TNA MT 40 36 Pt 2

ADAME
Repl
Ho n), was
Report of the Coxswain, H. Knight.
LETTER SENT
delive
Ext. 2161.
1 OCT1940
POST ROOM
required a water seas given and position at skilled Life-boat: at had handling found to naval lay small off the who manned deeper did
1,09144/S.T.N.63
30th September 4 1940. 81 of use
Shee
THE THE THE STATE the the the a was to the in charge outing to and members of Life-boat boats under boats such wherries conditions: approschraft of not
Sir, THE THE THE the your, til quence one got as dar Ro the see being taken from are night you the water, THE when THE THE
were the on the the the of the batches of on
THE these remove
Veleb you of pet
:hat personal
10%
that ing be drawn up on prev the
Med men of the a party first as you of party have are members of a naval the crew
I Your am, Gentlementservant, obedient tham
D
and
TO:
the cont lef members engineer proceed some of to 500 feared Dover; for THE his their engines received in instructions to the be, last there craft of is
Despite
II.
the fell th in vessel men not to for were aboard passage; to two the crew local of holding Durr condition and the
The Royal Secretary Life-Boat under after challenge, dark, but Director found Institution, of Sea Transpor secure thaol ONE unc and
USA
I.M.S
BREAD
THE
my This left the would
Sheerness.
Apper ferrying continued from the the Life-boat with
After stoker
OF
waiting vicinity ships, to and all the but troops the they work in of the ship, crew proceeded The whole with ofthese.operations small wherries from by our enemy Life-boat had safely been aboard were destroyed. and the guns.
bus experience to act rend, as of Internal Combustion encin studyin 18011 with rest number of (2800) troops two carried thousand aircraft by Life-boat eight
Jon basitt unineve bluow We and belies ban onw
The by preparing we to us. the ship going all and we and that night, could relie ni
34" the
13' forward boat beam, a speed and with 41" the long the our the get Planes only purpos S
and contrary so with the a wind. of the paraffin Seamen I
she had to when was re-start difficulthout power. as we

TO 9144/STN
MADAME
POMPADOUR
Reply 11/11/20 H.
I, with another man (Morley Lawson), was asked to collect to a Motor Cruiser lying at Maidstone and deliver her to
82
-nu
Sheerness, and thence to Ramsgate if required. Our ship turned out to be a small Diesel engined Motor Yacht named
"Madame Pompadour" which was lying out of use in the river
DOCU
just below Maidstone. By the time we got on board it was too late to unlock, and it was not until darkness set in that we were able to proceed, and in consequence had a somewhat difficult time navigating down as far as Rochester without charts, all aids to navigation being removed, and neither of
Io us having had previous knowledge of that part of the river.
Despite the fact that navigation in the Medway was prohibited after dark, we were able to pass Chatham Dockyard without challenge, but found it impossible to continue on the tide, and returned to Gillingham where we secured, unknowingly, alongside an ammunition vessel, still unchallenged.
At day-break we got under way once more, and duly arrived at to 10
Sheerness.
After signing on the books of H.M.S. Wildflower, the bne depot ship, we were joined by 8. Skipper R.N.R., a volunteer deck hand, and an active service stoker, without previous experience of Internal Combustion engines, who had been sent
1
to act as Engineer and run our Diesel engines.
We set sail for Ramsgate with a convoy of other craft, was preparing to keep ship going all night, when we heard many planes overhead, so we stopped the Motor and relied on our Sails, while wj still favoured us. But many times that night planes came in quit close range. As daylight broke we could see where we were and occasionally gunfire was heard, and planes above us. So we contr with Sails to near Dover, and to get quickly by there seemed to b motive, when it seemed just for the purpose the wind failed us, SU
lowered Sails. The Motor was our only chance now in this strong and contrary wind.
So with the assistance of the Seamen, I tried starting, but fou she was cold, and that the cold paraffin had given me a wet plug.
had to re-start on petrol and change a plug. I had taken some time to localise our difficulty and to remedy it, that I felt very relieved when she started, as without power, we might very well have been blown
P.T.O