TNA / ADM 234 360

TNA ADM 234 360

Collection details

TNA ADM 234 360

Naval Staff History No. 41, the official historical study of the evacuation from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo, 26 May–4 June 1940, dated 1949.

Holding archive: TNA
Collection reference: ADM 234 360

View the archive catalogue entry ↗

Source: The National Archives, Kew, ADM 234/360. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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FRIDAY, 31ST MAY
CHAP. VIII
in the Bray and Malo sectors were being thinned out by movements westward towards Dunkirk iteslf. This change of plan involved concentrating the special tows and the minesweepers to which they were to transfer the troops, into the stretch opposite the beach between Zuydcoote Sanatorium and one mile east of La Panne¹, and also advancing the commencement of the operation by one hour².
A risk was involved in this change of plan as the boat tows were not in communication with the Vice-Admiral, and it would therefore be necessary for minesweepers to see that the escorting M.A./S.B.'s shepherded the tows to the new positions It had been explained to the Naval officers in each tow that the minesweepers would be anchored so as to serve as guiding marks³.
" It was always impossible for me to do more than deal with the situation of the moment", says Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker. "I did not know what ships were coming or when-except for the pre-arranged plan of the sloops. Nor was it possible for Dover to give me much information. Ships got back there, unloaded, and were off again, the stream was constant but irregular and it was not possible to see any way ahead. My policy was always to keep only sufficient ships off the beaches and send all the others into Dunkirk, but the situation changed continually."4
Small craft arrive in hundreds
It was in such circumstances that, at about 1900, Rear-Admiral Wake-
Walker had proceeded to Dunkirk in the Keith to see how the boat situation was getting on. There he saw for the first time that strange procession of craft of all kinds the story of which was to become famous-tugs, towing dinghies, life-boats and all manner of pulling boats5-small motor yachts, motor launches, drifters, Dutch skoots, Thames barges, fishing boats, pleasure steamers⁶. This was indeed the first time that the small craft had come over in hundreds⁷. Since noon Lt. Cdr. C. J. Wynne-Edwards, R.N. (of R.-A.
Dunkirk's staff), embarked in M.T.B.68, had been directing the tows to the various beaches.
I See Appendix Q.18, observing that D.R. p.20, para. 61 says the beach between Bray and 1 mile east of La Panne."
2 Appendix Q.19.
3 D.R. p.20, para. 61.
4 M.017978/41, p.17.
5 The following 14 tugs (their tows are shown in brackets) reached Dunkirk that evening:
The Racia (12 life-boats), Sun VIII (12 life-boats), Sun XV (6 life-boats), Vincia (3 lifeboats), Sun IV (9 boats), Tanga (6 boats), Ocean Cock (6 M/B's), Sun VII (seaplane tenders
243, 254, 276, 291 and A.M.C.3), Foremost 87 (two sailing barges), Fairplay I (sailing barge
Barbara Jean), Empire Henchman (sailing barge Aidie), Crested Cock (a lighter), Sun XI (a lighter), and the Sun XII (sailing barges Tollesbury and Ethel Everard).
In the early hours of 1st June 4 other tugs arrived. The St. Fagan (auxiliary barges
Pudge and Lady Rosebery, and the sailing barge Doris), St. Abbs (auxiliary barge Thyra and sailing barges H.A.C. and Duchess), Cervia (sailing barge Royalty), and the Persia
(sailing barge Glenway and Lark).
6 M.017978/41, p.19.
7 New arrivals off Dunkirk and the beaches on 31st May included the following The yachts Amulree, Aronia, Glagla, Caleta, Christobel II and Llanthony, the nine yachts of the
Portsmouth Inner Patrol, viz the Ahola, Ankh, Bounty, Caryandra, Eilla II, Lahloo,
Noneta, Seriola and Thele and from the R.N. Air Station, Ford, the yacht Andora.
The drifters Ben and Lucy (towing 4 boats), Dorienta (towing boats), Monarda, Renascent and the 13 drifters of the Yarmouth Base, viz Alcmaria, Feasible, Genius, Gula,
Jeannie MacIntosh, John and Norah, Lord Barham, Lord Hood, Overfalls, Reed, Rewga,
Swift Wing and Taransay. The drifters Fair Breeze and Ocean Breeze were again over, the former towing a motor life-boat and 3 life-boats.
The steam hopper barges Foremost 102 (towing the Excellent's 35 ft. fast motor boat and
71

