Against all odds – Saint-Valery-en-Caux (June 1940)

This summer, I enjoyed a relaxing holiday with my family in Seine-Maritime (France). Whilst exploring the beautiful coastline we eventually ended up in Saint-Valery-en-Caux (‘Saint-Val’ in local parlance).

Whilst visiting the communal museum (the ‘Henry IV house’), I had the privilege to engage in a 2-hour long conversation with a local guide that explained what had happened in June 1940. And that was just the tip of the iceberg…! To me it was a real eye-opener. Though I did know the general outline of the battle, I was baffled by the sheer amount of dramatic events that had happened there. What is even more dramatic - as was confirmed by my local guide - is that most people seem to have forgotten (or don't care to remember). It would seem I was one of the few visitors that had an interest in this topic…!

Anyway, after coming home, I started searching the forum for any related threads. I must say I was somewhat disappointed. Other than loose personal inquiries, I found no overarching approach that tried to centralize and process information in a structured, cohesive way. As you may (or may not) know, combats raged not only in Saint-Valery, but also in the wider region (Cany-Barville, Le Tot, Ectot, Veules-les-Roses,...) One must admit the Germans displayed brilliant tactical insights. Finally, at Saint-Val, the 51st Highland Division did not stand alone. The combats also involved numerous French units. Sadly, though, their role is often downplayed if not eclipsed...



What happened at Saint-Val provides an insight of what might have (and very nearly) happened at Dunkirk. Let us not forget that the men who bravely and gallantly fought at Saint-Val did so with the same ‘spirit’ as those at Dunkirk. This (at least) calls for a dedicated thread.

Bottom line: though this new tread may not win any awards, I am nonetheless convinced there is still so much to learn. My intention is therefor to fuel this tread with (local) accounts, photos and documents I come up with and invite anyone to contribute The idea is to trigger forum community members to post reactions based on their own reference sources. I, for one, am eager and curious as to what may eventually pop-up.

Kind Regards,
Christian

 

Hello Christian

St Valery en Caux certainly is an interesting place to visit. I was there a few years ago as I have a direct family connection to the place (My Grandfather was with the 51st Division in June 1940 and ended up as a PoW after the surrender at St Valery).

There are a number of existing threads on the subject of IX Corps and St Valery that you might find useful:

Quite a lot of information about IX Corps withdrawal from the Somme to St Valery en Caux: Fighting withdrawal to St.Valery-en-Caux

Some details of the French dispositions around the St Valery area 10 - 11 June 1940: French dispositions at St Valery En Caux 10 - 11 June 1940

I for one would be very interested to see any additional information that comes to light about this subject.

Cheers
Peter

 

Let us kick-off with a fascinating story which I came across by sheer accident while visiting Saint-Valery.
Please note that I am just starting my research (The subliminal message here being: don’t shoot the pianist! Not yet anyway…)

Everyone, even those only remotely interested in Operation Dynamo, knows the story of the ‘Little Ships’ which were so instrumental during the Dunkirk embarkations. However, what very few people know, is that there also were ‘Little Ships’ operating at Saint-Valery-en-Caux in June 1940. Not many though, just a proverbial handful. Now, being Belgian, imagine my surprise when I discovered that all of them were… Belgian!

Preliminary findings learned that these ‘Little Ships’, i.e. three trawlers and two smaller fishing boats, were in fact part of a mixed flotilla of approximately thirty vessels, under command of the French Navy’s Capitaine de Corvette Aubert, which sailed from Cherbourg on in an desperate attempt to evacuate as much French and Scottish troops as possible. They reached Saint-Valery on June 10th 1940.

Just like their British counterparts at Dunkirk, the Belgian civilian crews were supervised by (French) navy personnel. Being the smallest ships in the flotilla, their assigned task was to commute to Saint-Valery, embark as many troops as possible and transfer them unto bigger ships waiting further at sea Those fully loaded ships woudl then make their way to Le Havre or Cherbourg.
At first glance, this mission seemed pretty straightforward…

Those who ever had the chance ever to visit Saint-Valery-en-Caux are no doubt aware that embarking people from the pebble beaches is next to impossible – any ship, even flat-bottomed attempting this would surely run aground. The fishing harbor, too small to safely accommodate large ships, thus remained as the only viable option for embarking troops. Here just a modest mole - nothing remotely alike Dunkirk. Another issue was the tides. The coastal tidal range at Saint-Val is 11 m! Consequently, at low tide, the outer harbour literally runs dry. Hence, embarking operations could only take place at high tide, leaving only a finite window of opportunity in which to operate.



▲▼ Saint-Valery-en-Caux's harbour at low tide





▲ Saint-Val's pebble beaches. The Germans were positioned on top of the chalk cliffs. The only hope for escape was by sea...

The Germans – who were no fools – were quick to grasp the situation. At high tide, the ‘Little Ships’ were welcomed by heavy shelling form panzers and artillery located on the white chalk cliffs that dominate both sides of the town and harbour. The entire eastern part of the town, located directly next to the harbour got levelled in the process. One can only imagine the horror both military and civilians trapped in this hell went through. French and British warships (amongst which HMS Codington) did provide counter-battery fire, but were unable to stop the German onslaught. The larger ships further at sea eventually also came under fire when the Luftwaffe joined the frenzy – no RAF fighter cover here… Navigation around the harbour became even more precarious when the Germans started dropping mines after nightfall.



