TNA ADM 334 83

Collection details

TNA ADM 334 83

Little Ships Club correspondence and personal accounts relating to the Dunkirk evacuation, covering 1940–1941.

Holding archive: TNA
Collection reference: ADM 334 83

View the archive catalogue entry ↗

Source: The National Archives, Kew, ADM 334/83. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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Page	Image	OCR text	OCR tags
52	Log in to enlarge	Free STATE BITO and SHIS BITS SEW 3B STOLB and DOVINGS GITUB bng uses From Landa MILE 0037661 AUTOP STARM 202 STATE MEACH 3 tant STA611 JLOW we signed a 3x12* T.124 agreement, drew tin hats and service gas blon in DOBUTA MUTOR ABOUP ox masks, and took on board two sacks of bully beef, bread, biscuits, FIred F667 MOTOR OF MILOTO START butter, tea and sugar, and enough petrol for about 140 miles' TO DUS notd 9.00 steaming. By that time Sheerness had been denuded of most of the BBW STATE IL stores that we most needed in the way of blankets and clothes, 86000180 Used but an officer took pity on my lack of clothes, and found me MOLO Coke OF so BOXAT a battle-dress tunic and anti-gas oilskin. We were also given aus rather small-scale charts of the lower part of the Thames Estuary 03 1982 and of the passage across the Channel, and it was explained to us or that the whole route from Ramsgate to Dunkirk had been buoyed at 5-mile intervals. At about 1800, as soon as we had taken aboard our stores, DEGD we left for Ramsgate, and had an uneventful passage. The tide GIFTED OF was turning against us, but the wind was dying, and we entered offer Ramsgate at about midnight, having passed through what seemed like Teven hundreds of small coasting vessels, anchored all along the coast from Margate to the Downs. It was at the beginning of this passage that we were joined by the most useless person it has ever been my fate to meet on any yacht (with the sole exception of a photographic model the length of whale whose nails always precluded her from doing any manual work). We had been asked to deliver him to another yacht, but meanwhile he was not only incapable of any seamanship, but proved even unable to open a tin. Most of his time was spent in telling us how he was a "key man" in the Board of Inalnd Revenue, so, when we could not find him his ship, we managed to play sufficiently on his sense of his own a machine gun and ammunition masts and putting on quay and fixing machine all ready to sail at 2.30 p.m. Orders came to proceea outside harbour at 4 p.m. to the Tug "SUN XV" to be towed across in company with other yachts. Three other yachts make fast astern of us, under way 6.35 p.m. Engines running at half-speed to ease the strain of the tow ropes. Slight swell. The tow ropes of two of the yachts broke and they were told to proceed on under own power. Arrived off Dunkin at 11.30 p.m. and cast off from Tug. Proceeded into Dunkir past the Mole, and up the Canal for about 2 miles. Moored alongside the quay and proceeded to take troops on board. Could find no Englishmen so took on board 40 Frenchmen.	Broke Sun Sun XV Thames Miles Whale

Raw OCR

Unformatted machine-generated OCR for document page 52.

Free
STATE
BITO
and
SHIS
BITS
SEW
3B
STOLB
and
DOVINGS
GITUB
bng
uses
From
Landa
MILE
0037661
AUTOP
STARM
202
STATE
MEACH
3
tant
STA611
JLOW
we signed a 3x12* T.124 agreement, drew tin hats and service gas
blon
in
DOBUTA
MUTOR
ABOUP
ox
masks, and took on board two sacks of bully beef, bread, biscuits,
FIred
F667
MOTOR
OF
MILOTO
START
butter, tea and sugar, and enough petrol for about 140 miles'
TO
DUS
notd
9.00
steaming. By that time Sheerness had been denuded of most of the
BBW
STATE
IL
stores that we most needed in the way of blankets and clothes,
86000180
Used
but an officer took pity on my lack of clothes , and found me
MOLO
Coke
OF
so
BOXAT
a battle-dress tunic and anti-gas oilskin. We were also given
aus
rather small-scale charts of the lower part of the Thames Estuary
03
1982
and of the passage across the Channel, and it was explained to us
or
that the whole route from Ramsgate to Dunkirk had been buoyed at
5-mile intervals.
At about 1800, as soon as we had taken aboard our stores,
DEGD
we left for Ramsgate, and had an uneventful passage. The tide
GIFTED
OF
was turning against us, but the wind was dying, and we entered
offer
Ramsgate at about midnight, having passed through what seemed like
Teven
hundreds of small coasting vessels, anchored all along the coast
from Margate to the Downs. It was at the beginning of this pas-
sage that we were joined by the most useless person it has ever
been my fate to meet on any yacht (with the sole exception of a
photographic model the length of whale whose nails always pre-
cluded her from doing any manual work). We had been asked to
deliver him to another yacht, but meanwhile he was not only in-
capable of any seamanship, but proved even unable to open a tin.
Most of his time was spent in telling us how he was a "key man"
in the Board of Inalnd Revenue, so, when we could not find him
his ship, we managed to play sufficiently on his sense of his own
a machine gun and ammunition
masts and putting on quay and fixing machine
all ready to sail at 2.30 p.m. Orders came to proceea
outside harbour at 4 p.m. to the Tug "SUN XV" to be towed
across in company with other yachts. Three other yachts
make fast astern of us, under way 6.35 p.m. Engines running
at half-speed to ease the strain of the tow ropes. Slight
swell. The tow ropes of two of the yachts broke and they
were told to proceed on under own power. Arrived off Dunkin
at 11.30 p.m. and cast off from Tug. Proceeded into Dunkir
past the Mole, and up the Canal for about 2 miles. Moored
alongside the quay and proceeded to take troops on board.
Could find no Englishmen so took on board 40 Frenchmen.