Ahola Aidie Alcmaria Amulree Ankh Aronia Barbara Barbara Jean Boat Bounty Caleta Cervia Crested Cock Deal Dorienta Doris Duchess Empire Henchman Ethel Everard Evening Excellent's Fair Breeze Fairplay I Feasible Foremost 102 Foremost 87 Genius Glenway Gula H.A.C. Jeannie MacIntosh Lady Rosebery Lahloo Lark Llanthony Lord Barham Lord Hood Monarda Noneta Persia Pudge Racia Reed Rewga Royalty Seriola Sun Sun IV Sun VII Sun VIII Sun XI Sun XII Sun XV Swift Swift Wing Tanga Taransay Thames Thele Thyra Tollesbury Vincia Westward Barge Dover Edwards Ford May Reed Swift Wake Wake-Walker Walker Wynne-Edwards

169

OCR table 1 from document page 169
	A
	TROOPS TRANSPORTED
(contd.)
DOCKYARD LIGHTERS (Chatham. N.S. Dept.)	200
X. 217 (S/Lt. R. A. W. Pool, R.N.)	106
Y.C. 63 (Late A.S. 28) (Chatham N.S. Dept.)	Not known
Y.C. 71. Y.C. 72 (Late A.S. 29) (Chatham N.S. Dept.) (Lieut. Mortimer, R.N.R.) (P/O G. Senior, Coxswain)	45
Total	418
STEAM HOPPER BARGES. Total 73 101	70
Foremost (W. E. Llewellyn, Master) 102	206
Foremost (Actg. S/Lt. H. Martin, R.N.) (W. C. Attwaters, Master)	123
Gallion's Reach (S/Lt. F. N. F. Johnstone, R.N.) (J. F. Mason, Master) Southborough	350
Lady (Capt. A. M. Poole, Master) Queen's Channel³	141
(J. L. Bunt, Master) W. 24	980
(Capt. H. F. Boyce, Master) W. 26	296
(Capt. W. J. Allen, Master)
Total	2,166
AUXILIARY BARGES Total 8, of which 1 was lost. Cabby	-
Lady Rosebery1 (W. F. Ellis, Master) Lady Sheila	- 300
(G. H. E. Brooks, Master) Pudge	-
(Mr. W. Watson, Master) Seine	793
(Mr. C. V. Cogger, Master) Sherfield6	74
(S/Lt. J. D. F. Kealey, R.N.) Thyra	19
Mr. E. W. Filley, Master) Viking	70
(S/Lt. T. R. Rumbold, R.N.V.R.) (D. Gregory, Master)
Total	1,256
SAILING BARGES. Total 25, of which 9 were lost.
Ada Mary	-
Aidie	-
(H. Potter, Master)
Barbava Jean	-
(C. Webb, Master)
Beatrice Maud	260
(L. Horlock, Master) Burton	I

Ada Mary Aidie Beatrice Maud Burton Cabby Foremost 101 Foremost 102 Lady Sheila Lady Southborough Mary Pudge Queen Queensland Seine Sheila Thyra Viking W.26 Allen Attwaters Boyce Brooks Bunt Burton Cogger Ellis Filley Gregory Horlock Johnstone Kealey Llewellyn Martin Mason Maud Mortimer Pool Poole Potter Rumbold Senior Watson Webb

