Dunkirk and Her Little Ships - 70 Years On.

Discussion in '1940' started by Drew5233, Jun 13, 2010.

  1. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 34ft

    Boat Beam: 10ft

    Boat Draft: 3ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 7.30 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x 1.6L Diesels

    Boat Construction: Carvel, pitch pine on oak

    Boat Builder: Royal Boatbuilding Co, Poole

    Boat Year: 1931

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    There appears to be no official documents on Margo II's role in Operation Dynamo. The only link between her and the operation is from a Ship Builder who remembers her setting off for Dunkirk in 1940.
     
  2. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 35ft

    Boat Beam: 9ft

    Boat Draft: 6ft

    Boat Displacement: 14.5 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x 25hp Ford

    Boat Construction: Pitch pine on oak

    Boat Builder: Hyland, Barton-on-Humber

    Boat Year: 1937

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    From 'The Little Ships of Dunkirk by Christian Brann'

    Lieutenant Commander Buchanan had been invalided out of the Royal Navy before the war had begun.

    On 29th May 1940, he heard on the 9 o'clock news that the Admiralty wanted enginemen for yachts and he applied at once. The next day, he went to Robinson's yard at Oulton Broad and took charge of the engines in the estuary cruiser, Elvin. Her two 25hp Highlander petrol/paraffin motors needed all his skills. The crew, when they set out for Ramsgate, consisted of himself, a young Sub-Lieutenant RNVR, a retired fisherman from Aberdeen, a Lowestoft longshoreman and Hackforth-Jones, a writer of yachting stories, who had served with Winston Churchill's battalion in the 1914-18 war.

    They got to Ramsgate but, through some mix-up, they were sent back to Lowestoft, where they got fresh orders to set out for Ramsgate once more. At the second attempt they left for Dunkirk, although the Admiralty were very reluctant to let them go: 'Civilian crew, ship too slow, flying the red ensign' - but the crew lost patience and cut the mooring lines and started to set off. As they were pulling away they heard a Chief Petty Officer say, "They're going, Sir". The Commander on the dock shrugged his shoulders and there followed a shower of first aid kits into their cockpit thrown from the dock.

    It was late in the evening on 2nd June when they left and they arrived at Dunkirk at first light. They had no charts, but simply followed the traffic and steered for the glare of the fires and the shell-bursts. The starboard engine failed on the way, but Buchanan repaired it. As soon as they could see what was happening, they went alongside the eastern pier, where a column of soldiers was drawn up. A French officer called out, "Combien des soldats?" But since Buchanan could not remember the French for 'Twenty-five', he shouted, "Trente." This was more than they could comfortably hold. But another one was admitted when one of the French soldiers pleaded, "Mon ami!" They followed an open boat, grossly over-loaded, with a whaler in tow, making for a Destroyer. The Elvin was a bit top-heavy and they were worried about capsizing. By the time they had negotiated the wreckage which littered the approaches, the Destroyer had gone, so they chased some French minesweepers, but they were too fast for them. So, in the end they headed for Ramsgate. They did not know the swept channel but, with their shallow draft, they were less concerned with mines than with flotsam. They landed 25 French and 8 British troops on the North-East wall at Ramsgate.
     
  3. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 40ft

    Boat Beam: 9ft 6ins

    Boat Draft: 3ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 10.9 tons

    Boat Engine: Ford Lister 4cyl. Diesel

    Boat Construction: Mahogany on oak

    Boat Builder: Walton Yacht and Launch Works, Shepperton

    Boat Year: 1933

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    Betty was on the River Thames in May 1940 when she was taken along with numerous other similiar ships to take part in Operation Dynamo. After the evacuation she was fitted with an Oerlikon gun on her foredeck and then saw service on the east coast of England as a patrol boat in the Royal Navy.

    It wasn't until the Admiralty relaesed records in 1985 that she was identified by her engine numbers as a Dunkirk 'Little Ship'.
     
