troops were embarked. The Army certainly responded splendidly".
about 2100, eight destroyers² embarked embarked east pier an aggregate and
Cdr. Maund's estimate was triumphantly from confirmed: the between 1802
and other vessels, including the skoots Reiger well and Doggersbank, also embarked
8,528 troops; four personnel vessels³ an aggregate of 5,694 troops of number of wounded.
troops, while the hospital carrier Dinard, down the pier, embarked a
Anthony and Sabre damaged to Dover was attacked by a single aircraft which dropped 5 when returnich
Of the eight destroyers referred to above, one, the Anthony, extinguished her lights, stopped her engines, and put her compasses and W/T
and the Keith escorted her into Dover.
out of action. She was subsequently able to proceed, steering by her engines, on her way to Dunkirk by Route Z, came under fire from shore batteries and
Earlier in the day another destroyer, the Sabre, when near No. 6 Calais buoy, received several hits on the bridge and upper works. A shell went through the gyro-compass, an oil fuel tank was pierced, the magnetic compass put out of action, and she had to return to Dover for repairs.
The destroyer crews, who had hardly slept since the operation began, were beginning to show signs of exhaustion, and at 2341 (May 30th) the Admiralty ordered reliefs. a spare destroyer's crew to be sent to Dover to provide temporary
Air patrols
In the air low visibility checked the enemy's activity, but as on the previous day patrols were again carried out by Fighter Command at three-or foursquadron strength, the largest number of aircraft on the line at any one time being 44, and the smallest 26. Sixteen squadrons again operated, the total number of sorties amounting to 265. Small Coastal Command patrols operated as before throughout the day along the line North Goodwins-Gravelines
Ostend, and at night the patrol over Dunkirk by single Blenheims continued but the governing factor of the air operations over Dunkirk on the 30th May was the low visibility, which restricted the enemy's activities.⁴
Summary of troops landed in England
Thus the day was one of reviving hope. It ended with the numbers going up, and a record number were embarked from the beaches. (See table P. 65).
Arrangements for evacuation of B.E.F. rearguard of the B.E.F. had attended a conference representatives with the Vice-Admiral, the Dover.
Meanwhile, during the forenoon, of Commander-in-Chief to Ist hold the as the latest reasonable date to which the gave B.E.F. daylight on be expected
The June, Commander-in-Chief's plan was explained it Saturday, eastern perimeter with an up available force of about might 4,000.
Keith 3 The (1200), Anthony Winchelsea (1137), (925) Codrington and (1100), Esk (1041), Vimy (948), Impulsive (1112),
2 I The Cdr. Maund's report (R.O.III, p.443).
4 R.A.F. Prague Narrative, (1039), P. Royal 331. Sovereign Wolsey (1502), (1065). St. Helier (2000) and Tynwald (1153).
64

CHAP. VIII
THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
Headquarters and the various was venience, French Messages as employment except best done station by they because taken for despatch of transmission could at semaphore. by the the hand riders, with Bastion coding down the to for Beach of or, Dover help the messages the parties, for pier parties distances of the by for sake nor W/T between of were greater too one great party and cars. con- the lished was a French, laborious Reception a very by and 2300 business slow decoding on on the business. that naval which the day, type W/T first but necessitated of set code owing which (the to sent arrived the Anglo a through the French Statim French) the the Frestroyers Station by destroversion in use message at that estab- This date into was munication mission broke was down not established with the Dover defective transmitter.ful defective transmitter.ful comof sand in the generator. altogether on evening of 1st June, probably on account
On the 1st June the Royal Corps of Signals established a W/T station in lorry by the Bastion, as well as telephone communication between the Bastion a and the Headquarters Signal Station. The intense bombing and shelling by the Germans that day severed the line more than once.
In view of the possibility of the arrival of enemy forces on the 2nd June all signal forms and records were destroyed on that day.
