Post by Administrator on Apr 18, 2021 23:13:21 GMT
VIA: Old Barry & The Vale
Silver Queen: The Barry Island rowing boat in Dunkirk evacuation.
She was just a 40ft rowing boat built in 1926 to carry passengers around Barry Island
But when the call went out in May 1940 for every available sea-going vessel to help in the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Silver Queen was one of the thousands of "little ships" who answered.
Several times she fought through German artillery right up to the beaches and, although struck in the stern, she made it out with 120 stranded soldiers aboard.
Keith Greenway, of the Merchant Navy Association in Barry, said that while she might not be the most famous craft from the town, her role at Dunkirk was vital.
"Barry has proud connections with Dunkirk through PS Barry, and her sister ships Waverley and Glen Gower," he said.
"But without the little boats like Silver Queen, the big paddle steamers would have been useless.
"With a shallow hull, Silver Queen was able to get right into the men on the beaches and ferry them out to ships waiting in deeper water.
"They had the most dangerous job of all, and were amongst the last Allied crafts to leave Dunkirk."
But if the men aboard Silver Queen thought they had left their troubles behind them in Dunkirk, they were very much mistaken.
Travelling on one outboard motor, and with no compass or charts, the crew thought they had finally reached the safety of Ramsgate.
In fact they had sailed in a loop, and were heading directly into six batteries of German guns at the entrance to occupied Calais.
As she frantically reversed course she was struck twice, but somehow stayed afloat.
In the nick of time, her distress flare was spotted by a Royal Navy destroyer which provided covering fire until she was able to limp away.
Eventually she did make it back safely to Ramsgate, but promptly sunk as soon as her passengers clambered ashore.
"Fortunately for us, that wasn't the end of the story for Silver Queen," Mr Greenway said.
"She was refloated and, after a spell chasing smugglers as a Royal Navy customs craft, she went back to ferrying tourists, at Sheerness and in the Channel Islands."
Silver Queen: The Barry Island rowing boat in Dunkirk evacuation.
She was just a 40ft rowing boat built in 1926 to carry passengers around Barry Island
But when the call went out in May 1940 for every available sea-going vessel to help in the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Silver Queen was one of the thousands of "little ships" who answered.
Several times she fought through German artillery right up to the beaches and, although struck in the stern, she made it out with 120 stranded soldiers aboard.
Keith Greenway, of the Merchant Navy Association in Barry, said that while she might not be the most famous craft from the town, her role at Dunkirk was vital.
"Barry has proud connections with Dunkirk through PS Barry, and her sister ships Waverley and Glen Gower," he said.
"But without the little boats like Silver Queen, the big paddle steamers would have been useless.
"With a shallow hull, Silver Queen was able to get right into the men on the beaches and ferry them out to ships waiting in deeper water.
"They had the most dangerous job of all, and were amongst the last Allied crafts to leave Dunkirk."
But if the men aboard Silver Queen thought they had left their troubles behind them in Dunkirk, they were very much mistaken.
Travelling on one outboard motor, and with no compass or charts, the crew thought they had finally reached the safety of Ramsgate.
In fact they had sailed in a loop, and were heading directly into six batteries of German guns at the entrance to occupied Calais.
As she frantically reversed course she was struck twice, but somehow stayed afloat.
In the nick of time, her distress flare was spotted by a Royal Navy destroyer which provided covering fire until she was able to limp away.
Eventually she did make it back safely to Ramsgate, but promptly sunk as soon as her passengers clambered ashore.
"Fortunately for us, that wasn't the end of the story for Silver Queen," Mr Greenway said.
"She was refloated and, after a spell chasing smugglers as a Royal Navy customs craft, she went back to ferrying tourists, at Sheerness and in the Channel Islands."