  4. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 41ft

    Boat Beam: 9ft

    Boat Draft: 3ft 10ins

    Boat Displacement: 6.56 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x Perkins Diesel

    Boat Construction: Carvel; mahogany on oak

    Boat Builder: Walton Yacht and Launch Works, Walton-on-Thames

    Boat Year: 1936

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    When the Admiralty sent the call call for small sea going ships in late May 1940, Hilfranor was collected by Douglas Tough from the upper Thames.

    Crewed by Jock Christie, W Hills and V Hissons, Hilfranor can be seen in film footage taken at the time with a Bren gun fitted astern of the wheelhouse.

    No records have been found to indicate how many crossings she made to Dunkirk in 1940 but according to C. Brann's 'The Little Ships of Dunkirk' she was straddled by bombs from German dive bombers which resulted in her ribs cracking. After taking on water, she settled in the shallow waters off Dunkirk and was abandoned. Some soldiers desperate to get off the beaches, boarded her and continually bailed water out her as they sailed across the Channel. They made it as far as Goodwin Sands near Ramsgate where she settled onto the bank. Fortunately she was spotted by a British minesweeper and she was towed into Ramsgate.

    Hilfranor stayed in service throughout the war. She appears in the Admiralty Small Craft Service List as having been an Auxiliary Patrol craft from May 1940 to March 1943. She was laid up until May 1943 and is then described as being in the Fire Service until 31 May 1945 when she was laid up again. The Admiralty paid £6 per month to hire her.
     
  5. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 52ft

    Boat Beam: 11ft

    Boat Draft: 4ft 3ins

    Boat Displacement: 23.42 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x Perkins 6354 Diesels

    Boat Construction: Double mahogany on Canadian rock elm

    Boat Builder: Thornycroft, Hampton-on-Thames

    Boat Year: 1931

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    Originally owned by Malcolm Campbell the former world land-speed record holder.

    In May 1940, she made two false starts in getting to Dunkirk. During the first attempt she developed engine trouble and was left behind. On her second attempt she arrived at Sheerness to find there was too many volunteers (One would assume boats and not enough crews) and she was left behind.


    Finally, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Barnard, with a crew of naval ratings she headed off towards Dunkirk reportedly towed by the Emperor of India on 1st June, 1940 to Malo-les-Bains. At 4ft 3ins her draft was too great to let her work comfortably off the beaches, so she must have ferried troops from the harbour. She suffered no major damage, but it was recorded that her fuel tanks were accidentally refilled with water.

    Bluebird's twin screws were fouled by debris and her engines stopped. One reason for this is thought to have been one of the many army greatcoats discarded by soldiers to make it easier for them to swim to the rescuing ships.

    Bluebird was finally towed back to England by HM skoot Rika. After Dunkirk, for the rest of the war from 1942 onwards, she was used by No. 1 Water Transport Co., RASC based in Gourock, near Holy Loch. She was used for the movement of troops, food and equipment around various Coastal Artillery sites guarding the entrance to the River Clyde. She was also used for advanced navigation exercises based at Rothesay on the Isle of Butte. In 1943 she was used by the Orkney and Shetlands section RASC for the movement of personnel and equipment throughout the islands. She apparently finished the war being used for target towing and radar decoy work between Weymouth and Gosport, still in service with the RASC in 1945.
     
  6. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 40ft

    Boat Beam: 9ft

    Boat Draft: 3ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 13 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x Fiat

    Boat Construction: Carvel, mahogany on oak

    Boat Builder: Thornycroft

    Boat Year: 1931

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    Jong was collected by Tough's (One of the boat builders contracted by the Admiralty to collect small craft for Operation Dynamo) from her owner, Donald Aldington, a motor engineer, while she was lying on the Thames. A crew of three, entered in Douglas Tough's notebook as G. Allendale, G. Thomas and H. Morte, took her down to Sheerness, where the Royal Navy took over.

    Jong, commanded by Sub-Lt. I.F. Smith, RNVR was off the French coast near Dunkirk on 31st May, 1940, along with Marsayru where they were loading the SS Foam Queen and SS Jaba with French and British troops from ferried from the beaches.

    Douglas Tough received her back with only minor damage to her stanchions and guardrail a week later.

