TNA ADM 234 360

TUESDAY, 28TH MAY
CHAP. V
Boy Roy and Paxton damaged and beached
At 1215 German fighters in strength were encountered by our fighter patrols;
during the rest of the day there was no further air fighting¹, but the minesweeper Sandown was bombed off the Gull Light buoy at 1230, and Bray beach was bombed at 1420². In an air raid off Dunkirk channel at about 1800, the prifters Boy Roy and Paxton were damaged by near misses and had to be beached; there were, however, no casualties.
Difficulty of synchronising arrival of ships with flow of troops
Meanwhile, at 0935, 2,000 troops were on Malo beach and 7,000 more were on the sand dunes, waiting anxiously for ships to come³. An hour after midday, 6,000 troops were reported to be on Bray beach, 7 miles east of Dunkirk pier, and 4 minesweepers were sailed from the Downs to embark them. When they arrived at 2130, however, conditions had changed, and three of them, the Salamander, Fitzroy and Skipjack, went to La Panne; the fourth, the
Sutton, went to the beach at Zuydcoote 4 miles east of Dunkirk4. Throughout the whole operation it was never found possible to adjust the arrival of ships, either at Dunkirk or opposite the beaches, to synchronise with the ebb and flow of troop concentrations.
Shortage of drinking water.
At this time the troops were sorely in need of drinking water; joint naval⁵
and military measures were taken to provide it in tanks and cans, and ships off the beaches were directed to do what they could from their own resources.
There was, however, inevitably some delay before all requirements could be met, and as late as the 30th May no water or food had yet reached Malo beach⁶.
Brighton Belle sunk
Meanwhile, at 1230, the Brighton Belle, returning to Ramsgate with the 350
troops she had picked up from the beach at Zuydcoote, struck a submerged wreck off the Gull Light buoy during an air attack and sank. All the crew and troops were transferred to the Sandown, Medway Queen, and Yser. Paymaster Sub.-Lieut. W. J. Butler, R.N.V.R., of the Sandown was killed and
2 ratings were wounded.
Shortage of boats
At 1420, when Bray beach was bombed, S.N.O., Dunkirk, ordered some of the troops there to march to Dunkirk in spite of the congestion in the port.
By 1830, however, there were still several thousand troops at Bray and more were arriving. At this time the Grafton reported that she was off Bray beach
I R.A.F. Narrative, P. 323.
2 Report by S.N.O. Dunkirk, (R.O. III p. 346).
3 Appendix N.2.
4 It is not always possible to record precisely the beaches off which ships were lying.
The 10-miles stretch of beach had arbitrarily been divided up into 3 sections, Malo, Bray and La Panne. In the confusion of the times, and particularly in the darkness of the night, it is not surprising that ships in company sometimes gave different names to the particular section of beach off which they were lying.
5 The Maid of Orleans had landed 6,000 two-gallon cans of water at Dunkirk on the
26th May. The motor boat Glitter II went over with water for the beaches on the 29th
May and the lighter Seine took 5,000 cans of it; the Friso and the Mona's Queen also went over on the 29th with water, but the latter was mined and sunk before she could unload it.
' Appendix P.1.
31

THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
CHAP. VII
heavy craft, nor even by small craft similar in a pier lop, was it was invaluable ing troops into small boats. A was completed and commenced in use on the morning of later for embarkthe 30th May at La Panne, and by the the same day the the same same d the morning day the morning day
(See p. 47).
2 or 3 motor yachts and paddlers to
Bray; none proceeded east of the Bray pier, where the
Captain Howson goes on to say that arrived in the and afternoon anchored one Fortwo skoots and the weskoots and waited many hours patiently. One tried or two without destroyers or sloops passed from had the westward to La Panne, and he he success with a lamp to
Admiral Wake-Walker asking him to arrange for this. Captain Howson also them to anchor off the pier. Eventually managed to get a signal to Rear- tell sent an officer to Dunkirk to represent learned the urgent need for destroyers off Bray.
It was not until 2 days later that he that all the destroyers, etc., had been given specific instructions as to which beach they were to anchor off.
Later a certain number of destroyers, sloops and skoots anchored off Bray and the embarkation proceeded satisfactorily. Unfortunately, time after time, owing to a lack of naval ratings, he saw a procession of boats going off loaded with troops, only to be cast adrift and left floating empty out to seaward¹.
