TNA ADM 334 83

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reported cutter to whaler, and took them all back to the up the
I and took him aboard, went back and picked full
further the Captain of Jutland that the ship,
to the was my leading mark as the British big fire
just in-shore up the beach and that I was going there, British a were
and the east of this. From then on we worked to this were point just
British; Jutland was filled roughly half and half British the
French came down the beach and mingled with
and French.
After we had been going to this point for about three
or four trips, a German bomber most inconsiderately dropped
the
a. large bomb on our large fire and blew it out like a candle,
this did not matter very much then as I had other leading
marks and the mass of troops had increased so that they were
quite visible on the beach.
have
By about03.00, 31st May, Jutland was full and she sailed
paffer
at once to avoid the dawn bombing, Jerry was trying to bomb
the ships as they left loaded and thus get the ships and the
way.
men, but his efforts throughout the 10 - 11 hours that I was
working on the beach were very poorly rewarded.
Jerry also had some big guns for which aeroplanes were
spotting, and they dropped verey lights over the ships, but
here again Jerry wasted ammunition without hitting anything
that I saw. One of the crumps came as a nasty shock as the
at least two bombs
explosion actually stopped my boat for a split second, and I
shook the boat, but
thought I had grounded as she quivered all over but in the
none stopped it.
next moment she went on again and the noise of the crump
followed the air push so that I knew it was nothing serious.
On Jutland leaving about03.00 on the 31st May I turned over
handania was
with the cutter and whaler to Laudania and by aboutos. she
filled about 3/4
this time I had used up all my deck cargo of petrol and the
too was full, making a total of about 900 men brought off. By
Birtish +1/4 Trouch
engine wanted more oil and the grease cups refilled, also
there was a certain amount of rotten rope round the propeller
german
shaft, this I had not been able to cut in time. My two crew
were both stoker ratings of four months' service in the Navy
only and being stokers were not issued with clasp knives, on
my stern-man shouting to me that an odd rope was getting round
our propeller, I had to leave the wheel and cut it with my
own sheadknife, if he had had a clasp knife he could have
done it in time, I was a moment too late.
The cutter had gone aground under a stranded lighter on
the windward side of same, a N.W.wind having got up a bit in
the morning, and as I could not get near enough to get the
cutter aff and the crew, also their young sailors, did not, how
to get off, I resoued the crew and brought them off to Laudania
Engine had been
in accordance with the Captain's instructions. My boat only
stalling, probably
just managed to gedouside Laudania with the last whaler load
due to cope, relf.
that she could take and the Captain ordered me off with my
starter now refused
crew and the crew of the whaler, the crew of the cutter being
service.
already on board, and turned over my boat and the whaler to a
Naval drifter which was said to have petrol and mechanics on
board so that they could be of use further.
The whole of us who had been on the beach work then had
our first stand-bysy since 21.30 the day before and my crew and
myself had not had anything to eat since 17.30 the day before
and nothing to drink since 15.30, and had been continuously
employed, as had the two Naval ratings who remained on each of
the naval rowing boats during the tow across.
Jerry started his usual effort when the ship left at
08.30 to09.00 on the 31st, but with no results, and plenty of
hot tea and bread and butter and jam and a chance to light a
pipe had made me perfectly indifferent to anything Jerry did.