TNA / Unclassified 1

TNA Unclassified 1

Collection details

TNA Unclassified 1

A working collection of Operation Dynamo source material whose definitive National Archives catalogue reference is still being identified.

Holding archive: TNA
Collection reference: Unclassified 1

Source: The National Archives, Kew, Unclassified 1. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing only pages tagged with the vessel name Sunshine. Tags are exact matches from this collection’s OCR tag index. Clear vessel filter ×

2 matching pages. OCR may contain transcription errors.

List page 1 of 1 Showing document pages 291–292 of this collection

A note about image and OCR quality

Every reasonable effort has been made to present these document images as flat, straight and accurately cropped as possible. Historical records can be difficult to photograph or scan because of tight bindings, deep gutters, page curvature, folds, creases, fragile paper, uneven edges, shadows, glare, skewed pages, fading, stains, tears, attachments and restrictions on how a document may be handled. These conditions can distort parts of an image and consequently affect the OCR transcription.

Considerable post-production work has been undertaken to crop, align, flatten and enhance the images where practicable, but the results represent our best effort rather than exact facsimiles. Text showing through from the reverse of a page, printed backgrounds, stamps, ruled lines, marks and text visible from neighbouring pages may confuse or spoil OCR output. Handwriting is not reliably recognised and, in most places, may be missing, incomplete or incorrectly transcribed. Always check the page image and, where accuracy matters, consult the original record held by the identified archive.

OCR is not a transcription. It is machine-generated text used to create research tags and help locate names and references within the source images; it should not be read as a verified narrative.

Page	Image	OCR text	OCR tags
291	Log in to enlarge	221 209 OPERATION DYNAMO ENCLOSURE NO. 7. SHIP: EMPRESS, RIVER LAUNCH. LUCY LAVERS 4/B. OFFICER REPORTING: SUB-LIEUTENANT T.W. BETTS, R.N.V.R. Leaving H.M.S. KING ALFRED on Friday, May 31st, I proceeded to Sheerness, to await the arrival of Motor Boats for the purpose of evacuating troops from Dunkirk. On Saturday, 1st June, I was placed in command of the River Launch EMPRESS with a crew of 6. The clutch of the starboard engine had been giving trouble before I left, but I decided that, at any rate, I could make Ramsgate. In this assumption I was wrong, as I broke down when about half the distance was covered. The trawler escorting the motor boats took me in tow to Ramsgate, and thence to Dunkirk, where, having had my engineer repairing his engines on the journey over, I left the trawler and prepared to pick up troops. Nearing the beach West of Dunkirk, and judging the water too shallow for further progress inshore, I rang down "Hard Astern" to the engine room, in order to take the way off my ship. The starboard engine, then, not only refused to go astern, but refused to assume the neutral position, with the consequence that the ship was carried high and dry on to the beach. Upon examination I found that it would be quite impossible to salvage the ship until between 9 and 10 a.m. on the next day. After having placed an anchor out well astern, I and my crew swam out to deep water where we were soon picked up by a launch and put aboard a drifter. The drifter proceeded to Dunkirk Harbour, and I and my crew assisted in the embarkation of troops, after which we returned with the drifter to Dover and reported to H.M.S. LYNX. 2nd June, 1940 at 1400 approximately, I was placed in charge of the R.N.L.I. Motor Lifeboat LUCY LAVER and proceeded to Dunkirk under tow with the Drifter GOLDEN SUNSHINE. After/	Broke Drifter Empress Progress Sunshine Betts Day Dover King May West
292	Log in to enlarge	222 * 210 - 2 - After having searched the beach West of Dunkirk for troops and not seeing any, we proceeded into the Harbour again and took ori a load of French soldiers. The Drifter GOLDEN SUNSHINE then towed my ship back to Dover. (Signed) T.W. Betts Sub-Lieutenant R.N.V.R. 4th June, 1940.	Drifter Sunshine Betts Dover West