TNA MT 40 36 Pt 2

Committee to deal with claims of small craft employed in the
Dunkirk and subsequent operations
Meeting held at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday 10th July, 1940
at the Ministry of Shipping Room 8014.
Present:-
Mr. Robson (Chairman)
Mr. Simmons (Treasury)
Mr. Allen
Tatal
Mr. Moore
Mr. Riddell
Mr. Wand
1. Minutes of the Meeting held on 3rd June were agreed as amended.
2. Report of Payments for the week ended 9th July amounting to
£508.4.5d. was presented and passed.
3. Various claims for Loss of Earnings discussed. It was agreed that the basis of settlement should be Hire as prescribed by Rates of
Hire Section for comparable craft, increased at the committee's discretion to compensate owners for a short term engagement.
4. Agreed that the Ministry of Shipping Solicitor should be asked to formulate a Notice of Abandonment to be signed by owners before payment is made in settlement of Total Loss Compensation, in cases where the Department has not been able to obtain definite information of Total Loss.
5. Announced that Mr. G.J. Allen of the Accountant General's
Department will be the chairman of the committee for future meetings in the place of Mr. W. Robson who is being evacuated to Blackpool.
hid alm
24/7/40

Reference. T0.9436
FEBOATS.
MINUTE SHEET.
claims Total Losses. One from we have clue Star Liners. 4 Blue Star Liners: Eleven and this Committee was dissolved still the the tutstandia directivective instructions
Dunkirk Claims Committee.
were reto have the tion continue Cashier When done, to this and with in up London cases till for that now while have were I was the but even it is now right that no on still I the of should the on the staff of the with those members be made, come continue to me to for or not actual payment payments can to be in Owners. The
Committee This but dealt I think with still by the the would available, time Accountant has obviate come General's any for risk the of Department duplicate at payment. Blackpool.
to mission position have with the touch been un to to assist but in up till up order procedure Will you be good enough to advise me, please.
of
26/3/42.
the
Mr. Goldsmid.
balond
Concur. will 1 please inform A.G. Blackpool
2 MAR 1942
to the Dunkirk retary Claims Committee.
m.Wand thope WT shall telter 1)/10/41 all will Van perase none and return for the end of the gear this united sheet some.
facend they are to well in
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full 17/20
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28/3/22
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This " Wand has also been noted in a g 2. bentral Index. fif 46
29/4/42
(1502) 28899/1063
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[OVER
(REGIMINT)
CODE 5-34-0

Information supplied to F.S. 3N. bounty Hold
Blackpool 15.1.43
Dunkirk June 100L The on which May was 27th, the 1940,. official and was name concluded for the on
Transport Instructions Officers, had and been in given to local Naval Officers and Sea
Officers, might be used to search either their local some cases ports the for Fisheries any small Department as Tenders'on the English to go coast on to the shore at Dunkirk craft or to that serve the there quite operation. was sure just of time The in local the men excitement were for the given to larger a very ships free engaged hand, but on matter for addresses of the Owners. This, of took, and of the names and the names of the craft that instruct they them to make the Admiralty. our Executive side working in close course, co-operation was all with a
Department allowed to pay the piper, and we quickly realised the Finance if we
The operation concluded, it was the task of lengthy normal procedure to operate it might become that was due. and involved task to pay compensation to a very whom it immediately The matter was therefore put to the those to
Committee method would be to create a small and most straightforward agreed to the suggestion that the simplest Treasury, who would be to consider the whole affair. All Treasury Departmental difficulties representative from the Treasury.
overcome by the inclusion on that Committee of a to in the days following Dunkirk at two points on the French place
There were two other evacuation operations which took the west of Dunkirk, which were given the official coast
Operations Cycle and Aerial. The Departmental Committee names dealt of with less these concurrently with the Dynamo Operation. They is known, operations, and certainly much less dramatic, but were it of the cráft employed on the 3 operations.
well to of them as it was not possible to separate the names the Committee dealh with some involved in the three operations.
Altogether there wore 1,170 small craft of all descriptions
As a first step, on the 12th June 1940 a circular letter sent to all owners involved, advising them to forward any clas
House. The claims as receivèd were checked against reports then Was to the Ministry of Shipping, Berkeley Square coming in from the various ports, and were dealt with speedily and generally on broad lines. It will be appreciated that owing to the urgency of the operation there was no time to on-survey the craft, and there was no certainty as to their condition when taken over or to what stores and equipment might have been on board; and the Committee had to judge the claims for damage or missing equipment mostly on circumstantial evidence. Generall speaking the claimants acted in the manner one would expect of loyal citizens, and it was rare that an excessive or doubtful claim was made.
The claims received fell roughly into 3 major classes:-
(1) Hire and expenses. (2) Repairs and replacements.
(3) Compensation for Total Loss.
So far as expenses other than total loss were concerned procedure of the Committee was to authorise the Secretary to with clearly defined and straightforward cases in consultati with technical or other competent officers of the Department payments being scheduled and reported to the Committee for approval. It was also arranged, in the hope of avoiding the settlement of claims from fishermen whose boats were of prepare and stand by for the subsequent operations Cycle 8
that the Fishery Officers of the Ministry of Agriculture
8
Fisheries should be authorised to settle them on behalf of