    Jong is recorded as being in the picture below (quite possibly just visible on the far right).
    [​IMG]
     
  7. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 48ft

    Boat Beam: 11ft 3ins

    Boat Draft: 3ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 20 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x Ford 1.6L 60hp Diesels

    Boat Construction: Mahogany on oak, teak superstructure

    Boat Builder: Thornycroft, Hampton-on-Thames

    Boat Year: 1935

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    Mimosa was requisitioned along with many other pleasure boats in May 1940 to take part in Operation Dynamo. After being stocked with food and fuelled at Dover, she left under the command of Lieutenant Commander Dixon for three trips to the beaches off Dunkirk.

    It was 57 years later when her Dunkirk history was revealed after careful research by her owners. Immediately after Dunkirk Mimosa was chartered as an Auxiliary Patrol Vessel and had a name change to 'Ocelot', thereby hiding her contribution to the evacuation. The name 'Ocelot' remained with her when she finished war service.
     
  8. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 42ft

    Boat Beam: 10ft 8ins

    Boat Draft: 4ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 20 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x Lister-Petter Alpha 40hp Diesels

    Boat Construction: Pitch pine on oak

    Boat Builder: J A Silver, Rosneath

    Boat Year: 1928

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    At the time of Dunkirk, Brown Owl was called Wairakei. The only record of her involvement in Operation Dynamo is a list of her crew, which was I. Hassall, P. Mansfield and J. Galway. With a deep draft of 4ft 6ins, her navigator must have been skillful to bring her home undamaged. Later in the War she appears to have returned to Scotland for Naval patrol, since she was reported as being in the River Clyde Small Boat Pool, RN 209 up to 1948.
     
  9. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Passenger launch

    Boat Length: 40ft 6ins

    Boat Beam: 12ft 6ins

    Boat Draft: 2ft

    Boat Displacement: Not Known

    Boat Engine: Ford 6cyl Diesel

    Boat Construction: Carvel

    Boat Builder: Horn Bros., Southampton

    Boat Year: 1926

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    During Operation Dynamo, Fermain V known as Silver Queen. She was one of the first boats to head for Dunkirk, she was towed across the English Channel and ferried troops from the beaches at La Panne to the larger destroyers and transports waiting off shore. A job she was ideally suited to due to her shallow draft.

    At some point she was reported as sunk and later re-floated. Having read many stories of smaller craft being swamped and capsized by rushing troops trying to get on board at the same time this is most likely the reason for her being reported as sunk. There are also many stories of NCO's and Junior Officers taking charge of a small group of men and salvaging abandoned boats on the shore line and setting off for England. A good as any explanation as to what happened to Fermain V during the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk.
     
  10. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 33ft 5ins

    Boat Beam: 8ft 7ins

    Boat Draft: 3ft 8ins

    Boat Displacement: 10.5 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x 4cyl BMC Diesels

    Boat Construction: Carvel

    Boat Builder: Leslie W Harris, Burnham

    Boat Year: 1930

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    Papillon arrived at Dover on 30th May, 1940 to take part in Operation Dynamo. At Dover she was checked over and her two 4 cylinder Morris petrol engines were found to be defective. Her skipper was recorded as E. Somers Holmwood of Kingston by the Sea, Sussex, and his crew S.J. Downes of Shoreham, B. Hawood of Brighton and Mr. Griffiths of Peacehaven.

    No extra fuel was needed and Papillon is recorded pre Operation Dynamo as having 30 gallons of petrol, a full crew, a minor electrical fault, two casks of water, was OK for oil and fuel and that the fault in her condenser had been repaired. She was loaded with six spare tins of petrol and water, and there became a problem with her civilian crew as they were 'uncertain of conditions of service'. She finally sailed on 2nd June for France and, when she came back next day, gave up her route order and had her fuel and oil tanks replenished. It is thought that the crew who took her to France and back were volunteers unconnected with Papillon, for instead of being sailed home she was left for collection at Burnham-on-Crouch.
     