British Sector to be held till midnight 1st/2nd June
Meanwhile, on taking over command of the 1st Corps, Major General
Alexander proceeded to Dunkirk to interview Admiral Abrial who informed him that he intended to hold the perimeter till all the troops were embarked. A
French Corps on the right was to hold the sector from Gravelines to Bergues
(though Gravelines had not apparently been in French hands for some days)
and a mixed French and British Corps under command of Major General
Alexander was to hold a line from Bergues to Les Moeres and thence to the sea¹.
that in his view this plan did not take account of the true naval and condition
Major General Alexander at once told the Admiral and General military Fagalde situation of the was now such that prolonged resistance was out of the the question, night of which serious and deteriorating rapidly. The fighting troops was front could not in his opinion be maintained after beach and and the present furthermore, the line to be held was so close to the by short to 1st/2nd Dunkirk June; that the enemy might soon stop all further evacuation range War, Major and General received Alexander a reply that gave the the British same French force opinion troops should to being the be Secretary withdrawn embarked Abrial of as State in rapidly equal and for artillery fire¹.
as possible from on a that basis time of British onward. and This he showed to Admiral allotted to him till numbers midnight General Fagalde, 1st/2nd stating June, and that then he would withdraw hold under the sector cover of darkness, which they agreed was the only plan feasible¹.
Cyclone damaged
Day and night our by patrols torpedo were maintaining subjected their to E-boat vigil attacks. northward, but the on this day two
French destroyers were
I Appendix to Lord Gort's Second Despatch.
68

THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
CHAP. VIII
Typical of the urge which characterised sailed from Ramsgate this movement at 0205 of small craft was escorting the trawler motor Strathelliot, boats, 8 which of which were disabled and in tow of on various the 31st May the M/B Skylark, disabled, was in tow of Strathelliot. At 0640 the Skylark's vessels towing bollard tore away and she was taken the in tow stern first. Then the M/B
embarked the Skylark in also the in became Strathelliot. tow-and damaged, later Shortly taken after in tow this stern the first-and M/B Malden crew Annie Lad ber, IV
crew were transferred to the Strathelliot and she and was Mary sunk after Rose was her sunk. Her
Mary Rose, which had been in tow of M/B the Rapid I, was damaged.
had to be taken she arrived water fast, and dritting on to the was She
Dunkirk beaches with her pumps beach choked, she bilge abandoned. full of rubbish fund making off useful purpose, however, by being used as a pier.
It is impossible to give the story of every ship, although each ship has its which went over on the 31st May in company with the lighters X. 217 (S/Lt.
story. Here, for instance, is the unvarnished history of the M/B Marsayru
R.A. W. Pool, R.N.) X. 213 and X. 149. They arrived off Malo beach at about
1600. During an air attack X. 213 and X. 149 were sunk. The Z. 217 was beached and, assisted by the dinghy, embarked 95 troops which were transferred to the yacht Llanthony. The X. 217 continued to embark troops using the
Marsayru and a cutter. At about 2100 that evening, with the Marsayru's skipper and crew and about 200 British and French troops on board, the X. 217
left for home towing the Marsayru and a cutter.
Shortly after sailing the Marsayru broke adrift, and in darkness could not be found. Next day, the 1st June, however, at 1400, S/Lt. T.E. Godman, R.N.V.R.
in a Naval steam pinnace, off La Panne, sighted the Marsayru drifting with the tide and unoccupied. She was found to be in working order; the engine was started up and Sub-Lieut. Godman took an A.B. and a soldier as crew. He left Petty Officer Morrison in charge of the steam pinnace with orders to lay off and wait for the return of the Marsayru.
With the dinghy in tow the Marsayru proceeded to the western end of the beach capacity. and anchored; the dinghy ferried 19 troops to her, which filled her to
In the meantime the crew of the steam pinnace had embarked in the skoot
Doggersbank and had left the steam pinnace anchored near Dunkirk harbour.
