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Dynams 121.
367
St. Malo Les Bains. June 2nd - 3rd.
- 345
I reached Ramsgate with Commander Troup about 4 p.m.
on the 2nd. The operations were to be for fast craft only,
but hearing from a Colonel, who had just come ashore, that
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he thought there were some British troops and others near
St. Malo who had not been able to get into Dunkirk, I got
permission from V.A. Dover to go there with a group of
Schuits, motor boats and life boats. Commander Troup was
to take the fast boats into the Avant Port and Commandant
Anduse - Faru arranged for the French motor fishing boats
to go *mto St. Malo and ferry troops to a French ship and
a paddle steamer. The larger ships, however did not sail,
and the fishing boats went to Avant Port instead of St.
Malo. 3 Schuits and 12 motor boats were available. They
sailed between 1800 and 1900. I was expecting a M.A.S.B
from Harwich and waited as long as I could for her, as I
thought her armament might be useful during our withdrawal.
As she did not come I went in the 12 know motor boat "White
Wings", Sub Lieut. Mullins. We left about 2045 and owing
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to a head sea and some trauble with the starboard engine,
did not overtake the slow convoy.
2.
I found the three Schuits in the appointed place
between E.12 buoy and the shore and went in to close the
motor boats. They had already been in and found the beach
deserted. After giving one boat which had broken down to
a Schuit to tow, I ordered them all to return to Ramsgate
and went back to the beach to make sure no one was left
behind.
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3.
The battery of four/inch guns near Nieuport,
which had been shelling a point somewhere near La Panne,
where I supposed some Allied troops to be holding out,
and had been dropping an occasional shell in our neigh-
bourhood, now started to register on the Eastern Mole.
They got the range with about four rounds, and then landed a
salvo, on the mole itself, these direct hits wore just short
of me. Though evidently fired at entreme range, the salvo
fell well together. Another round struck and sank a
transport which was entering. It was now time to leave,
but as it got lighter we made out S ship's lifeboat
pulling off with very tired men in her. This was a party
from the Schuit "Hilda", in charge of a volunteer from
one of the yachting associations. I Ashou hope it will be
possible to get his name. He had been and along the beach
to make sure therewas no one there.
4.
There were hundreds of troops lined up on the
Mole, but it was clearly impossible for us to do anything
but report. We also discovered a motor boat ashore (The
"Singapore") at the foot of the mole. The lifeboat went
ashore and our volunteer waded along the beach to help her
off. The boats's crew decided to wait till the tide lifted
them, keeping under cover so that aircraft should think
the boat deserted. As my boat drew too much to get any-
where near her, I decided to withdraw. The "Singapore" got
away and returned to Ramsgate in company with the motor
boat "Kitcat", which had been into Dunkirk.
who 4. were pulling for England in a small fishing boat. I
Off Dunkirk we picked up 6 French soldiers
saw in the distance another of my boats towing a life boat
full of troops, but I do not know her name. 8 German bombers
flew out of the smoke cloud, but turned off to the westward,
ignoring us. Many British aircraft were seen on the return
voyage.