TNA ADM 334 83

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LOVAD
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SEAL
THIS
Birth
the it Officers' pistols and the A.A.Lewis guns were unable but to
On two the way back to England we avoided a floating-mine, drifting
pop so we informed another ship that was outward bound and
it was duly popped in due course.
so
SECURITY
9
in the flbator nor the popping of it, it was first sighted on
The troops on board Laudania evinced no interest whatsoever
off and passed behind it, the troops evidently regarded this as
our starboard bady and as the tide was running that way we sheered
up to see what happened to it.
entirely a naval matter and I do not think any of them even got
He whole course
from Rams gate to
Off the Foreland we enquired of the local Policeman, a
Dunkirk waslike
gentleman in his shirt-sãeeves on a drifter, as to which port
the main strat
would take us and were sent to Margate. Three other ships and
1: busy town.
two destroyers also had loads for Margate and we eventually
saffee sweral
tied up outside two destroyers and landed the whole issue
abreast going each
across each ethar about 17.30 on 31.24 may
way.
I reported to the Naval Office with my crew of two and we
were promptly put in a taxi and sent back to our own port at
Ramsgate, a matter of a few minutes which might have been a
dreary Journey by train. As throughout, there was no red tape
in the Navy at all, they had ready everything that was necessary
and our general instructions were that if we were in any sort of
trouble we could close any ship we saw as it would be one of ours.
On arrival at Ramsgate I reported to the Commander = the
Naval Office and within five minutes my crew had been taken off
to the temporary barracks established by the Harbour and I was
on my way to getting a bed for the night inaan Hotel.
On Saturday, 1st June, I reported at Pier Head abouto9.
and asked for another boat and before lunch time had taken over
one which had only been brought into Ramsgate that morning and
german
put her into commission with a new crew. This boat was an old
Admiral's barge from the last war, to which the only conversion
of any importance seemed to be that the steam engine had been
fitted where the original funnel existed. The engine was a four-
taken out and a petrol engine substituted, a dummy funnel being
cylinder engine with cylinders of enormous size, it had no
self-starter and worked with a clutch, being in fact a lorry
engine. The engine was a brute to start and the gear lever
required a strong man to put it into any position, but the
engine was started and run over for a few minutes by the man
who stated that he had brought the ship round from the Thames
pressing. and he assured me that it was good for 12 knots without undue
is
not got been over
my new crew had
As we were all anxious to go over again, but I did not relish
in fact.
the idea of being towed any more, the prospect of being able to
in about six hours each way was very welcome, and I decided that
go over under my own steam at 12 knots and so make the journey
on this occasion we would do what most of the larger motor boats
had been doing, namely run over under our own steam, pick up a
boat-load and come back with them. I was informed that the new
boat only drew 3'2" so that it would be quite possible for the
troops to get to the boat without swimming. This still did not
strike me as being a very efficient method of getting the troops
off but I felt that some real work had been done with Constant
Nymph and I had been informed that morning shat 187, 000 were
this boat could
already off so that I felt justified in indulging in something
men should think
have taken 35
more in the nature of a pienic, especiably as cigarettes and
other little comforts had been provided on the boat by the
owner for the rescued troops. We had already victualled the
boat and obtained our water supplies and directly after lunch
we cast off to go across the Harbour and get petrol, having as
a quite unauthorised passenger an old member of my own Club who