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
55	Log in to enlarge	/ BOITG 3912 COUNTRY STATE Are DEPARTMENT DUE SEALT bruop Emilo Form DEFT Good SECURI Consis STREET The BOUR LOY Linu 6 / OGZES be towed over, and cast off just outside the harbour. We were to FIRES proceed up to the quay, put our ladders alongside, take off such 988113 men as we could, and transfer them to larger vessels outside. At DICTOR 0230 we must leave the harbour without fail, and proceed home under our own power, taking with us any men we might have aboard. Joa BIGGS Dugs At 1600 we left Ramsgate Harbour, and assembled outisde, Someon DIUOW for with some six or seven motor yachts and a life boat, all to be TONSOO taken in tow by a large sea-going tug. The difficulties of / passing lines to so many veseels were considerable, and it was T970 1700 beforez the whole tow was pr operly assembled. We then set nhot FORGO off at about 8 knots astern of the tug. It was a brilliantly sunny afternoon, with a smoothe sea and a North-Easterly (beam) and wind. The whole KE sea was alive with vessels of all sizes: BEIGB tugs, R.A.F. laugnhes, and a few motor yachts. One or two 110718 THIS destroyers passed, returning at full speed. There were noz signs of enemy planes, and our only interest was ticking off the buoys, as we came up to them, one after the other. A short way Long out our Lewis gunner was roused and took his post by his gun; birb he was a nice lad, who had joined up early in the war, and admitted that his seamanship was limited to one day's instruction in knots. The remainder of the crew took it in turns to get a little sleep on the berthsnow made comparatively comfortable by our blankets. When some three hours on our way, the crew of the tug decided to straighten out a new warp by trailing it astern. They tried to trail it from one quarter, to avoid the properlers of the vessels towing astern, but as these were sheering about a it was not long before the warp fouled one of our propellers, and masts and putting on quay and fixing machine gun a machine gun and ammunition On all harbour at 4 p.m. to the Tug "SUN XV" to be towed ready to sail at 2.30 p.m. Orders came to proceed outside in company with other yachts. Three other yachts make at half-speed to ease the strain of the tow ropes. Slight across fast astern of us, under way 6.35 p.m. Engines running swell. The tow ropes of two of the yachts broke and they were at 11.30 and cast off from Tug. Proceeded into Moored Dunkir told to proceed on under own power. Arrived off Dunkir past alongside the quay and proceeded to take troops on board. the Mole, p.m. and up the Canal for about 2 miles. Could find no Englishmen so took on board 40 Frenchmen.	Boat Broke Sun Sun XV Day Few Lewis Little Long Miles

Raw OCR

Unformatted machine-generated OCR for document page 55.

/
BOITG
3912
COUNTRY
STATE
Are
DEPARTMENT
DUE
SEALT
bruop
Emilo
Form
DEFT
Good
SECURI
Consis
STREET
The
BOUR
LOY
Linu
6
/
OGZES
be towed over, and cast off just outside the harbour. We were to
FIRES
proceed up to the quay, put our ladders alongside, take off such
988113
men as we could, and transfer them to larger vessels outside. At
DICTOR
0230 we must leave the harbour without fail, and proceed home
under our own power, taking with us any men we might have aboard.
Joa
BIGGS
Dugs
At 1600 we left Ramsgate Harbour, and assembled outisde,
Someon
DIUOW
for
with some six or seven motor yachts and a life boat, all to be
TONSOO
taken in tow by a large sea-going tug. The difficulties of
/
passing lines to so many veseels were considerable, and it was
T970
1700 beforez the whole tow was pr operly assembled. We then set
nhot
FORGO
off at about 8 knots astern of the tug. It was a brilliantly
sunny afternoon, with a smoothe sea and a North-Easterly (beam)
and
wind. The whole KE sea was alive with vessels of all sizes:
BEIGB
tugs, R.A.F. laugnhes, and a few motor yachts. One or two
110718
THIS
destroyers passed, returning at full speed. There were noz
signs of enemy planes, and our only interest was ticking off the
buoys, as we came up to them, one after the other. A short way
Long
out our Lewis gunner was roused and took his post by his gun;
birb
he was a nice lad, who had joined up early in the war, and admitted
that his seamanship was limited to one day's instruction in knots.
The remainder of the crew took it in turns to get a little sleep
on the berthsnow made comparatively comfortable by our blankets.
When some three hours on our way, the crew of the tug
decided to straighten out a new warp by trailing it astern.
They tried to trail it from one quarter, to avoid the properlers
of the vessels towing astern, but as these were sheering about a
it was not long before the warp fouled one of our propellers, and
masts and putting on quay and fixing machine gun
a machine gun and ammunition On
all harbour at 4 p.m. to the Tug "SUN XV" to be towed
ready to sail at 2.30 p.m. Orders came to proceed
outside in company with other yachts. Three other yachts
make at half-speed to ease the strain of the tow ropes. Slight
across fast astern of us, under way 6.35 p.m. Engines running
swell. The tow ropes of two of the yachts broke and they
were at 11.30 and cast off from Tug. Proceeded into Moored Dunkir
told to proceed on under own power. Arrived off Dunkir
past alongside the quay and proceeded to take troops on board.
the Mole, p.m. and up the Canal for about 2 miles.
Could find no Englishmen so took on board 40 Frenchmen.