▲ Saint-Val's harbour from a German perspective - a perfect field of fire!



▲ Embarkations could only take place at high tide. Only smaller vessels could maneuver here...

Nonetheless, between the 10th and 12th June 1940, against all odds and in dreadful circumstances, the five little Belgian ships managed to evacuate no less than 1104 French and 2137 Scottish troops (official French figures). All in all a splendid result in light of the situation, yet somewhat futile given the thirty to fifty thousand Allied soldiers (depending on the consulted sources) killed, wounded or taken prisoner after the surrender.



▲ Nowadays, only a modest, almost anodyne plaque near the harbour and a lane named ‘Avenue des Belges’ commemorates the epic accomplishment of the ‘Little ships’ of Saint-Valery. The mere fact that this dramatic episode is still being locally remembered only denotes the desperate hopes of deliverance placed upon these men.

The five ships are listed hereunder with their port of call:

Z 4 - BUFFALO-BILL (Zeebrugge) – Captured, presumed destroyed

Z 7 - GUSTAAF-RACHEL (Zeebrugge) – Damaged, abandoned at Samt-Vaast-la-Hougue (Manche)

Z 49 - ALBATROS (Zeebrugge) – Armed with two MG / Faith unknown

H 73 - ANDRE-ROBERT-DENISE (Zeebrugge) – Faith unknown

O 187 - AMELIA-MATHILDE (Oostende) – Ran aground near Veules-les-Roses, subsequently destroyed

Since sources seem to be very scarce, I would be much obliged if anyone could provide additional information. I would also welcome accounts of individuals having been evacuated by one of these ships.

KR,
Christian

 

I'm surprised that you didn't find more on here. It's fairly well known in the 1940 scheme of things. Unfortunately, any mention usually brings a response from someone whose favourite film is "Braveheart" with shouts of "But, Churchill's sacrifice of the Highland Division....Sacrificed to Save Dunkirk". Good Luck !

 

If you can get hold of the book 'B.E.F. ships, before, at and after Dunkirk' it covers the Royal Navy evacuation attempts from St Valery and the surrounding area. It lists the following UK ships as recovering personnel (in brackets); HMS Boadicea (102), HMS Broke (55), HMS Bulldog (5), Cameo (328), HMS Cardiff (6), HMS Codrington (1), Duke of York (400), HMS Gardenia (107), Guernsey Queen (92), HMS Harvester (78), Pascholl (330), Princess Maud (1000), HMS Saladin (15), Scheldt (10) and Silver Coast (5),

From my loss lists:

HMS Boadicea and HMS Bulldog were damaged by air attacks and HMS Ambuscade damaged by shore fire on 10th June.

HM MTB69 was damaged by shore fire near St Valery on 11th June.

Requisitioned coasters HMS Hebe II and HMS Twente were lost after being hit by shore fire, and coaster HMS Kaap Falgaon, ferry Duke of York and coasters Goldfinch and Guernsey Queen were damaged by shore fire on 12th June

Regards,

Steve

 

[

Hello Steve,
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing! I shall attempt to get hold of a copy of the book you refer to.

Currently, I am trying to find the list of the French ships engaged in this same operation. Now, if one combines French and British numbers, it becomes obvious that the troops stuck at Saint-Val were not abandoned.as some may suggest. This situation, however, would have resulted in a target-rich environment for the Germans...

Now, as I tried to explain in my earlier post: whereas the port of Dunkirk was (and still is) the third largest port of France, Saint-Valery on the other hand, is but a tiny fishing port with wasn't in the least laid out for successfully enable a massive evacuation - especially under direct artillery fire... Richard is correct when pointing out that the events that took place at Saint-Valery are well known in the great scheme of things. However, what many (if not most people) seem to overlook, is that the (tactical) context was altogether very different from Dunkirk. Simply put: some factors that enabled Operation Dynamo's success were not present at Saint-Val.

Anyway, it would be interesting to check the ship's logs to gain a better understanding of how events unfolded. What is about certain though, is that the RN destroyers on your list could not directly have embarked their evacuees. Though theoretically possible, it is - to say the least - very unlikely. Even without considering the technical difficulties, it would have been sheer suicidal. Besides, after Dunkirk, destroyers were too valuable a commodity to take this kind of risks. Bottom line: the evacuees must have been shuttled form the harbour unto these destroyers (which seems consistent with the story of the 'Little Ships'.)

One last detail: during my research I came across a vessel not mentioned on your list: the Transferry.
It seems to have been British (TBC). Is there perhaps any reference to it in your book?

KR,
Christian

 

Hi Christian,

The final losses on the 13th June were.

Train Ferry No2 (this is probably the 'Transferry' you mention)- The ship was abandoned after being hit by shore fire. (Train Ferry No1 and Train Ferry No3 had also sailed, but were recalled before reaching the French coast).
Coasters Roebuck and Sambur both damaged after being hit by shore fire.

No as can be the seen they weren't abandoned, it was just that after the German broke through Somme line, the situation collapsed to quickly to enable the forces cut off around St Valery to be evacuated. A withdrawal to Le Harve would have enabled more forces to be recovered, but this was delayed until it was too late.