  11. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 45ft

    Boat Beam: 9ft 8ins

    Boat Draft: 4ft

    Boat Displacement: 14 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x Ford 75hp Diesels

    Boat Construction: Carvel

    Boat Builder: Launch & Boat Co., Southampton

    Boat Year: 1930

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    From Christian Branns 'The Little Ships of Dunkirk'.

    The harbour master at Ramsgate saw the horrors and the heroism of Dunkirk reflected in the ships that came home - in their crew and their passengers.

    He never forgot the way the Sylvia returned, loaded with soldiers, many of them wounded. She had been machine-gunned, set on fire and on the port side above the waterline was a hole which the soldiers had plugged with their tunics to keep the water out. Even so, they had to take turns on the pump all the way back.

    He congratulated the skipper who promptly announced that he was going back. The harbour master begged him not to, but the sailor looked him straight in the eyes and said "I have seen the sea red with human blood, severed arms and legs, a sight I shall never forget. The Lord is with us, the sea is calm and if she goes down, I shall go down with her." So he went.

    The following day, the harbour master recalled, "there was a lot of noise and a hooter blowing as ships from Dunkirk were waiting to unload. The noise came from the Sylvia, full of troops. We rushed her in to get the weight off her, as the water was right up to her engine. Had she gone another mile or had the sea been rough, she would have sunk. When she was moored, the skipper walked out of what was left of her wheelhouse and I never saw him again."

    But he did see the Sylvia return, years later, fully restored and rushed out to tell her new owner the story and to thank him for saving her. Then the harbour master's story was proudly entered into the log.

    After Dunkirk Sylvia spent the remainder of the War at Lowestoft as an Offshore Patrol/Service vessel until July 1945. She then went to Teddington and was returned to her original owner Mr. Anstey on 13th February 1946.
     
  12. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Torpedo Boat

    Boat Length: 68ft

    Boat Beam: 14ft 9ins

    Boat Draft: 3ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 33 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x Cummins Diesels

    Boat Construction: Double- and triple-diagonal Mahogany

    Boat Builder: Vosper, Portsmouth

    Boat Year: 1937

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    Commander C W S Dreyer DSO DSC was given command of MTB 102 in early March, 1940 when he was a Sub-Lieutenant aged just 21. His First Lieutenant was John Wilford and they had a crew of eight. During the next couple of months they trained with her in the Solent to become familiar with all her equipment from weapon systems to navigational aids and communications. MTB 102 was originally fitted with a torpedo tube in her stern which was later replaced with one either side. She also had machine-guns mounted on the fore-deck, smoke making equipment, echo sounder and an early type of radar.

    On the 26th May, 1940 MTB 102 received orders from the C-in-C Portsmouth to sail to Dover with all speed and report to the Flag Officer there. Prior to sailing she had no machine-guns so the First Lieutenant 'borrowed' a quadruple Vickers KO 303 from HMS Vernon and it was rigged between her torpedo tubes.

    At 0700 hrs on 27th May, 1940 they reported to SOO Commander Boswell, who introduced them to Vice Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey, VA Dover, who was given the responsibility of evacuating the BEF from France. Their orders were as followed, 'Nip over to Dunkirk and report to Captain William Tennant, the naval officer in charge there to see what they could do to help'.

    Navigation to Dunkirk was reasonably easy-They just headed for the smoke rising on the horizon from the oil storage tanks at Dunkirk that were ablaze after receiving attention from the Luftwaffe. As they travelled across they past numerous types of vessels heading in both directions.

    MTB 102 arrived at Dunkirk at around 1200 hrs on 28th May and found Capt. Tennant who gave them orders to go to La Panne to help the destroyers that were working off the beach. They headed towards La Panne running parallel with the beaches, shocked to see the sands black with soldiers waiting to be evacuated. Before they reached La Panne they witnessed several near misses as shells splashed into the sea near them-This was their first experience of enemy fire.

    Approaching La Panne they eased of the throttle and headed for the beaches to help evacuate the troops. Initially with difficulty but as the day drew on the task and skills became more natural. Towards the end of the day MTB 102 had helped to transfer several hundred off the beach.

