TNA ADM 334 83

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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 fourtaken 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