Another good book covering the events of this time is 'Useless mouths, The British Army's battles in France after Dunkirk May- June 1940', it has a chapter on the fate of the 51st Highland Division (most of the 154th Brigade of which, was successfully evacuated from Le Harve).

Regards,

Steve

 

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
The photos hereunder illustrate the scale of destruction Saint-Valery was subjected to in 1940.

 

By some incredible stroke of luck I recently came across a rare copy of ‘La Bataille de Saint-Valery-en-Caux – Juin 1940’. The cover of the book doesn’t mention the name of the author, just ‘par le Curé de la Paroisse’ (‘by the parish priest’).



This book is very hard to find. The original edition was published in 1945, the fourth and probably last in 1990. Since the publishing house does not longer exist, it is very unlikely that a new edition shall ever be printed again. I'm afraid it was never translated in English, but don't let that deter you.

What makes this book so special? I learned form the locals that the anonymous author of this book was in fact The Reverend Father Joseph Falaise (1880-1967) who was the priest of the Saint-Valery parish in June 1940. His book is basically his war diary, i.e. his personal memoirs of what happened in his parish and how he experienced these dramatic wartime events. His perspective as a clergyman makes his account somewhat unique. Moreover, Father Falaise had been a WWI veteran who had served on both the Oriental as on the Western Front where he subsequently was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille de Verdun. He also spoke fluent English; while serving in Greece he acted as an interpreter between his unit and the British. During the tragic events of June 1940, Saint-Valery's communal authorities had vanished into thin air. Father Falaise, however, never left his flock and remained at his post throughout the crisis serving as the sole representative of the local population. For his outstanding courage and merit he was later awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (France’s highest reward for its most deserving citizens).

Is this relevant? The short answer: yes! Father Falaise's military background consistently transpires throughout his first-hand accounts. In his book, he sometimes, probably unintentionally, makes tactical assessments of the situations he witnessed. As to the style, don’t expect a Prix Goncourt literature nominee though – far from it. Father Falaise’s book was written for the sole benefit of the ‘Valeriquais’ (the inhabitants of Saint-Valery) and the families of those who fell there. The author’s intention was to secure this (i.e. local) legacy for future generations. His work was therefor never meant for British readers nor to be considered as an historical reference work. After finishing reading it, however, I was forced to conclude that his ‘souvenirs de guerre’ do indeed carry a high degree of historical relevance. The only snag I could identify is that the author consistently refers to ‘les anglais’. Though some Englishmen (e.g. 7th Bn Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) served in the 51st (Highland) Division, the majority, however, were Scots. I’m sure though our friends living North of Hadrian’s Wall will forgive Father Falaise, since it was a common (continental) blunder in those days.

I do not know in which direction this thread is going to evolve but, if some passages of Father Falaise’s book become relevant in the course of a discussion I intend to translate them to the best of my abilities and share them with you. This remarkable character, in my opinion, also deserves due recognition on the other side of the Channel for his bravery. An example: on June 11th 1941, during the German occupation, on the first anniversary of the battle, he celebrated a mass in Saint-Valery's parish church, praying for the soul of those fallen for France. More than 1000 persons attended. After the service, the population then proceeded to the communal cemetery where Father Falaise blessed the graves. If that is not courage, I don't know what is.

Kind Regards,
Christian

 

I have probably posted this elsewhere, if so apologies, sorry that the formatting of the tablehas disappeared:

Operation Cycle: St Valery, Veules and Le Havre

After the evacuation from Dunkirk, Admiral Sir William James, the Commander in Chief, Portsmouth, was given the task of supervising the evacuation of more than 20,000 British troops who remained back from the coast between Dieppe and Le Havre. The 'large store ships' (merchant cargo ships) Belgravian, Kyno, Maplewood, Sakara, and Trentino, who were at Southampton, were put on six hours’ notice; each had a carrying capacity of about 1,000, though in the later rescues some ships of this type carried two, or even more than three thousand, each. There were 'at least' ten coasters: Cameo, Glamis, Goldfinch, Guernsey Queen, Scheldt and Silver Coast at Poole; Felspar, Lowick and Sandhil at Newhaven, and Gorsefield at Littlehampton. The coasters, able to carry about 500 men each, were also placed at six hours’ notice. The Ministry of Shipping promised that, given twenty four hours, they could provide another ten coasters and three personnel ships. Each of the personnel ships had a capacity of 1,500. In all, sixty seven merchant ships and 140 small craft were to be made available; these included fishing vessels, tugs, excursion boats, ships' lifeboats, naval cutters and other small craft. Six Naval beach masters, each with a ten strong beach party, wireless sets and telegraphists, were provided.

The Dutch schuyts, which had proved so useful at Dunkirk, were lying at Poole being de-stored before being handed back to the Dutch Shipping Board. It was said to be ‘doubtful… if they will be available for 48 hours.’ But at 2000 hours on Saturday 8 June, the Naval Officer in Charge at Poole was informed by the Ministry of Shipping that these vessels might be urgently required. The equipment that had been moved to the Goldfinch was put back on the schuyts and they were hastily re-fuelled.

Six Sub Lieutenants were sent from Portsmouth to Poole, by bus; each with a crew of one Leading Seaman, four Seamen, one Engine Room Artificer, one Leading Stoker and a 2nd Class Stoker. Each of the Lieutenants carried a revolver, this was to be their ships sole armament. Fortunately the Dutch Masters and Engineers arrived at Poole on Saturday night; they volunteered to help with the bunkering and showed the ERAs how to operate the engines.



