Hi All, I am reading through the war diaries of 660th Company Royal Engineers during their evacuation from Dunkirk and I was unsure of a few things so thought I would post to get some peoples thoughts. I have attached the war diary pages from the relevant days. What I understand is that the company appear to have split up into 2 sections - one sections leaves at 02:30 and the ship they are on is subsequently sunk and they are rescued and the other section leave at 06:00 on HMS Vimy. I am trying to find out the name of the ship which appears to have been sunk and looking through ships sunk on that day I think it might be 'Queen of the Channel' passenger ship as the number of men rescued seems to match (920) (List of shipwrecks in May 1940 - Wikipedia). However the war diary mentions the ship called the 'Bonnie May' rescuing the men but I can't seem to find that ship anywhere, the one I can find which is linked is the Dorrien Rose. The other point that I was confused about is that the war diary mentions that the second section that were picked up by HMS Vimy at 06:00 on the 28th May embarked using the 'jetty' however this link below states that "Apart from early in the morning of 28th May all troop embarkation took place alongside the Mole (East Pier) (HMS Vimy at Dunkirk)." Could the jetty mentioned in the war diary and the East Mole be different things because I was under the impression that the East Mole was the only jetty like structure used for evacuation? Thanks, George.
Looking at the details of war service for the HMS Vimy it doesn't seem to get involved in operation Dynamo until 30th May and the date in question is the early morning of the 28th May. Could this be another mistake on the war diary as reading short account of this evacuation from a member of the 660th GC Coy they mention evacuation on the HMS Impulsive and the war service for this ship backs this up.
George, you are correct troops were rescued by the Queen of the Channel, she was attacked quite soon after she sailed and her back was broken. The Master of the elderly coaster Dorrien Rose saved them and took them all to Dover. I will post the story in the next couple of days. Roy
The Queen of the Channel was one of the excursion steamers that had been requisitioned to carry troops. On 27 May she was ordered to Dunkirk, berthing at the East Pier at 2000. After she had loaded about fifty troops, the German gunners began shelling the pier and she was ordered to move. Captain O'Dell anchored his vessel about three-quarters of a mile off and launched four of her boats to ferry more soldiers from the beach. Two hundred were saved, but one of the boats, and its crew, was lost. At 2300 she again went alongside the East Pier and loaded another 700 men, sailing at 0255 on 28 May. As it was already twilight the troops were sent below, and shortly afterwards the vessel was attacked by a single aircraft. Three or four bombs straddled the ship; one near miss broke her back. There were no casualties among the troops but the ship was sinking and, having lost another lifeboat in the attack, had insufficient boats for those on board. The elderly coastal tramp, Dorrien Rose, had already had an eventful trip to France and was approaching the beaches to ground and load more troops. This cannot have been an appealing prospect as the many of the merchant ships who were already beached there were under constant attack. Captain W Thompson saw that the Queen of the Channel was in trouble and, after a short discussion with Captain O'Dell, went to her aid. To prevent either vessel listing dangerously, the ships were secured bow to bow and in thirty five minutes the wounded, troops and equipment were transferred. With more than 1,000 people aboard (her usual crew being thirteen) the Dorrien Rose made for the Dover. After discharging the troops the coaster again set sail for Dunkirk. En route she struck a piece of submerged wreckage, but the crew made temporary repairs and arrived on the morning of 30 May: The prospect was far from pleasing, as the last ten miles to the port were littered with sunken and blazing ships. Bombers were paying us frequent visits. The port lay under a pall of oily smoke and flames. There was no one to look to for instructions so we poked into the harbour. Someone ashore gestured us alongside a battered wall. Masters had to be especially alert as fifth columnists were at work everywhere, giving false instructions. During the next two hours 'in which it seemed there were always bombers overhead' the ship loaded 600 troops. She sailed at 1230, landing her passengers at Folkestone that evening. The vessel was then put to anchor to make temporary repairs to her boilers. While there the Germans dropped six magnetic mines around her, which the minesweepers detonated. She was then ordered to Newhaven, where she arrived on Sunday 2 June. They had been at work for six days, with very little rest. Her engineers had none as they coaxed the old ship's boilers and engines to give that little bit more, to ensure the survival of all concerned. Captain Thompson, Mr T O'Hanlon, the Mate and Mr B Murphy, Chief Engineer, received the DSC; W Watson RN the Gunner, W Barnett OS, A Gibson Fireman and J O'Rawe AB, were awarded the DSM. P McFadden, Boatswain, Mr J Steward, Second Engineer, T Barnett Cook, J. Upperton AB, C. Barnett OS, Ali Khan and Abdul Mohammed, Firemen, were Mentioned in Despatches. It can't be often that every member of a ship's crew is awarded a decoration!
Very interesting, thanks for sharing Roy. Would you happen to know why some of the ship names appear to be wrong (or correct) in the war diary? as they refer to the Dorian rose as the bonnie may and the HMS impulsive as the HMS Vimy?
Sorry George not my area, perehaps the war diaries were written after the event, without any records to refer to. The few I have seen often do not even give the names of the ships.