COPY.
June, 1941.
The Secretary,
Ministry of War Transport, this arrange
Sir,
The Committee appointed by authority of your minute of the tostantialth corres-11
of
7th "Dynamo", has now finished its work, subject to the exceptions
June, 1940, to deal with claims arising out of the Operation mentioned at the close of this report.
Committee has met on nineteen occasions, and, with the in for receipt the of a
July throughout. The Committee also appended claims exception on the latter's departure for Blackpool, has dealt with
The that Mr. G.J. Allen succeeded Mr. W. Robson retained as Chairman its those to cases apply original from membership operations "Cycle" and "Aerial". The statement and the hire was arising shows the number and character of the cases dealt with, period service expenditure authorised.
The claims received fell roughly into three major classes:-
1. Hire and expenses.
lost longshoremen
2. Repairs and Replacement.
was
Found made
3. Compensation for Total Loss.
compensation arrange as expenses other than total loss were concerned, to deal with the for and was procedure clearly defined So of far the and Committee competent straightforward was officers to authorise cases, of the in the Department, consultation Secretary payments with approval. made some
150
being technical scheduled or other and reported Committee's to the Committee agenda for being covering crowded by he to masses be met expeditiously. It was also arranged, nature from of
This procedure of items prevented on which no the question of principle arose in and the enabled hope total avoiding claims to delay in boats the were settlement ordered of to claims prepare of the and the stand Fishery by for the only to fishermen whose "Cycle" and "Aerial", that authorised Officers to
Taunches, subsequent Ministry operations of Agriculture and Fisheries should the experiment be was and of the of the Department. But part not of traffic settle them on as behalf was hoped, owing to some reluctance, without specific on the
They do were authority; the operation. officers and In the it was end, some however, time of before it correspondence, worked the well scheme and by came enabled officers claims full who were to so successful concerned, to deal with claims into etc.
which be the considered best position with the to minimum deal with cases evidence. where decision often depended in on circumstantial rather than direct dealt with by the Committee direct, it was generally possible In cases to obtain of evidence dealing of with payment claims in was the comparatively case of wages and stores and regards the process the loss of equipment, however, it was a their fairly general of everything portable, what was owing on simple. experience As that while vessels were there re-delivered was no evidence, to board to the in the first instance. of such The Committee a nature as had to to justify the advice assumption of the owners conditions stripped under which they were taken up, as decide to whether articles claimed would probably for were have been on board, and, with offer. the The that technical they felt officers, bound to in arrive most cases at a reasonable to give to the sum to claimant desirable the benefit
Committee what was aboard. This was particularly had been since, of the doubt owing as to the to omission of an on-survey, the claimants relieved of their onus of proof.
/A

MINISTRY OF WAR TRANSPORT
36.
27th June, 1941.
r. Wand,
1941.
I have seen the report of the work of the mittee set out to settle claims arising out of
Operation Dynamo. This was a very good piece of work efficiently and quickly done with the minute f the minimum of fuss. I think that the members of O
the the Committee and the Secretary are to be nd, complimented on their good work.
Blackpool,
Committee nd
Yours sincerely, haracter the except and jor land, Esq.
concerned
Secretary i. Department.
in of the
0
the ed the
Rc hich met
E'
iding shermen ery ould be at the some al with before the scheme came into full operation. In the end, however, it worked well and enabled claims to be considered with the minimu of correspondence, by officers who were in the best position to deal with cases where decision often depended on circumstantial rather than direct evidence.
In cases dealt with by the Committee direct, it was of wages and stores and the process of dealing with claims was generally possible to obtain evidence of payment in the case comparatively simple. As regards the loss of equipment, howev
/it

10 June, 1941.
The Secretary,
Ministry of War Transport.
Sir,
The Committee appointed by authority of your minute of the 7th June, 1940, to deal with claims arising out of the
Operation "Dynamo", has now finished its work, subject to the exceptions mentioned at the close of this report.
The Committee has met on nineteen occasions, and, with the exception that Mr. G.J. Allen succeeded Mr. W. Robson as Chairman in July on the latter's departure for Blackpool,
Juny every has retained its original membership throughout. The Committee also dealt with claims arising from operations "Cycle" and
"Aerial". The statement appended shows the number and character of the cases dealt with, and the expenditure authorised.
The claims received fell roughly into three major classes:-
1. Hire and expenses
2. Repairs and Replacement
3. Compensation for Total Loss.
So far as expenses other than total loss were concerned the procedure of the Committee was to authorise the Secretary to deal with clearly defined and straightforward cases, in consultation with technical or other competent officers of the
Department, payments made being scheduled and reported to the
Rc
Committee for covering approval. This procedure prevented the
Committee's agenda being crowded by masses of items on which no question of principle arose and enabled claims to be met expeditiously. It was also arranged, in the hope of avoiding delay in the settlement of claims of this nature from fishermen whose boats were ordered to prepare and stand by for the
Officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries should be subsequent operations "Cycle" and "Aerial", that the Fishery authorised to settle them on behalf of the Department. But the experiment was not so successful as was hoped, owing to some reluctance, on the part of the officers concerned, to deal with claims without specific authority; and it was some time before the scheme came into full operation. In the end, however, it worked well and enabled claims to be considered with the minimu of correspondence, by officers who were in the best position to deal with cases where decision often depended on circumstantial rather than direct evidence.
In cases dealt with by the Committee direct, it was generally possible to obtain evidence of payment in the case of wages and stores and the process of dealing with claims was comparatively simple. AB regards the loss of equipment, howev
/it