A post-war schuyt, aground at St Aldhelm’s Head, Dorset (Risdon Beazley)

The schuyts were then brought down below Poole Bridge and watered at the Town Quay. All were ready to sail by 2000 hours on Sunday 9 June, when they were notified that CYCLE had been suspended. The British withdrawal had been delayed to allow the French evacuation to proceed during the night of 9/10 June. The coasters with cargoes of cased petrol had been anchored in Poole Bay, to minimise the fire risk. Only the passenger ships were equipped with wireless, this shortcoming caused considerable problems during the operation.

On Monday orders were received to collect all small craft that could be towed; because they had been used in Operation DYNAMO, most were still at Dover. It was decided not to send fishing boats from Poole. Permission was given for small boats to be loaded on the schuyts' decks and by 1600 hours they had been assembled at the Fish Dock and at Sandbanks. The MT shipment was broached and petrol for the small craft was loaded onto Pacific and Zeus. At 1800 hours orders were received to sail immediately. When the fleet sailed at around 2000 the motor boats were left at Sandbanks, because the British vessels with derricks that could have loaded the boats were still out in the Bay.

For the ships from the Solent, Operation CYCLE began early in the afternoon of 9 June. The railway ships Amsterdam, Archangel, Bruges, and Vienna sailed from Southampton and the Lairds Isle from Portsmouth. A variety of tugs towing small craft and fishing vessels were also sailed from Portsmouth and nearby ports. The Royal Navy sent the destroyers Ambuscade, Boadicia, Broke, Bulldog, Codrington, Fernie, Harvester and Saladin, which were ordered to remain off Le Havre. The coasters Corina and Sandhill sailed from Newhaven on the 10th, each with a dozen boats in tow.[ii]

Admiral James went to Le Havre in MTB 29 to assess how the situation might develop; during his absence the fast passenger ships were sailed for Havre, to be ready for an evacuation on the night of 10/11June. Indications were that up to 60,000 might need to be evacuated. The Ministry of Shipping figures were much higher, at 200/300,000.

HMS Bulldog and HMS Boadicia were hit during the heavy bombing on the evening of 10 June and orders were given not to close the evacuation beaches during daylight, except for urgent reasons. The French 9th Corps, which included the British 51st Highland Division, was cut off from escape through Le Havre. The 51st Division's withdrawal through St Valery was blocked by French mechanical transport and their evacuation had not been approved by the French High Command. At 0600/11 the train ferry Hampton, which was just completing naval service, landed a small beach party at St Valery. At that time there was no shelling in the area, but by 1100 the beaches were being shelled. HMS Saladin reported that the 51st Division, of about 20,000, was formed in a hollow square round St Valery and arrangements were being made to evacuate them after dark. Ships and transports were being shelled and bombed during the forenoon of the 11 June and Admiral James ordered them to retire to the north-west. During the withdrawal the vessels were heavily dive-bombed. At one time Hampton was attacked by thirty aircraft. With no fighter support the fleet were fortunate not to suffer loss. At some point fog added to their problems, and delayed their return to St Valery when the French Admiral authorised the evacuation that evening.

Le Havre had also been heavily bombed and reports were received that four of the merchant ships were disabled; in the event only the Bruges was lost. Three bombs had been directed at the vessel, one entered her forward hold and the other two fell close by. As she was in danger of sinking the Bruges was beached and abandoned; all seventy two crew survived. The St Serriol was damaged when a bomb exploded beneath her engine room. Most of the ships came under fire, or air attack, during the evacuation. The RN manned schuyt Twente was hit in three places and sank. Another schuyt grounded on a falling tide and was lost. This may have been Hebe II, Sub Lieutenant John Pryor, which had been sent in to the beach because it seemed deserted. Pryor and his crew were captured and made to march all the way to the prison camp near Bremen.[iii] The Duke of York was hit three times; her Chief Officer threw an unexploded shell over the side.

At 2100 on 9 June Cameo (Captain S Masson) received orders to proceed to seven miles west of Cap Le Havre (Cap de la Hève?). At 2210, while underway, she was told to return to the anchorage. On 10 June at 2200 she was ordered to proceed to position off St Valery-en-Caux; she spent the night on reduced speed because of thick fog. She was stopped at 1100 on 11 June to await orders and at 1130 the convoy was told to proceed to Fecamp. At noon a destroyer ordered the ships to put back, owing to enemy action, and several bombs were dropped near convoy. At 1700 Cameo was attacked by enemy planes during fog, but again escaped. At 2130 she received orders to follow Goldfinch, which had boats in tow. She arrived off the beach at 0100 on 12 June and anchored a quarter of a mile off. At 0330 a drifter arrived with boats, but with no men to man them. The drifter was told to come alongside and Cameo’s men manned the boats and took them in to the beach. They transferred one boat load to the drifter and took the next six boat loads on the Cameo; as the last boat left the beach they came under shell and machine gun fire. As they had no food and water and the troops were 'starving' the Master signalled the Cruiser HMS Cardiff and went alongside her, obtaining stores and transferring three (six?) wounded soldiers. During this manoeuvre Cameo got severe damage to the ship's side. At 2130 they received orders to proceed to home port. They anchored in Poole Bay at 0630 on 13 June. The pilot boarded at 0930 and they berthed at Poole Quay at 1100.