228

INDEX
Phillips, Vice-Admiral T.S. V., 16.
Phipps, L/St. M., 81.
Pickford & Co., 72n.
Pierre, set on fire, 74.
Pierre et Marie, 73.
Piers (beach) built at La Panne, 47, 60, 76; of barges impracticable, 49; built at Bray,
59, 82.
Pigeon, 72n, 114n.
Pim, Capt. R., R.N.V.R., 78.
Playmates, 13n.
Polly Johnson, 13n, 39, 40 (damaged), 43, 44 (sunk).
Pool, S/Lt. R. A. W., 72.
Port of London Authority, 32.
Porter, Col., 47.
Portsdown, 100, 103.
Portsmouth, C. in C.: sends destroyers, 20; provision of boats, 51 Inner Patrol yachts,
71 A.S.'s. barge, 117 (abandoned).
Pownall, Lt. Gen. H. R., 4.
Prague, 29n, 54n, 64n, 91 (damaged).
Président Briand, 93.
Preston, Vice-Adm. Sir L. (D.S.V.P.), 21.
Princess Elizabeth, 47n, 89, 114n.
Princess Lily, 75n.
Princess Maud, 48n, 53 (goes aground), 62 (damaged), 114n, 118.
Prudential, 60.
Pudge, 71s.
Queen of England, sunk, 53.
Queen of Thanet, 91, 114m.
Queen of the Channel, 22, 24, 29 (sunk).
Queen's Channel, 72n.
Racia, 71n, 114я, 117.
R.A. Dover, see Wake-Walker, Rear Admiral W.F.
Ramsay, Vice-Adm. Sir B. (V.A. Dover): to control evacuation, 4; to arrange air cover,
5; asks for more destroyers, 20; driving force, 23, 33; promulgates disembarkation ports, 25; efforts to increase supply of small craft, 23, 32; plan for night 29/30th
May, 50; orders all ships to beaches, 51; concern at losses of destroyers, 94; calls for volunteers, 105; reports exhaustion of crews, 113.
Ramsgate, N.O.I.C. Administers in shore flotilla, 21, 94; services skoots, 30.
Raphael-Raymonde, 73n.
Rapid I, 72, 92.
Reda, 53, 60n.
Reed, 7ln.
Refugees, 37, 100-1, 119.
Reiger, 32, 47m, 64, 101-2, 116.
Reine des Flots, 102, 107n, 109.
Reliance, 73n.
Renascent, 71n.
Renown, 73, 93 (sunk).
Resolute, 73n.
Revoir, Capt. de, 115.
Rewga, 71n.
Reynaud, M., 10, 11.
Richardson, Cdr. H. du P., 80n, 82, 83n.
Riggs, Mr. H. C., 21.
Rika, 41.
Rina, 117.
Robinson, Cdr. C. E. C., killed, 37.
Roebuck, in collision, 83.
Rope for towing, 61.
Rose Marie, 72n.
Ross, 28n, 44, 97.
Rouen, 94, 107n, 108 (goes aground), 109, 112n, 120 (aground).
Route, X prepared, 20; mined, 38; tested by destroyers, 39 taken into use, 48; last route to come under fire, 96-7; traffic suspended, 98.
Route, Y adopted, 20, 29; under fire, 48; E-boats, on 85; in use, 93; mines on, 110.
Route, Z under fire, 20, 48; to be used in darkness, 29, 48.
204

England Lily London Marie Pierre Pierre et Marie Pigeon Playmates Polly Polly Johnson Portsdown Prague Princess Princess Elizabeth Princess Lily Princess Maud PS Portsdown Pudge Queen Racia Rapid I Reda Reed Reiger Reliance Renascent Renown Resolute Rewga Rika Rina Roebuck Rose Rose Marie Rouen TSS Princess Maud Barge Crews De Dover Goes Johnson Last Maud May Phillips Phipps Pool Porter Reed Revoir Richardson Robinson Rose Ross Wake Wake-Walker Walker