    They decided to head back to Dunkirk and report to Capt. Tennant who gave Sub-Lt. Dreyer a hand written note and ordered him to take it directly to Vice Admiral Ramsey at Dover and too take as many soldiers from the East Mole as he could. They took around 30 soldiers and reached Dover around midnight. After delivering the message they collapsed into their bunks exhausted.

    At 0600 hrs the following morning they returned to Dunkirk with orders to report to the Flag Officer, Admiral Wake-Walker who was working off shore in the Dunkirk Roads, flying his flag from the destroyer HMS Keith. When they arrived HMS Keith was in the middle of a air raid and saw her receive a hit amidships. MTB 102 was immediately ordered to go alongside, which they found rather difficult due to Keith listing heavily and her rudder was jammed which was causing her to go round in a circle. After some time they managed to pull alongside and they took off the Rear Admiral, his staff and some wounded men. The Admiral ordered the Sub-Lt. Dreyer to take him to Dunkirk. So at 30 knots, weaving amongst the mass of ships off the coast and the bombs falling all around them, they delivered him safely to be told to wait for him.

    Whilst waiting for the Admiral, lying alongside a mine recovery vessel, Sub-Lt. Dreyer recalled watching a sailor peeling spuds and the skipper was eating bread and marmalade, quite unmoved by the chaos around them. From the crew MTB 102 managed to get some Morphia, a morning paper and a tin hat to replace one lost overboard. When they told the Captain how grateful they were he replied he didn't like wearing a tin hat anyway, because it gave him a headache. The morphia was a great relief for the wounded and helped greatly with the pain the wounded were in until they received medical attention.

    The Admiral returned to MTB 102 sometime later and told Sub-Lt. Dreyer to take him to Dover. The little Motor Torpedo Boat now had the privilege of becoming the Flag Ship off Dunkirk. Not to be out done by their new responsibility, the torpedo man Dawkins, hoisted the Admirals Flag he had made by painting a St. Georges cross on a dishcloth 'borrowed' from the boats galley.

    Over the next few days MTB 102 is recorded as making a further eight trips across the English Channel in the role as the Admirals flagship. Late in the evening of the 3rd of June MTB 102 went to Dunkirk to bring back Captain Tennant and two Generals, one of them being General Alexander who took over overall command of the BEF after Lord Gort left for England after 1800 hrs on 31st May 1940. At 0200 hrs on 4th June they landed at Dover. MTB 102 returned to Dunkirk for the final time in 1940 on the 5th June taking Admiral Wake-Walker to supervise the final departures of troops, mainly French, and the blocking of the harbour with Block ships.

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    From the Evacuation of Dunkirk:

    The night 2nd to 3rd June:

    At 2330 Captain Tennant made the welcome signal: ‘BEF evacuated.’ He embarked in MTB 102, together with the demolition party and left for Dover.

    Sub-Lieutenant C Dreyer, Commander MTB 102 From the IWM Sound Archives:

    When we first went in, the beaches were absolutely black with chaps. The Dunes at the back of the beaches were completely covered with men, with long lines coming down to the beach. It was so clearly going to be impossible to get all of that lot off –so that first visit was a rather despairing one.

    We were jolly tired at the end, but one was very resilient in those days, and three of us went and had a jolly good dinner in Dover and the next morning we drove our boats in company back to Portsmouth. We were perfectly all right, but we got a week’s leave after it, which we did need. It had been quite tough. I suppose we had eight or nine days continuously operating, and it was quite tiring.



    A couple of WW2 shots- MTB 102 is thought to be the only surviving Royal Navy boat from Operation Dynamo.

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    The crew taken just before Operation Dynamo in 1940. All of the crew with the exception of Lt. James were with MTB 102 at Dunkirk.
     
  13. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 45ft

    Boat Beam: 12ft

    Boat Draft: 3ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 23.43 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x BMC 4 cyl Diesel

    Boat Construction: Carvel

    Boat Builder: Whisstocks, Woodbridge

    Boat Year: 1938

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    The then Reda was ordered to be built by Austin Reed of clothing fame.