By the morning of 12 June enemy fire at St Valery was intense and maximum air support was requested. The 51st Division were ordered to cease fire; this was the only instance during the campaign when a body of men could not be rescued.[iv] At 1821 Admiral James ordered the Senior Naval Officer to withdraw his force. The withdrawing ships were to turn back out-coming vessels, but they missed several, which were heavily attacked; Train Ferry No2 was lost.

Captain H H Quail of the Guernsey Queen made a one page report, in which the dates and times are similar to those reported by Captain Masson. At 1230 on 11 June they were attacked by Nazi bombers. They were then ordered to follow Jade[v] to a position off St Valery, where they were damaged in another raid. At 0030 on 12 June they embarked about 100 men, touching bottom at the time. They returned to a cove off Veules, where they remained under fire, receiving a hit on the starboard side aft, which damaged the water tanks, a lifeboat, the funnel and the hull. They arrived at Poole at 1030 on 13 June and disembarked the troops.

Cdr H W Green.[vi] RNR STO Poole amplified the Masters' modest reports:

On June 13th vessels commenced returning to Poole, “CAMEO” with over 400 troops, “GUERNSEY QUEEN” with about 90. The Masters' reports cover the interim. I would respectfully point out that these men are not able to write adequately of what they have done. This is particularly true of the “CAMEO” and “GUERNSEY QUEEN”. The Master of the “CAMEO”, Stephen Masson, the Mate, Neil MacKinnon and the crew of this vessel deserve special praise. The Master is an old gentleman of 69 years of age and whilst the crew were pulling the lifeboats he was alone on board with only the Second Engineer. The Mate, Neil MacKinnon, was on the beach preventing the overcrowding of the boats. It should be remembered that the heavy boat work was done by men who had had no rest for 48 hours. The Master was continuously on the bridge from leaving Poole on the 10th to returning on the 13th, no mean feat for a man of his years. The “GUERNSEY QUEEN” apparently took up inshore berth as vacated by “CAMEO” and Captain Quail did everything possible up to the last moment.[vii]

Roebuck (Captain Larbalestier) and Sambur (Captain Sanderson) were cargo ships owned by the Great Western Railway, which normally operated a service from Weymouth to the Channel Islands. They left Weymouth together at 1405 on 12 June, bound for the Normandy coast. At 0150 on 13 June, having seen fires onshore, they eased down awaiting daylight. At 0410 they proceeded towards St. Valery and at 0415 made contact with fishermen, who were about five miles off the port.

The Master of the Roebuck spoke French, he understood from the fishermen that it was safe to approach the coast and he signalled the Sambur with that information. When they were within a mile of the port the enemy opened fire from the cliff tops with about nine guns. Both ships turned and zigzagged at full speed, but both sustained serious damage and casualties. On Roebuck, the Second Officer was killed outright and the RN Signalman was badly wounded, as were the Chief Officer and one greaser. On Sambur two of the crew were killed and four were seriously injured. With the exception of one AB who jumped over the side and was lost, the Roebuck's crew behaved splendidly. The Gunner, Leslie Mavey, was singled out for special praise: he took charge of the wounded, including the Chief Officer, whose place he took during the return passage to Newhaven. On Sambur the behaviour of all was very commendable. As the Sambur's compass had been smashed, the Roebuck escorted her back to Newhaven, where they landed the dead and injured.

The dead were recorded as[viii] Sambur: John Jones, Chief Steward (two in ship's report); Roebuck: Richard Wills, AB; Herbert Caddy; William Williams, Second Officer. Those killed on the Train Ferry No.2 (LNER), which was shelled off St Valery-en-Caux and beached were recorded as:-[ix] Reginald Barker, Fireman; Leonard Burger, Radio Officer; Douglas Catchpole, Fourth Engineer Officer; Owen Gage, AB; Donald Hambling, Fireman; William Maryan, Donkeyman; John Miller, Second Engineer Officer; Ralph Moore, AB; Walter Pells, Chief Steward; John Simmen, AB; Herbert Snelling, Fireman; George Starkey, Second Officer; William Stokes, AB and Richard Summers, Donkeyman.[x]

Captain Painter of the Goldfinch was somewhat aggrieved that his ship's contribution was ignored. The officer in charge of a party of naval ratings, who were put aboard his ship, expressed his complete satisfaction with the Goldfinch crew's performance. The situation was probably not helped by the fact that the officer, Probationary Temporary Lieut. J C Thompson RNR was awarded a DSC. When Lieut. Thompson heard of the omission he made a supplementary report, in an effort to get recognition for the Goldfinch. In it he pointed out that the crew were involved in a great deal of boat work and saved between 500 and 600 soldiers, whom they transferred to the Princess Maud and other ships. The ship's Second Officer, with two seamen, took charge of part of the beach party 'under trying circumstances.' Both they and their ship came under hostile gunfire, and the vessel took two shell hits and suffered one fatality.

The St Briac, Amsterdam, Tynwald, Theems and Emerald left St Valery for Cherbourg during the night of 12/13 June with 4,000 troops, including the rear guard. The Lowick carried the beach party. These ships were escorted by destroyers Fernie and Vega.

