TNA MT 40 36 Pt 2

CONSTANCE
22
29
WESTFIEL RODNEY NYMPH
ROAD,
40
REGISTR 6 A.M.
11/1/21/11
NEW
Constant Nymph malden 1461
little Club
T.O. 9144/STN.
in. 8/5/40
20/9/40
onfirm that my
Dunkish Operations
2ª hours' notice.
M.C. Constant Nymph
35
have to get up
Dear Sir so go to the boat.
as requested, I enclose copy of a rough diary of ont to Isleworth my own experiences which was made on my return to town.
2 10.00 and 11.00.
I be required as
I had given up Constant "mph" for lat but she huoy, and my ss, I found at the was found later at Broadstairs, badly damaged in the the would issue supers tructure rgutted of everything movemble, but quite
S in the same yard.
sound in hull.
There was no widence of damage by enemy action to think there was go down together, but much widence of bad handling flooting noon so that I
When found she had no sope on her propeller&
others did not a certain amount of petrol in her tank, and a local inhabitant said she had been brought ova by some to" as I felt might at least soldiers who had been left on the beach at Dunkirk.
rhess. Luckily
When I left her, she certainly had sope on her ings that he propeller mo petrol left, 20 the naval drifter had e H111 to Islowo be waiting for the cirdantly dealt with her sprobably used her again, as a
was intended- why she should have been abandoned the Naval Contro later on the other side in a fit condition to cross ander is to anchor 017
her run power is beyond me.
be allowed to io
Both British Freuch soldies had been on her since we had found n the 28th May
I lift her, as small items of dis carded equipment were was not worth found in her which rouch for one opecimen of each army have to keep at least.
"Coustant hymph is a 24' cabin cruiser built by Kris chor and proceeder
Crisers hld at I alworth with Watermota engine, built 1939, around there collect, repert she is on the British Register as 4.78 tons.
yours truly Babinate near the dockyni all present by informed that WI
now for what required, although 1 had been told by the pleasant voiced man who spoke to me from the Admiralty that it was dangerous.
Of the boats which had come down from Isleworth mine WILL
3
the only one in charge of its owner so far as I know, and that time we had rather got the point of view that there as nothing very urgent in the wind and most of the men who had brought boats down from up river had done so without any previous knowledge that they would be doing so and had had n opportunity of making arrangements with employers, etc. so that few of them folt able to sign on for a month and voni back to town very regretfully by train.
The opportunity of playing boats for a month with or seemed to me too good to miss in any case, and I had bued e
able to warn my partners that I should be away for a bitthe but there was same difficulty in getting signed on and IMC
toured Sheerness Dockyard interviewing mumerous people 18
late in the afternoon and by about 17.00 had formed a we was accurate 1dea what the job was and was quite determinedo that to be put off, so appealed to the Commodore himself visa a few supervising the fuel and victualling of the motor be at the basin. Within half-an-hour of explaining to night's

