TNA / MT 40 66

TNA MT 40 66

Collection details

TNA MT 40 66

Ministry of Transport records containing a Dynamo vessel list and reports from masters and crews engaged in the evacuation, covering 1940–1947.

Holding archive: TNA
Collection reference: MT 40 66

View the archive catalogue entry ↗

Source: The National Archives, Kew, MT 40/66. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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Page	Image	OCR text	OCR tags
374	Log in to enlarge	and and TO Two STATEMENT BY CAPTAIN T.WILLIS, MASTER OF THE SAILING BARGE 15 л Drink "ETHEL EVERARD can I ITSP 249 We loaded Dynamite shells, and small arms Jon ammunition and packed stores in Dover, and towed away a acts FTS with the barge Tollesbury" at 2.30 p.m. on Friday SEALL the 31st May. STREET We had no definite instructions where we were to proceed to, but after towing up through the Downs the tug shaped his course for Dunkirk, and we were off Gravelines about 11.30 p.m. on Friday night. From then onwards we were continually machine gunned and bombed. About 1 a.m. on Saturday morning when about one mile east of Dunkirk we shortened towrope and the tug master informed us we were to steerfor the beach and await orders. We sailed on to the beach, and it was now about half ebb, and the smallswell which was on knocked us round broadside, and by this time we were being continually attacked. 21 We had a sergeant and five soldiers on board, and va fo he hailed the troops that were on the beach thinking they were the working party to discharge us, but they turned out yp to be troops waiting to be evacuated and they soon swarmed on board. They were suffering badly from thirst so they soon emptied our water tanks, and a naval cutter from the th va Gun boat lying off then took them on board the Gun boat. Shortly after an Army Officer came on board and asked me to allow my crew to row him off to the Gun boat, 28 and we were still being badly bombed, and about thirty 3 minutes after a naval pinnace came up to us, and instructed in us to go back to the Gunboat with the crews of the other th barges that were on the beach. On boarding the Gunboat a naval officer informed er me they had decided to abandon our vessels, and were going to fire them.	Boat Ethel Everard Gravelines Tollesbury Barge Crews Dover May Willis

Raw OCR

Unformatted machine-generated OCR for document page 374.

and
and
TO
Two
STATEMENT BY CAPTAIN T.WILLIS, MASTER OF THE SAILING BARGE
15 л
Drink
"ETHEL EVERARD
can
I
ITSP
249
We loaded Dynamite shells, and small arms
Jon
ammunition and packed stores in Dover, and towed away
a
acts
FTS
with the barge Tollesbury" at 2.30 p.m. on Friday
SEALL
the 31st May.
STREET
We had no definite instructions where we were
to proceed to, but after towing up through the Downs the
tug shaped his course for Dunkirk, and we were off Gravelines
about 11.30 p.m. on Friday night. From then onwards we
were continually machine gunned and bombed.
About 1 a.m. on Saturday morning when about one
mile east of Dunkirk we shortened towrope and the tug master
informed us we were to steerfor the beach and await orders.
We sailed on to the beach, and it was now about
half ebb, and the smallswell which was on knocked us round
broadside, and by this time we were being continually attacked.
21
We had a sergeant and five soldiers on board, and
va
fo
he hailed the troops that were on the beach thinking they
were the working party to discharge us, but they turned out
yp
to be troops waiting to be evacuated and they soon swarmed
on board. They were suffering badly from thirst so they
soon emptied our water tanks, and a naval cutter from the
th
va
Gun boat lying off then took them on board the Gun boat.
Shortly after an Army Officer came on board and
asked me to allow my crew to row him off to the Gun boat,
28
and we were still being badly bombed, and about thirty
3
minutes after a naval pinnace came up to us, and instructed
in
us to go back to the Gunboat with the crews of the other
th
barges that were on the beach.
On boarding the Gunboat a naval officer informed
er
me they had decided to abandon our vessels, and were going
to fire them.