Many of the civilians from Le Havre tried to flee by sea. The French steamer Niobe had arrived with a cargo of Welsh coal. She then loaded ammunition and provisions for Dunkirk, but, since that port was no longer operating, she was ordered to (Caen??) instead. In the chaos hundreds of refugees boarded to escape the advancing Germans. Niobe sailed at about 1430 on 11 June, but came under attack by German planes at 1700 (two or four aircraft according to conflicting reports); the ammunition she was carrying blew up in an enormous explosion. There were only eleven survivors, who were rescued by the small coaster Cotentin. The number of dead is not known, but it was believed that 800 or more boarded her in Le Havre.[xi] The French ships General Metzinger and Syrie were sunk by German bombing at Le Havre, also with heavy loss of life. The Norwegian steamer Ellavore was also sunk by German bombing there; the entire crew was rescued by other Norwegian ships. The Belgian steamers Albertville and Piriapolis were sunk off the port; the Albertville had been en route from Bordeaux to embark troops.

The Norwegian D/S Ringulv, carried nearly 1,500 civilians.[xii] She also seems to have been left out of the records, there may well be others. Ringulv, a coal fired steamer, was one of the many Norwegian vessels at sea when their country was invaded; they were put under the management of Nortraship.[xiii] Ringulv was chartered to the French and sent to Le Havre to load a general cargo for New York. The ships and the town were bombed constantly. Early on the morning of Monday 10 June they were ordered to stop loading and to embark 500, mainly female, workers from munitions factories. A couple of hours later Captain Messel was asked if he could take more refugees. When the ship left at noon she had 1,472 women, children and old people on board. There were a number of babies, the youngest only two days old. When they sailed they could see thousands more waiting to embark on other ships. The catering department made coffee, tea and fresh bread throughout the day and night. The ship's entire supply of condensed milk was diluted and given to the children. The crew gave their accommodation to the most needy and slept at their posts. No pilot was available at Cherbourg, so the Master berthed the vessel. They were then diverted to Brest, sailing on the evening of the 11 June, arriving there twenty four hours later, when the refugees disembarked.

Before doing so they handed 1,500 francs to the Master to divide between the crew. The crew agreed that the money should be given to the French Red Cross; this was in addition to the 6,050 kroner that they had previously collected for the Red Cross. All disembarked quickly and with no problems and when Ringulv started to move away there were still around a thousand people on the quay 'shouting hooray.'

They were meant to go to Bordeaux, but never got beyond Verdun (Le Verdon?) Roads, due to the approaching Germans. Ringulv's men thought that the worst was behind them once they got out of Le Havre, but on the first night at Verdun Roads they were attacked from the air. The bombers came regularly day and night, dropping bombs and magnetic mines in parachutes. On 20 June orders were received to proceed to French controlled Casablanca, where they arrived on 25 June. There the ship was immobilised and the crew were sent to the first of nine prison camps in North Africa – covered in a later chapter.

The last loss on Operation CYCLE was the schuyt Abel Tasman, which hit a mine as she followed her sister Wega through the Swash Channel into Poole Harbour.

At the end of his report Admiral James said:

The achievement in the St. Valery area fell far short of my early hopes but embarkation of a large number of troops from such a coast once the enemy had established guns to command the small narrow beaches and the town was not possible.

He went on to say that he could not speak too highly of the fishermen and yachtsmen who spent three days in their open boats, some enduring air attack or shelling from the coast. He finishes by pointing out the difficulty in tracing some of those who went over in these small craft as they were 'merchant service men and fishermen now dispersed.'

In all 14,557 British and 921 French troops were evacuated. 9,000 of these were taken to Cherbourg and the rest to South Coast ports. 14,418 were carried by merchant ships and 1,060 by naval vessels. There are no figures for civilian evacuees, or for the terrible casualties among this group.







Operation Cycle

VESSEL

TYPE

SAILED

ARRIVED

M.N.

R.N.

AMSTERDAM

Passenger ship

13 Le Havre

13 Cherbourg

2,100


ARCHANGEL

Passenger ship

12 St. Valery

13 Southampton

90



BOADICEA

Destroyer

10 St. Valery

11 Portsmouth


102

BRITTANY

Passenger ship

12 Le Havre

12 Cherbourg

780



BROKE

Destroyer

11 St. Valery

11 Portsmouth


55

BULLDOG

Destroyer

10 St. Valery

10 Portsmouth


5

CAMEO

Coaster

12 St, Valery

13 Poole

328


CANTERBURY

Passenger ship

12 Le Havre

12 Cherbourg

1,670



CARDIFF

Cruiser

12 St, Valery

12 Portsmouth

x-Cameo

6

CODRINGTON

Destroyer

12 St. Valery

12 Portsmouth


1

DUKE OF YORK

Passenger ship

12 St. Valery

12 Southampton

400


EMERALD

Coaster

13 Le Havre

13 Cherbourg

40



GARDENIA

Corvette

11 St. Valery

11 Portsmouth


107

GOLDFINCH

Coaster

11 St. Valery

Transferred about 5/600 to

other s


GUERNSEY QUEEN

Coaster

12 St. Valery

13 Poole

92



HARVESTER

Destroyer

12 St. Valery

13 Portsmouth


78

LADY OF MANN

Passenger ship

12 Le Havre

12 Cherbourg

2,200



LAIRDS ISLE

Naval Passenger

10 Le Havre

10 Portsmouth


351

LOWICK

Coaster

13 Le Havre

13 Cherbourg

13



PASCHOLL

RN Schuyt

12 St. Valery

13 Southampton


330

PRINCESS MAUD

Passenger ship

12 St. Valery

12 Southampton

1,000


RINGULV[xiv] (Nor)