Sub-Lieut. Godman decided to leave her there and sailed in the Marsayru for
England; from her. he overtook the Doggersbank on the way and obtained some fuel and in tow waited for daylight. At 0430 on the 2nd June a trawler a took the Marsayru
At 2330 on the Ist June the Marsayru made fast to conical flashing buoy embarked. to Ramsgate, which was reached at 0800, and the 19 troops were disthe Queen's pleasure launches Enterprise and Wave Queen), the Foremost Southborough,
White Heather,Westeriey,A Lansdowne, hopper barge.26. The M/B's. Marsayru, and the 101, Lady Minotaur,
The motor coaster Hythe. M/B, the Dolphin's Balquhain, power Tigris boat, I, Rapid the Nelson's I, picket the motor X lighters launch 95, 149, 209 (towing a boat), 213, Sherfield, motor launches Grouse, Nanette II the lighter Y.C.63. The and War 217. The motor barge seven 30 knot eighth, The skoot the Pigeon, Hilda went Haig, over on Kestrel, 1st June. Marlborough, Swallow, Department's Wolfe and Vulture an
Gipsy Three King, more Golden of towed Spray over II the and motor two life-boats. boats Moss Rose, Rose Marie, Lady Haig, Britannic and the M.F.H. Pickford & Co. Ltd.'s motor vessels went over, viz the Chamois, Hound
72

THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
CHAP. VIII
if one party had to leave, it was to communicate along the moreover, beach so that all would have the warning¹. of the Bray whole
4 sections, being small, should of about 400 yards; they at took covering frontage, in all, at first once proceded to proceedesition
On landing, the 4 section Lieutenants remain close together, and party they decided that all organize but, dunes within and 3 a approached embarkation 2 minutes obeyed orders of the landing, points. boats. about about There boats The troops 5,000 given were from troops were by the on left naval the no their whole signs officers cover of easy and in to the control sand and except implicity the orders to bring back the boats ships to shore. ratings,
Vavasour says that by 0500 on the loaded May and doubtful if 80 men were
Evacuation in Commodore Hallett's 30th section it is was very slow and Lieut.
reached a ship, they let the boats go adrift, as were no off. A few boats appeared, were there sent off; but boat-keepers. troops
No suggestions or orders were issued from headquarters, says 12 Commanders along the front at Bray. There he saw a Captain R.N. and
At dawn Lieut. Vavasour contacted a headquarters² in one of the houses
One of the commanders, who had come from Dunkirk", him that the port was out of action, and the moles were in ruins.
off Bray beach, but the boat situation had acute now
Shortly after 0500 on the 30th May there was a destroyer and minesweeper rand there werweeper about 15,000 troops on the beach. With the assistance of some senior
Army Officers who by then had arrived, the troops were moved away from the water's edge and settled in the sands.
By 0600, a considerable number of collapsible boats had been collected from the Royal Engineers and these were loaded with 10 soldiers apiece and sent off.
In the majority of cases, however, on arrival at the ships the boats were abandoned and, drifting to the east, came ashore abreast the French, who used them to go off to British ships. By 0700, there were no power boats at all, and whaler trips were very infrequent. The rate of evacuation continued to be very slow.
Meanwhile the Captain R.N." (Captain Howson) had gone to La Panne and Lieut. Vavasour did not see him again.
By 0730 more ships had arrived and evacuation proceeded more quickly, as the beach parties had organised their own boat keepers. It was still, however, far from satisfactory. The troops found it difficult to get into the boats in the surf, and the beach parties had to wade out shoulder-deep to keep the boats stern-on to the beach.
Lieut. Vavasour and his party then boarded the Anthony to get a change of clothing, and while there obtained a motor boat which they manned for 12 hours lost until she broke down. They first proceeded to recover the majority of their boats, now in use by the French, and then organised a ferry service.
At 0900 contact was made with Commodore Hallett who then in a drifter.
He " I informed him of what I was doing Lieut. Vavasour. was " He approved.
Commodore informed me that he was very short says of coal. At approximately 0930 the
Lieut. steamed away to seaward. I did the Commodore again."
his boat broke down, and he had to saw be towed [the clear Commodore] of the danger at area." as
Wells said We never him not see all I believe
2 I Report Probably by Lt.
3 Captain Cdrs. Otway-Ruthven to by Capt. Howson and Gorton, (Section or 158) Richardson.
80

FRIDAY, 31ST MAY
CHAP. VIII
to the method of embarking the troops, Lieut. Wells found that the best way queues were 3 deep and were spaced available. out groups The of 10, this number being
As to organise them into a long queue at each in of the 3 embarkation points.
The suitable for the type of boat following group could be most used for shoving off a loaded boat, which took a good deal of moving at half tide to a bar running parallel to the sea. The Army pontoon boats proved most owing suitable, because of their draught, double-ended construction and general handiness. The main difficulty, according to Lieut. Wells, lay in the insufficiency of naval boat keepers. As a rule the soldiers detailed to return the boats did not carry out orders and the beach parties had to swim or wade out for drifting boats, which continually delayed and slowed up the operation. Lieut. Wells considered that the troops could hardly be blamed as it was clearly a naval responsibility. More ratings were asked for from outlying ships, but none could be sent.