Dunkirk Operations may Houre 1940
hote of movements by Smith dama shaster M.e. Constant Nymph hittle Club
Rough Deary set down on whom to hondon. 8/8/40
00.10, 27th May 1940, Admiralty rang up to confirm that my boat was ready for sea, and arranged for four hours' notice.
Not being a subject of good habits I did not have to get up to answer this call!
08.45, Admiralty rang up again and asked me to go to the boat.
Having already put a few things in a bag I went to Isleworth as soon as possible and arrived there between 10.00 and 11.00.
It was obvious that some form of permit would be required as my own permit only carried to Middle Blythe Buoy, and my instructions were to take the boat to Sheerness, I found at the
Boathouse that a Naval Officer was expected who would issue the permits and was requisitioning other boats in the same yard.
When the Officer arrived he did not seem to think there was any tremendous hurry and wanted the boats to go down together, but separate permits were issued by the afternoon so that I
was then ready to start at any time, and the others did not look like being ready for several hours.
At about 17.30 I tried to ring up the "Mate" as I felt sure he would want to be in on this game and might at least be able to help me work the boat down to Sheerness. Luckily he was home early and put such a jerk into things that he got his things together and arrived from Tulse Hill to Islowor BS
before 19.30, and we started at 20.00 without waiting for the other boats.
Soon after midnight we were pulled in by the Naval Contro at Tilbury, who examined our permit and told us to anchor 012
the south side until daylight as we should not be allowed t
Lie enter Sheerness during darkness. By the time we had found suitable anchorage it was already about01.3 on the 28th May, and we had no riding light, so decided that it was not worth while either of us going to sleep as one would have to keep anchor watch and dawn would be early.
As 1t was quite light by03.00 we weighed reised anchor and proceeder slowly to Sheerness and after a little chasing around there found the basin where the motor yachts were to collect, report our arrival and went to breakfast at an Hotel near the dockyai gates. Other boats from Isleworth were nearly all present by the time we got back from breakfast. We were informed that W
could sign on for one month but did not then know for what purpose we were required, although I had been told by the pleasant voiced man who spoke to me from the Admiralty that it was dangerous.
Of the boats which had come down from Isleworth mine WA
the only one in charge of its owner so far as I know, and that time we had rather got the point of view that there THE
nothing very urgent in the wind and most of the men who had brought boats down from up river had done so without any previous knowledge that they would be doing so and had had n opportunity of making arrangements with employers, etc. so that few of them folt able to sign on for a month and wont back to town very regretfully by train.
40
or
The opportunity of playing boats for a month with the
.e seemed to me too good to miss in any case, and I had beed able to warn my partners that I should be away for a bit but there was some difficulty in getting signed on and 1-10
toured Sheerness Dockyard interviewing mumerous people 18
late in the afternoon and by about 17.00 had formed a not was accurate 1dea what the job was and was quite determined 30 that to be put off, so appealed to the Commodore himself wise a few supervising the fuel and victualling of the motor be at the basin. Within half-an-hour of explaining to night's

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On the way back to England we avoided a drifting mine, but the two Officers' pistols and the A.A.Lewis guns were unable to pop it,so we informed another ship that was outward bound and it was duly popped in due course.
The troops on board Laudania evinced no interest whatsoever in the nor the popping of it, it was first sighted on our starboard buby and as the tide was running that way we sheered off and passed behind it, the troops evidently regarded this as entirely a naval matter and I do not think any of them oven got up to see what happened to it.
40
the whole course
Off the Foreland we enquired of the local Policeman, a from Ramsgate like to gentleman in his shirt-sãeeves on a drifter, as to which port
Dunkink was would take us and were sent to Margate. Three other ships and a
main street in two destroyers also had loads for Margate and we eventually a busy town.
tied up outside two destroyers and landed the whole issue haffer, several across each ether about 17.30 may.
abreast joing each
I reported to the Naval Office with my crew of two and we way.
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.
at
On arrival at Ramsgate I reported to the Commander of 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 about09.
and asked for another boat and before lunch time had taken over one which had only been brought into Ramsgate that morning and put her into commission with a new crew. This boat was an old german Admiral's barge from the last war, to which the only conversion of any importance seemed to be that the steam engine had been taken out and a petrol engine substituted, a dummy funnel being fitted where the original funnel existed. The engine was a fourcylinder 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 and he assured me that it was good for 12 knots without undue pressing.
my new crew had
As we were all anxious to go over again, but I did not relish not yet been over the idea of being towed any more, the prospect of being able to in fact.
go over under my own steam at 12 knots and so make the journey in about six hours each way was very welcome, and I decided that 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 sible 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 that 187, were already off so that I felt justified in indulging in something boat could more in the nature of & pienic, especially as cigarettes and have taken 35
other little comforts had been provided on the boat by the mou I should owner for the rescued troops. LWe 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
& quite unauthorised passenger an old member of my own Club who