Cargo ship

Le Havre

Brest (all civilians)

1,472


ST BRIAC

Passenger ship

12 Le Havre

13 Cherbourg

1,150



SALADIN

Destroyer

12 St. Valery

13 Portsmouth


15

SCHELDT

Schuyt

12 St. Valery

13 Poole


10

SILVER COAST

Coaster

12 St. Valery

12/13 Poole

5


THE COUNTESS

Coaster

12 Le Havre

12 Cherbourg

370


THEEMS (Themes?)

Coaster

13 Le Havre

13 Cherbourg

60


TYNWALD

Passenger ship

13 Le Havre

13 Cherbourg

970


VIENNA[xv]

Passenger ship

12 Le Havre

12 Cherbourg

1,100


VIKING

Passenger ship

12 Le Havre

12 Cherbourg

2,000


WORTHING

Hospital carrier

11 Le Havre

12 Southampton

50



Totals







15,890

1060


Winser’s figures are: British 14,557 and French 921. Of these 12,453 of the British were taken to Cherbourg. This complicates the figure for subsequent operations.

Operation Aerial[xvi]: Cherbourg, St Malo and the Channel Islands.
After Operation CYCLE ended the authorities believed that there were 140,000 British troops to be evacuated from ports between Cherbourg and La Pallice. In addition there were an unknown number of Allied soldiers, plus their vehicles, stores and equipment. Vast numbers of civilians were making their way westward, many on foot. Reinforcements were still being moved from Southampton to ports in North West France, with the intention of establishing a 'Breton redoubt.'[xvii] For whatever reason few records about Operation AERIAL are available, though Roskill and Winser must have had access to some. Were it not for the 'eagle eye' of the American researcher Don Kindell the next three chapters could not have been written. He found a record of this operation while reading a file in the National Archives at Kew. He kindly provided me with a copy of the file; which I have retyped to make it searchable, it is attached as an Appendix.

Admiral James again supervised the evacuations, this time they were from the ports of Cherbourg and St Ma

Admiral William Milbourne James, G.C.B., K.C.B., C.B. Who signed his reports simply as W. James, Admiral. Also an author. Sometimes nicknamed ‘Sir Bubbles’; because he was the boy in blue gazing at a bubble in the Pears soap advert.

[ii] See extract from Admiral James' report - page 48

[iii] Source Mike Foster - his father Sub Lieut. Roy Foster was put in command of the JABA

[iv] Owen on the WW2 Talk website says: "Saul David in his book Churchill's Sacrifice of The Highland Division says this on page 242.' More than 10,000 were taken prisoner at St Valery....with the 1000 or so taken on the Somme and in the Saar a total of over 11,000 soldiers of the Division marched into captivity." Wikipedia says '13,000 surrendered.'

[v] William Robertson, Glasgow contributed three ships to this evacuation, CAMEO, JADE & EMERALD.

[vi] Couldn't read the rest of the signature, information from Jan Houterman. http://www.unithistories.com/officers

[vii] Decorations awarded were: CAMEO: DSC Captain Stephen Masson and Mate Mr Neil MacKinnon. DSM Boatswain Cornelius Harris and William Patience AB, MID Albert Barfoot AB, Edward Wills AB and Ronald Martin, Wiper. GUERNSEY QUEEN:- DSC Captain Hugh Hamilton Quail. Boatswain Seymour White DSM.

[viii] CWGC via Billy McGee, www.mercantilemarine.org.

[ix] Miramar and CWGC via Hugh www.mercantilemarine.org lists fourteen.

[x] The Donkeyman was a Petty Officer, originally who looked after the donkey engine on a sailing ship.

[xi] Sources Brain V and de domenico Warsailors website.

[xii] For the full story see Evacuation From Le Havre - Warsailors.com

[xiii] Also see Warsailors.

[xiv] RINGULV was not officially part of Operation Cycle. The RASC coaster SIR ELWYN WOOD (SIR EVELYN WOOD?) evacuated many more from the beaches of St Valery.' She had a mainly civilian crew.

[xv] VIENNA is also recorded as sailing from Cherbourg to Southampton with troops on 7 June .

[xvi] The few contemporaneous documents that have been located all use this spelling. More recently some have decided that it should be spelt Ariel.

[xvii] See London Gazette, issue 37573

 

Hallo Roy,

Super! Thank you for providing this input – much appreciated.

I am somewhat puzzled though. Perhaps you can enlighten me. Am I correct to assume that Operation Cycle and the French operation led by Capitaine de Corvette Aubert, though apparently serving the same purpose, are to be considered as two separate operations? I suppose there had to be some kind of co-ordination between the Royal Navy and the Marine Nationale?