Later that evening Captain Howson got in touch with Rear-Admiral Wake-
Walker, then in the Worcester, and obtained permission to embark the following day in a motor boat off the beaches SO as to prevent a recurrence of this waste of beaching craft².
In spite of the difficulties and shortcomings emphasised in the above reports great progress was being made. In fact, beach evacuation reached its peak on this day; 29,500 troops were lifted from the beaches (as against 24,300
from the harbour); and some 50 ships, including destroyers, minesweepers, skoots, trawlers, drifters, personnel and special service vessels, were engaged continuously in the arduous work.
The armada grows, but service of ships to Dunkirk is slowed up
Meanwhile the build-up of ships continued, and some 31 additional craft reached of Dunkirk and the beaches this day. They included two minesweepers of the 8th M.S.F.³, the Fleet Air Arm training vessel Grive, 4 yachts and a drifter the Dover M/S Command4, the corvette Kingfisher, (with the ex-Belgian canal the boat Sambre in tow), the Yarmouth Examination Service yacht Laroc, and M/V Scottish Co-operator, the S/M tender Dwarf, the drifters Fair Breeze minesweeper barge Skipjack), the motor coasters Seine and Sheila, (in the coasting
Ocean Breeze, the ex-Belgian canal boats Ambleve and Escaut tow of the the Viking, the ex-Dutch eel-boat Johanna (in tow Lady of the skoot Jutland), water, and (R.N.L.I.) lifeboat Prudential (towing barges 7 Sark and with fresh
Ramsgate sailing barge Beatrice Maud, and the dumb Shetland. hopper The the oyster dredging smacks Seasalter and Vanguard, the steam W.24, borough, the punt Carama), and the Margate wherries loaded Lord Southwherries. were The manned by their own crews, but (R.N.L.I.) naval lifeboat manned the appeared on the scene. and picked up 244 troops. Another A/S patrol, to
Bray beach in error trawler Olvina, which should have been on ratings went
I At long last a dozen of the long awaited important motor contingent boats
R.O.III, p.396.
2 R.O.III, p.397.
4 3 The The Glen Avon and Glen Gower.
and 5 The the danlaying danlaying Constant yachts drifter Gulzar and Sargasso, the echo and Conidaw
Triton, Silver Pauleter Adventuress, and sounding Ma Black Joie. yachts Arrow, Chico Sunshine, Reda,
60

THE EVACUATION FROM DUNKIRK
CHAP. X
The Windsor did some quick turns round. From the present night's work she returned to Dover with 493 troops, sailed again for Dunkirk and lifted a further was out, she was once more alongside Dunkirk East Pier embarking troops,
624 men which she disembarked at Dover, leaving about 1900. Before the day and she sailed at 0100 on 3rd June, loaded with 1,022 men.
As the Esk was unable to sail owing to exhaustion of her crew the Shikari proceeded alone. She berthed at Dunkirk at 0125 and left again at 0200 with
470 troops. When the first vessel of the last pair of destroyers, the Whitshed and Winchelsea, arrived at Dunkirk the East Pier was bare of troops; but by using a loud hailer and making a search a total of 512 were collected. The
Winchelsea disembarked 1,100 men at Dover.
On this night personnel vessels were not much in evidence at Dunkirk. The
Côte Argent disembarked 1,250 troops in England on 2nd June, the Newhaven
716 at Dover at 1030. The Royal Daffodil, after bring turned back earlier in the day by a French destroyer, left Margate again at 2200 on the 1st and was back at 0600 on the 2nd with 1,500 troops. The Manxman did not arrive at
Dunkirk until 0506 on the 2nd, long after daylight; she brought back 177 troops and disembarked them at Dover at 1043. The only other considerable lift from Dunkirk pier by a British ship on this night was by the 220 ton coaster
Seine, which arrived at Dunkirk about 2000 and, after an air attack lasting about an hour, went alongside the pier and embarked 250 troops. After landing these at Ramsgate the crew, who had worked continuously for four days and nights, had their first night's sleep.
In addition to the large ships, tugs, skoots, drifters and all manner of small craft evacuated troops on this night. Some lay off and were loaded by smaller boats ferrying troops out to them, others went up harbour, past the large ship berths. Over 4,000 men were brought to England on the 2nd June in this way. Of these the skoot Hondsrug took 421 French and the skoot Reiger
330 French.
French embarkations
During the early part of the night 1st-2nd June French troops embarked as arranged at the West Pier, though none of the French torpedo boats which it was intended to employ disembarked troops in England.¹ Looking shoreward from the sea, the characteristic helmets of the endless line of French troops on the West Pier showed up against the glare of fires inland. The town and harbour lay under a pall of smoke. The minesweeping trawler Chasse-Marée lifted from the harbour 391 troops, the patrol vessel Reine des Flots 350, the cargo ship Cap Antifer 291, and trawlers and motor fishing vessels a further
548; all these were landed in England.