At 0930 on May 30th there was only one other motor boat working within
5 miles either side of Lieut. Vavasour's beach, i.e. G section. It was a destroyer's motor boat which, being aground when the destroyer sailed, had been left behind.
By about noon, all ships within sight from G beach had departed fully loaded.
About an hour later a destroyer [the Windsor] anchored east of Bray, and as many boats as possible were towed out to her. Lieut. M. A. Hemans R.N., says Lieut. Vavasour closed the destroyer. On board her were two officers,
Lieuts. Stubbs and Fletcher from the beach party which had gone to La Panne
(under Cdre. Stephenson) who said they had been told to leave by their
Commodore. Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker was on board the destroyer and he told Lieuts. Hemans and Vavasour to carry on with the boats.
At about 1300 some 10 trawlers, drifters and minesweepers began to arrive, and evacuation proceeded apace until 2000, in spite of there being only 3 motor boats for towing and ferrying. By 2000 all ships had left except the Special
Service vessel Royal Eagle. By 2100, however, just after dark, many destroyers and minesweepers commenced to arrive.
Lieut. Vavasour went on board the Royal Eagle at about 2000 in response to a signal. While his motor boat was away collecting boat loads of troops for the
Royal Eagle the former broke down and was picked up by a destroyer which was on the way to La Panne. That was the last Lieut. Vavasour saw of his party. He later got on board a minesweeper at 0100/31 and sailed for Harwich.
Subsequently, on arrival at H.M.S. Excellent he found the remainder of Cdre.
Hallett's lieutenants were back. They had been told, he says, to abandon the evacuation about midnight by the S.N.O. of the beach-a Commander".
"I felt most limited in my activities," says Lieut. Vavasour, by the very definite orders that I had received that on no account was the naval party to be left behind. No accurate information was available.
I was unable to obtain any information at all from any single one of the large number of ships to which
I towed boats during the day and night". This is not surprising because in the circumstances, with the situation continually and rapidly changing, no one either ashore or afloat had any accurate information. Thus, for instance, the
Gossamer which anchored one mile west of La Panne at 2207, had sent in the motor boat Handy Billie in charge of S/Lt. M. Phipps R.N. to search for troops.
He found none, and received no answer to his hails. Inside an hour, however, the situation had changed, and thousands were massing abreast the ship".'
I Report by Gossamer (R.O.I, p.264).
D
81

CHAP. X
THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
arranged from 801 and 806 Command been of them (Appendix 0830 until J.7). 1100 Air on protection 2nd June, by and Coastal Fighter Command had
Command three aircraft during of Nos. these 206, hours, 235, to cover Route Squadrons X. operated under patrols Coastal of
Fifth column activities (Appendix H27-32)
such "Dynamo", effective fifth use during the war. type time during Operation
On the Ist June column there came activities to notice, of the for the of first empty, the to keep a look out and turn such
Sutton in and company, orders were met sent a out from Dover power to the and small the Dunkirk with thing boats return the boats returning boats returning
At 2150 on the 1st the Minesweeper number of Niger, boats en route to
Apparently the severe minesweepers, conditions it was at in and first from enormous believed the S.N.T.O. at wastage Dover on that the small French boats boats and were Belgian to daunted their coasts; duty. by but a report came about the Ramsgate during the evening that fifth column skoot was going first beaches at Dunkirk giving false informa- a tion and orders to return. The example to come to notice was at 1300
the 1st when the skoot Oranje, off Dunkirk Channel, was informed by another on sufficient ships in Dunkirk Harbour, and that the Oranje's boats were not skoot that evacuation from the beaches was complete, that there were already required. The Oranje remained where she was, however, in case the four boats turned for home about 1515, subsequent to air attack.
she had towed over were needed, and until all ships in her neighbourhood
Although on the night of the 1st-2nd June the services of a number of small craft were lost to the coast, there actually were a sufficient number off the beaches to cope with the troops available.
