Dunkirk 80th anniversary: How a Hastings lifeboat saved troops from the war-torn beaches

On the 80th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuations, Dee Day White, from the local Lifeboat Trust, looks at the role a Hastings lifeboat played in the operation.
Dunkirk Lifeboat Crew SUS-200528-082410001Dunkirk Lifeboat Crew SUS-200528-082410001
Dunkirk Lifeboat Crew SUS-200528-082410001

He writes: Let’s cast our minds back now almost 80 years to the week when the British Expeditionary Force had been pushed by the enemy to the town of Dunkirk, in France - the only port with a harbour capable of evacuating 308,000 troops.

The English and allies, enemy in front, sea behind, pinned down by the enemy, sniped at daily with the Luftwaffe joining in with bombs and machine guns.

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This went on for almost a week, night and day, no food, no water and nowhere to hide, just an open beach.

Following a call from the Admiralty for shallow draught vessels to help in the evacuation, all RNLI lifeboats were asked to help in what was now to become Operation Dynamo.

The Hastings lifeboat Cyril and Lillian Bishop was asked to make her way to Dover. So George Moon, coxswain, quickly assembled a crew consisting of regular crew members Bill Hilder (mechanic), Will Martin (second mechanic), Bodger Barton, Jumbo White, Freddie Button, Charlie Haste and three brothers - Jim, Bill and Ted Terrel.

She was ready to leave Hastings harbour at 4pm on May 30 1940.

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Without knowing it the Cyril and Lilian Bishop had suddenly stepped into the history books as a Dunkirk Little Ship.

She was quickly requisitioned by the Admiralty under the control of Petty Officer W H Adkin. The Hastings crew were given train passes to return home.

Her fuel tanks were filled, as were her water tanks and she was provisioned with tins of water, cigarettes, sandwiches and army blankets.

One June 2 1940, our lifeboat was towed across the Channel to Dunkirk by the tug Foremost 87, to save fuel.

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There is no detailed record of her Dunkirk service, although we do know that whilst there she suffered air attacks, sustaining two bullet holes in her top box and damage to her bow and paintwork, whilst doing a ferry service, picking up troops from the beach, where she could get in close, then out to the Navy ships, a process repeated over and over again.

The Cyril and Lilian Bishop Lifeboat was nicknamed The Ghost of Dunkirk, because she appeared out of the mist like a ghost.

All this happened 80 years ago when the enemy could not keep us off the beaches and now coronavirus has managed it.

When we purchased the boat and brought her back to Hastings, from a boatyard in France, we said we would do our utmost to return her to Dunkirk on the 80th anniversary of Operation Dynamo. For the past weeks the Trust has been talking to the Dunkirk authorities and Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, for a flotilla of small ships, with a Royal Navy escort to return and keep the spirit of Operation Dynamo alive.

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With the help, again of Coussens Crane Hire, to do the lifting, and CPL Haulage of Appledore, alongside many other businesses and individuals, including Skinners Sheds, to sponsor her return.

Unfortunately, due to the current situation and restrictions on travel, the while event had to be cancelled. This would have been a wonderful opportunity to talk up Hastings and 1066 Country and make people aware of the role of the Hastings lifeboat.

The lifeboat was presented with a plaque in recognition of her heroic work, which is on display, next to a scale model of the boat, built by Bill Hilder, in Hastings Lifeboat House.

So when you are sitting indoors due to lockdown, spare a thought for all those men, 80 years ago who had just one thing on their mind. To get on board a boat and get home.

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