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pubs around the harbour in about two minutes, and a seething crowd gathered round the Naval Office near the entrance but this proved to be a pure navy job and they were only taking the minimum number necessary, so as to have more room for the
STATE
and troops, only Naval Officers were chosen and a very small proportion of those available at that. The correspondent who had been coming with me, a competent motor boat man himself, had seen there was little chance of our getting away on Saturday and jumped another boat which got across that night so he got his real experience all right, I may say most of the correspondents down there went across at least once.
42
By Tuesday morning, 4th June, the real operations were over and senior officers were turning up from different places to try and straighten out records, etc., among them the
Commodore from Sheerness who had looked after us thoroughly there. I was coming along to the exit from the Harbour from my wretched house-boat to lunch on shore and this Commodore was standing near the entrance talking to a post-Captain whom
I did not know by sight; when I was within 20 yards of them
One nice price boat shifting was dones by using the dight brage, which was stronger than the tide act against'st, to take this hulk across 2/3 do the Commodore happened to look in my direction, promptly the harbour width rhut her within 2 you of and firmly "Constant Nymph". Considering that he had exchanged where she was to tie up on the for side.
Ihad some assisions moments half way through this wolution, but was very proud when it succeeded pointed towards me with a very pleasant smile, said loudly about 20 words with me a week before when busily engaged over all the possible wants of 20 or 30 motor boats, this officer must have a memory for faces and names that would leave an experienced hotel keeper blushing in despair. As my boat would not move, except by manhandling, and we often had to shift in this manner for one reason and another, and the show seemed to be over, I busied myself in trying to obtain a passage for myself and crew back to Sheerness as a large number of boats had already gone and quite as lot of drifters etc. were laid up in the Harbour, while the crews had their three days Dunkirk leave.
The difference in the town was most marked, naval uniforms were becoming comparatively rare. Unfortunately a lot of the senior officers concerned with the motor boat side seemed to have gone on leave by this time and it was not until Wednesday evening that I could get any useful information. I then found that an officer was supposed to be coming over from Sheerness on Thursday, 6th June, to take a boat named Cairngorn back to Sheerness and it was suggested that I might accompany him if the boat could be found, apparently two officers were looking for her at the moment as nobody knew where she was.
On returning to my boat I found that Cairngorn was lying amongst two or three others just astern of me and had received a nasty bump on the starboard busy which had smashed seratched quite a bit of the planking; it proved later on examination that two of the ribs had been broken at the top.
On Thursday morning, 6th June, the expected Officer arrived, and proved to be a very young man just down from
Oxford and waiting to get into the Air Force who had taken this boat to Dunkirk and had then been back to Sheerness for some reason.
The compass had been smashed by a bomb splinter on the other side, but the damage to the hull had apparently been done in harbour while he was away. As the damage was pretty well all above water line we got the navy carpenters to patch it with canvast and battens, obtained a chart, filled up with petrol and got under way about 14.30. My crew, on being given the choice of going back to Sheerness by rail or helping us two to navigate the crock back to Sheerness at once elected to come by sea, three of them never having been to sea before.
The boat was a beauty, a 45 foot twin screw Thorneycroft, and

HO
216x
COUNT DRACULA
/STN 6B
2, Blondin Avenue,
2nd October 1940.
Northfields, sir,
Ealing T.5.
44
I have to acknowledge receipt of
24/10/40.
your letter dated 20th September, 1940.
enclosing reports on the Dunkirk
1.0.)
operations insofar as your vessel use,
CONSTANT NYMPH took part in these operations, and to thank you for the most interesting information which
D. 9144/STN.6B.
you have been good enough to supply.
It is anticipated that this report will it Dracula".
be of value in compiling the final repat which will be drawn up on these e. regarding the Dunkirk operations.
in requisitioned at the time
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant, was not able to accompany
:, from the Master that the
Director of Sea Transport.
Dunkirk and brought back to
A.B. Smith, Esq., rip.
Westfield,
Rodney Road, fter taking the men on board
New Malden,
Surrey.
ds away, lifted her clean out und an even keel.
On
P back to Rams gate she developed clutch slipping, and was eventually towed into Ramsgate Harbour.
On her trip from Ramsgate to Richmond, she sustained considerable damage. Previous to that no damage was sustained.
The repairs have been effected, and I take this opportunity of thanking again the Ministry of Shipping for the prompt and fair settlement, which enabled me to have my boat repaired.
I am happy that she has been of some service to our Country.
Yours faithfully,
K. Cliener.
Directorol Sea Transport.
ng me em,