Embarkation from the beaches
The first ships of the night flight to arrive off the beaches were minesweepers, which began to anchor off Malo about 2000 on 1st. Here there were already some 3 or 4 Thames barges, besides the paddle minesweeper Medway Queen which had arrived some four hours earlier and had been engaged in filling up with troops ever since. The skoot Lena had been there since 1300 on the 1st.
embarking 340 B.E.F. and 6 French troops; she was slightly damaged by air attack during the day, and sailed at 2145 for Ramsgate. By midnight on the
1st-3nd June there were anchored off the beaches the minesweepers Marmion,
Snaefell, Niger, Glen Avon, Emperor of India, Glen Gower and Lydd, besides the personnel ship Portsdown and the special service vessel Royal Eagle. Loading was a slow process, for there were more ships lying off the beaches than could be loaded by the boats available. Only one ship finished in 3 hours, most of them taking nearly twice that length of time.
with 213 troops. She left behind her, abandoned the beach, the R.N.L.I.
The Emperor of India was apparently the first ship to sail from Malo, at 0238, motor lifeboat Mary Scott which had ferried troops on and towed the Emperor of
India's whalers from the shore until she broke down. Queen left shot at troops boat, 0245, down and and after an some nearly enemy details, Il aircraft hours including at on anchor the 10 beach Spanish during west which refugees of Dunkirk. the The rescued ship Medway claimed from She took an to have open 426
down the crews of two motor boats, the whose engines broke unrecorded, like SO many small craft which came to grief in the course of renderafter some hours of ferrying troops and one, towing, Aura, and another, with name
100

THE NIGHT 2ND-3RD JUNE
CHAP. XI
to were seen and no ships Dunkirk of No. 604
2120 on the 2nd June, to clear reported the air being for the attacked. night's work. Blenheims No enemy aircraft Squadron then continued to patrol singly over throughout the night.
reported, and R.A.F. fighters intercepted successfully 3rd on three.
Only on three occasions during the 2nd June were enemy all aircraft formations evacuation effort. Eighteen Blenheims a level (1,000-3,000
series of attacks on the batteries near bombed Gravelines, from low to coincide with the
During the early morning hours of Pointe the de June the R.A.F. carried out a feet), but were unable to observe results.
By night, the policy was continued of directing a small proportion of our effort to targets near the battlefront and the main weight against Germany;
and air in conformity with this policy twelve Wellingtons attacked Bergues.
Blocking of Dunkirk Inner Harbour (Operation C.K.) (See Plan 4 and
Appendix Z)
The blocking of the inner harbour at Dunkirk was under the command of
Captain E. Dangerfield, R.N., and was carried out on two successive nights.
The operation was first timed to be carried out on the night 1st-2nd June, but at 1808 on the 31st the Admiralty ordered its postponement.
On each night three blockships, escorted by a destroyer, an MA/S.B. and an
M.T.B., were employed. The blockships assembled in the Downs, and (as usual) they were such crocks that one, the French built Emerald Wings (Government Yard, Cherbourg, 1920) broke down soon after leaving Portsmouth for the Downs and had to be towed back to harbour; a second could not keep up with the convoy; and a third, the Moyle, developed defects which, however, by dint of working on her all night, were remedied in time.
The ships finally employed on the night 2nd-3rd June were as follows:-
Vivacious (destroyer)
M.A/S.B. 7
M.T.B. 107
Blockships Westcove 2734 tons, built 1912
Edvard Nissen 2062 tons, built 1921.
Holland Dutch M.V. 895 tons, built 1923.
Early on the 2nd of June Admiral Nord asked that the blockships might be sent over to arrive at the entrance to Dunkirk harbour at 0300 on the 3rd, the latest hour at which they could enter on that night, by which time it was hoped the evacuation would have been completed. During the afternoon of the 2nd however, the Admiralty received a message from the Admiral postponing the operation because the evacuation would not be completed that night. However, the Admiralty still hoped to complete the evacuation and ordered the blockships to sail.
At 2030 on the 2nd the Vivacious, with Captain Dangerfield on board and with M.T.B. 107 in tow and M.A/S.B. 7 in company, sailed from the Downs, leading the three blockships, and proceeded to Dunkirk by Route Z. The
Holland, unable to maintain the 71 knots speed of the convoy, was soon lost to sight astern. Nearing Dunkirk a tug (either the Sun X, Sun XI or Foremost
87), towing a very long line of boats, crossed her bows and still further delayed her, but she eventually made contact with M.A/S.B. 7 and asked to be led into the harbour. The other two blockships had anchored at 0230, and a
1 This is her correct name
111