    In 1940 it was Ron Lenthall, who was given the task of collecting the Little Ships. It had been a busy few days for Ron. For several weeks boats on nearby moorings had to be kept immobilised without their batteries, for fear that they might be used by enemy agents. Then about ten days before the start of the evacuation, the word was given to make all available boats ready in case they should be needed at short notice, and to collect together others which might be used. "We knew where they were going, and what they would have to do," Ron recalled. "We had to take down the masts as we knew most of the boats would be used for work off the beaches and not actually to bring men back -- and take unecessary gear off of them to make more space inside." He remembered taking down Reda's mast and painting the name on its heel. He also remembered how Austin Reed visited his boat at Tough's and remarked on the full drinks locker. "There's plenty of booze; leave it there, the chaps will have a greater need for it than me."

    Reda is reported as sailing from Sherrness on the 28th May 1940 most likely to Ramsgate. On 29th May 1940 Reda sailed from Ramsgate in company with five other yachts (Advance, Bobeli, Elizabeth Green, Hanora and Viewfinder) across the English Channel, all manned by willing and eager crews fired by the one common purpose of saving the British Expeditionary Force.

    After severe machine-gun attacks from the air off Gravelines they arrived at La Panne beach at 1500 and at once began towing whalers full of troops to off-lying ships. The Reda then returned to Ramsgate with 21 soldiers aboard. She braved a bombing raid as she left but survived unscathed. On 31st May she went back for more and after ferrying 50 Frenchmen to a larger transport, brought 23 more direct to Ramsgate.

    After Dunkirk Reda continued as an Auxiliary Patrol Vessel. A tetchy correspondence took place between Austin Reed and the boatbuilders in 1941 when the owner was billed for certain property removed from Reda prior to Dunkirk and still held in Tough's stores: a companion ladder and a cardboard box containing pyjamas and gloves were mentioned. Mr Reed also referred to a refrigerator, some stainless steel cutlery and kitchen utensils. Fortunately there was an inventory Which even in the heat of events, Ron Lenthall had kept meticulously. During the war her name was changed to Columbine, and she served with the Harwich Patrol until in June 1947 she was reregistered in the ownership of Arthur Foster, an engineer from Chigwell, North East London.
     
  14. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 72ft

    Boat Beam: 15ft

    Boat Draft: 7ft

    Boat Displacement: 73 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x 160hp Cummins

    Boat Construction: Steel

    Boat Builder: Kiekenend, Warmond, Holland

    Boat Year: 1939

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    Amazone is first mentioned in the Battle Summary amongst the Little Ships which arrived off Dunkirk on 31st May 1940, Mermaiden was still in the thick of it on 3rd June. This was the last day of the evacuation, when 30,000 troops, mostly French, still remained to be evacuated.

    She belonged to a Naval officer, Lieutenant Commander P.M. Filleul, Royal Navy and was commanded that day by Sub -Lieutenant L. Beale, Royal Navy with her crew: Petty Officer J. Norton, Leading Stoker W.A.S. Horner, plus one RAF gunner on leave and one "white-haired old gentleman who normally took care of Lord Horatio Nelson's flagship Victory at Portsmouth".

    Mermaiden was picked by Rear-Admiral Taylor, who sailed in her for some time, to lead a convoy of small, slower motorboats, which had been towed by tugs, to be released off Dunkirk harbour and make their own way to Quai Felix Faure, which was still reasonably intact, to embark French troops. Mermaiden made four trips between the harbour and the transport ships at a time when the Germans were already entering the town. Her deck and wheelhouse were riddled by machine-gun bullets and she was so crowded that the helmsman could not see to steer. Directions had to be shouted to him over a cacophony of French voices.

    She is reported as bringing 26 troops back to Ramsgate, England arriving on 1st June, 1940 at 1420hrs.

    For this action, her Petty Officer received the DSM and the Stoker was Mentioned in Despatches. Several Norton's are listed as receiving the DSM in WW2 but in one way or another it not possible to confirm which is the correct citation.
     