June. Four Belgian trawlers brought over 313 troops from Dunkirk on the 2nd
British Naval base party embarks, 0245/2
the The shore end of the East Pier at Dunkirk, to embark the base party as arranged.
At 0200 on the 2nd Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker in M.A/S.B.10 went up to party arrived and the M. A/S.B. sailed at 0245.
had been haze which had prevented some ships from arriving the morning was
By this time it was beginning to get light, and although at one time there
T.B's. on this night alongside the West quay.
I Rear-Admiral loaded Wake-Walker in his Report M.017978/41 p.32 says, however, French
102

INDEX
Royal Air Command, 64, 83-4, 4, 88 (evacuated (fired from France), 17, 20, 30,
(attacks 38 all that was asked of them, concentrated 123. at dawn and dusk): 100,
(patrols Stren batteries); 99 (patrols on by own ships), 89, 93, 99
Royal Daffodil, 20, 25, 100-1. 29, 54n, 62, 102, 110 (damaged).
110-111, 115; did
Royal Royal Sovereign, 29n, 54n, 64n, 107n, 108-9, 114n, 115, 117.
Eagle, 42, 81,
95 (sunk).
Royally,114n,
Sabre, 23, 27, 44, 47n, 49 (takes across with beach parties), 53, 54n, 55, 62n, 64 (damaged), 86,
97, 101, 107, 114n, 118 (crosses compass damaged).
St. Abbs, 71n, 90 (sunk).
Achilleus, sunk, 93.
St. St. Andrew, Shelled, 18: bombed, 20; last trip, 87.
Ste. Bernadette de Lourdes, 107n.
St. Clears, 32, 46.
St. David, damaged, 38, 95.
Ste. Denise Louise, 107n.
St. Fagan, 71n, 88 (sunk).
St. Helier, 20, 25, 64n, 94, 98-9, 108-9.
Ste. Isabelle, 74.
St. Julien, shelled, 17 bombed, 20, 43; crew supplemented, 48n; last trip, 87.
St. Olaves, 107n.
St. Patrick, 75n.
St. Seiriol, 22, 24, 29, 43, 48 (damaged).
Saladin, 44-5 (damaged).
Salamander, 28n, 31, 42, 47, 86 (damaged), 89-90.
Saltash, 91-2.
Sambre, 60.
Sandown, 23n, 27, 31, 42, 105 (forbidden to sail).
Santosy, lost, 117.
Saon, 34n, 110.
Sargasso, 60n, 107n, 108.
Sark, 60.
Saturn, 114n, 118.
S.C.6 (French), 107n.
Sceneshifter, rushed and sunk by French troops, 53.
Schuyts. see skoots.
Scimitar, 20n, 28n, 54n, 55, 62n, 91.
Scotia, 29n, 54n, 83 (in collision), 92 (sunk), 118 (record lift).
Scottish Co-operator, 60.
Sea Falcon, 75n.
Seaplane Tender 243, 71n, 75n, 110 (sunk).
Seaplane Tender 254, 71n.
Seaplane Tender 276, 71n, 110.
Seaplane Tender 291, 71n, 75 (damaged).
Seasalter, 60.
Sea Transport Officials, serve in personnel ships, 48; in Dynamo Room, 74.
Secrecy, effect on supply of small craft, 15.
Seine, 31n, 60, 102.
Sequacity, 19, 28.
Seriola, 71n.
Shamrock, lost, 53.
Sharpshooter, 28n, 54n, 97.
Shearwater, 34, 88, 99.
Sheldvake, 34, 37n, 69 (hunts S/M.), 93.
Shell fire (German): causes serious interruption to shipping, 19; Route Y under fire, 48;
La Panne beach shelled, 60, 76; interrupts sailings of personal ships, 70; danger of, magnified at Dover, 98.
Sherfield, 72n, 90.
Shelland, 60.
Shikari, 20n, 28n, 47n, 54n, 55, 97, 102, 107, 114n, 119-20 (in Operation CK), 127.
Shipmates, 23n.
Signalling, see Communications.
Silver Dawn, 32n, 51n.
205