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6. I approached a number of trawlers and other small
vessels which seemed to be getting under way for Great Britain
and asked them to remain until I could fill them up with
troops. It seemed to me that the orders which they said
they had received to return to Great Britain were not bona fide.
7. I proceeded ashore and interviewed various military
officers at as many of the beaches as possible. At the
request of a senior military officer I agreed to assume the
duties of Beach Master and arranged to continue the organisation
until all the troops on the beaches were on board. I told
them that if anything went wrong during the night we would
return at dawn. I learned that some of the men had been in
the dunes for two or three days awaiting embarkation, and they
were obviously much cheered up to learn that they would get
out that night. The flat-bottomed boats which the military
had been using themselves were extremely dangerous in the surf
which, although not very great, was sufficient to capsize
these boats.
8. I found from experience that it was much quicker to run a
load of troops in a single motor boat rather than to fill up
one or more lifeboats and tow the greater number. The dangers
of controlling boats in tow when they were crowded both near
the shore and alongside H.M. ships were considerable. During
the night I acquired in one way or another five additional
lifeboats, and in many cases the military themselves acted as
crews.
9. The pontoon bridges which had been built by the military
the previous day were extremely useful, and were largely res-
ponsible for the rapid evacuation of troops. It is interesting
to note that a few moments after the last men had been taken
off one of these bridges it was hit by enemy artillery.
10. All the troops that I could find were embarked by midnight
and placed in ships which sailed for England. Just before
midnight I went along certain of the beaches to look for
stragglers. A Staff Officer informed me that no more troops
would embark from these beaches but that they would march to
Dunkirk, as it was anticipated these beaches would be shelled
and would probably be in German hands the following day. This,
as it turned out, was a correct forecast.
11. I estimate that from pontoon bridges and beaches approxi-
mately 5,000 troops were probably embarked.
12. The soldiers, though obviously extremely tired, made no
complaints of the delay or of the wettings which they got in
wading out in the surf to get into the motor boats, and were
more than thankful for the kindnesses which were shown them in
the various ships. One could not but be impressed by the
amount of friendly cheering which occurred when H.M. ships
passed the troop ships at sea. The great majority of the
troops were carrying their rifles and side-arms, and I insisted
that in no case must they be thrown away. I was impressed to
notice that the military padres were always amongst the last to
leave the beach in their respective parties.
13./