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  15. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 42ft

    Boat Beam: 13ft

    Boat Draft: 4ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 16tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x BMC Commodore Diesels

    Boat Construction: Pitch pine on oak

    Boat Builder: Not known

    Boat Year: 1926

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    No information found on her service during Operation Dynamo at this time.
     
  16. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Passenger Boat

    Boat Length: 60ft

    Boat Beam: 14ft 8ins

    Boat Draft: 3ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 36.93 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x 6 cyl Ford

    Boat Construction: Pitch pine on oak

    Boat Builder: Ferris & Blank, Old Mill Creek.

    Boat Year: 1938

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    In 1940, the then, Seymour Castle set sail for the English Channel with the Great Western Railway's, The Mew - an old railway ferry boat which operated between Kingswear and Dartmouth, and whose job she occasionally took over. This was the longest sea voyage ever undertaken by the Seymour Castle since she was built by Ferris and Blank, Dartmouth, the previous year and no Dunkirk 'Little Ship' came from further west. A whole fleet of boats was brought together from nearby Exmouth and Lympstone and taken to Dartmouth, where they stayed overnight to be returned unused the next day.

    However, Seymour Castle is reported as being based at Ramsgate with the River Dart Steamboat Company's Skipper Cyril Roper in command of her. She was used by the Admiralty for marking swept channels to and from Dunkirk. She also crossed to Dunkirk but was confined to the harbour area.

    After the Dunkirk evacuations the Admiralty kept her on in the Folkestone area for towing the portable Mulberry Harbours that were to be used during Operation Overlord in 1944.
     
  17. JCB

    JCB Senior Member

    Drew -These are all great little stories . Thanks for posting them.
     
  18. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 52ft

    Boat Beam: 11ft

    Boat Draft: 6ft

    Boat Displacement: 26.40 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x BMC Commodore Diesels

    Boat Construction: Pitch pine on oak

    Boat Builder: James Silver, Rosneath

    Boat Year: 1932

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    Wairakei II was identified before the war as having had accommodation for seven, and ample deck space, so the Ministry of War Transport requisitioned her early in the war and she was commanded by a Lieutenant Leyland. She had a machine-gun mounted on her foredeck and rifle racks all round her decks.

    David Divine includes her in his list of 'Little Ships' used at Dunkirk and she is said to have saved 150 soldiers there. Lloyd's Register of Yachts shows her owner at the time as Mr. F.G. Cox.
     
  19. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Motor Yacht

    Boat Length: 40ft

    Boat Beam: 10ft 6ins

    Boat Draft: 3ft 6ins

    Boat Displacement: 8 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x BMC 1.8L Diesels

    Boat Construction: Carvel

    Boat Builder: D. Hillyard, Southampton

    Boat Year: 1935

    [​IMG]

    In 1940, The Royal Navy took Iorana into service to take part in Operation Dynamo from her home in Littlehampton.

    It's also thought she took part in later operations (Op Cycle) evacuating troops from further along the northern coast of France, possibly either at St. Valery or Le Havre as late as 12th June, 1940.

    She was not compulsorily acquired until 1942. When Mr. Lewns, the then owner, was offered her back by the Ministry of War Transport in 1948, he turned her down, because he then wanted a larger boat.
     
  20. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Boat Type: Auxiliary Ketch

    Boat Length: 60ft

    Boat Beam: 13ft 1ins

    Boat Draft: 5ft

    Boat Displacement: 30.51 tons

    Boat Engine: 2 x Gardner 4LK Diesels

    Boat Construction: Carvel teak

    Boat Builder: Thornycroft, Hampton-on-Thames

    Boat Year: 1922

    [​IMG]

    The then Skylark, was commandeered by the Ministry of War Transport after war broke out. She took part in Operation Dynamo to help with the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk under the command of Sub-Lieutenant M.J.R. Yeatman. She was hit by enemy fire and the steering was damaged which resulted in her being abandoned. Eventually she was found drifting off Dunkirk and towed back by the Southern Queen (see post 9) under the command of Basil de Matos, together with the Eastbourne Lifeboat, Jane Holland.

    She remained in government service, first on harbour patrol and later pilotage duties until 1947.
     

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