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Cxtract Joon any weekly Intelligine Report
No. 15 (21* June 1940). boky on T.09474. 17
BRITISH MERCHANTMEN OFF DUNKIRK.
242
The British Motorship "Royal Daffodil" 2,060 tons, under
Government charter, on May 27 brought away 900 troops from Dunkirk,
a further detachment on May 28, 750 on May 29, 2,500 French on
May 30 and 1,600 on June 1. On June 2 she started back to Dunkirk
again and was attacked at 1955 off the Ruytengen Bank Buoy by six
enemy aircraft soon after the British Hospital Ship "Paris", 1,790
tons, had been sunk. Captain G. Johnson, the Master of the
"Royal Daffodil" reports that he saw the German aircraft mabhine-
gunning the "Paris's" boats containing nurses and medical personnel.
When the attack was made on the "Royal Daffodil", the aircraft
dropped what the Master described as aerial torpedoes. Five of
these missed, but the sixth hit the ship, passed through three decks,
entered the engine-room and went out through the starboard side
before exploding when just clear of the ship. The collar of the
missile went through the bilge. The engines stopped and the
aeroplanes machine-gunned the ship with tracer bullets, which started
small fires. The ship began to make water through the hole made by
the bomb and listed to starboard. Gear was shifted to the port side
and the port boats were lowered to the deck and filled with water.
This raised the starboard side enough to lift the hole just clear of d
the water line. Mr. J. Coulthard, the Chief Engineer, and
Mr. W. Evans, the Second Engineer, took all the beds they could find
and used them to plug the hole. Mr. Evans stood up to his neck in
the water in the engine room holding open the bilge valve while
Mr. Coulthard kept the pumps going. With a diesel-engine ship this
was a great risk; but the "Royal Daffodil" managed to get back to
Romsgate, with the engines running very slowly, as they had three
parts of water to one of oil in their system, and was able to land
all the troops she had taken on board. In all she had takenoff
about 8,000 British and French from Dunkirk.
id
The British Levenwood, 803 tons, was at anchor about two miles
east of Dunkirk at 1200 on May 31, when she was attacked by German
aircraft. Her 12-pdr. Lewis gun and Bren gun were manned. The
'ew
Merchant Navy Gunlayer, Mr. G. Knight, hit one enemy with his first
shot from the 12-pdr., while the Chief Officer worked the Lewis gun.
The German aeroplane was seen to crash on the dunes. The officer
in command of a naval launch then asked the Master, Captain W.A.
Young, if he could beach the Levenwood, so as to facilitate the
embarkation of troops. The fore-peak tank was blown and the ship
got her nose on the beach in about 8 ft. of water. The Master
kept steaming slow ahead and steered allthe time SO as to prevent
the ship from swinging round broadside on to the beach on the
B
rising tide. She was thus kept about a quarter of a mile from where
the beach was dry. The Master lowered his own boats and got out
on
the "long messenger". The Chief Officer, with four men was sent
through the surf, collected men from the beach and put them in a
3
boat which was then hauled back to the ship by the "long messenger"
and, when empty, hauled ashore again. From 1430 to 1750 they worked
this till one of the boats was holed and the ship had to float herself red
off at high tide. They were hombed allthe time but no bomb fell
nearer than about 100 yards away. The Master describes the soldiers
as having been "all very good indeed. They were very tired but there
was no panic, and this also applies to the French troops".
Mr. R. Moodey, a ship's fireman, kept going overboard and swimming
to the soldiers who were wading out to the boats. He encouraged
them and swam back with those who were so tired that otherwise they
might have given up. He also brought some who were unable to swim
and got them into the boats through the surf. Moodey carried on in
this way for three hours and al the time there was a heavy swell
and much surf.
nk