Cheers,
Christian

 

I failed to mention in my earlier post that, during the days before the war reached Saint-Valery, Father Falaise apparently kept in regular telephonic contact with colleagues in the parishes disseminated all over the Caux region. For as long as telephonic lines remained open, thanks to this ‘clerical network’, he managed to keep an accurate overview of ongoing military activities taking place in the area. This, of course, makes his testimony even more worthwhile. By the looks of it, at the time, he seemed to have had a better situational awareness than some military commanders

 

Hi Christian,
I am not sure as the French operation was new to me until I read your post. I suspect that they were two separate operations. My reasoning is that Dynamo, Cycle, Aerial and Spirit were UK Admiralty code names and while the much bigger Operation (or Plan) Aerial was going on there seemd to have been an operation by the Polish navy that does not get a mention in the War Diary. Beyond that it is guess work! I have said many times that the later operations got little attention in the British press, partly, I suspect, because most of the evacuations were carried out by merchant ships; also because the British goverment had allowed some sections of the press to claim that 'every last man' was saved at Dunkirk.

As you live in Belgium you are presumably aware of Paul Timbal's fine work saving all the gem diamonds from the Antwerp Diamond Bank during and after Operation Cycle?

Cheers,

Roy

 

I ought to think of myself as being pretty well versed regarding all things related to May 1940 in Belgium, but I'm afraid I now have to admit that - probably to my ever lasting shame - I never have heard of Paul Timbal... Fortunately, my curiosity eventually always overcomes my embarrassment Since I didn't want to spoil the fun by using Google, I'll trust you to enlighten me on this one

I intend to redeem myself though! As it happens I just found a very interesting entry in Father Falaise's book where he describes the ongoing troop embarkations at Saint-Valery. A fascinating account which should interest researchers. I'm currently translating the text.

KR,
Christian

 

Don't feel any shame, the story was well hidden until a Belgian Researcher/Historian uncovered it while co-reaserching a history of the (now-defunct) bank. He has written the full story in his book Paul J. Timbal, "Why the Belgian Diamonds Never Fell into Enemy Hands ... ISBN 978-2-87044-011-7. This formed part of a dramatic rescue from Bordeaux, which was not reported in the UK until later. The story when it came out was utter bilge. I will copy my part abouyt here in about half an hour.

KR

Roy

 

The pictures have, again, not survived copying. I will try to copy the second one as it is a most interesting latter from the Librarian at Windsor castle

Before noon on 20 June the following ships sailed from Le Verdon for Falmouth: the Kasango with 100 British passengers; the Nigerstroom with 600 British passengers; the Ville de Liège with 200-300 Polish and Czech troops and the Broompark with 'an unknown number of British nationals and machine tools.' The reference to the Broompark hides a most interesting story.

Charles 'Wild Jack' Howard was the 20th Earl of Suffolk and 13th Earl of Berkshire. His mother was the daughter of the American businessman Levi Leiter. From the age of three his French governess ensured that he was bilingual. When his father was killed on active service in 1917, eleven year old Charles Howard inherited the title. He entered the Royal Naval College, Osborne, and then Radley College, but left to sign on the merchant windjammer Mount Stewart. When he returned his family bought him a commission in the Scots Guards, but he soon resigned. He then worked his passage to Australia on a steamship and, once there, found work as a farmhand, before becoming co-owner (with Captain McColm, formerly Master of the Mount Stewart) of a farm in Queensland. In 1934 he returned to marry the actress Mimi Forde-Pigott, whose stage name was Mimi Crawford.

In June 1935 he was admitted to the Westminster hospital with a serious illness. This may have been rheumatoid arthritis; he suffered from the after effects for the rest of his life and walked with a stick. His new wife encouraged him to study pharmacology at Edinburgh University, he gained a first-class honours degree in in 1937[ii] and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

At the outbreak of war he was classed as 'medically unfit' because of his arthritis, so he remained as a civilian. He was that rare combination of an academic, a practical man and a leader. Those who knew him remarked on his willingness to work hard and his ability to mix with all classes. Most found him to be a delightful man ‘c'était un très chic type', but for senior members of the French Government he was the personification of Perfidious Albion.

At the beginning of February 1940 the Earl went to Paris as a Liaison Officer for the British Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. He had volunteered to save items and people of value to the war effort. He took with him Eileen Beryl Morden, who had been a secretary with the Ministry of Supply and Major Ardale Vautier Golding, with his secretary, a Miss Nicolle. His colourful exploits become the talk of Paris and the Germans were soon aware of his activities. When the French government moved to Bordeaux, on 10 June, the Suffolk Golding team joined the masses that made their way there.

Bordeaux was in uproar, the population had trebled and many of the incomers were desperate to get out of France. Suffolk set about finding a ship to take his acquisitions back to the U.K. With help from the Consular staff of the British Embassy in Bordeaux, he found his ship and his man. Denholm's coal fired tramp ship Broompark (5136 grt), Captain Olaf Paulsen, had arrived at Bordeaux on 13 June with a cargo of coal.

When young Olaf Paulsen landed in Leith from Norway he spoke little English. After several trips as a catering boy he transferred to the deck crew, eventually gaining his Master's certificate. He joined Denholm's as Chief Officer, later becoming Master. ‘He was a quaint mixture of showman and clown, but he had intense drive was ruthlessly efficient.’[iii] He retired when in his sixties, but was recalled in 1939 to command the newly built Broompark. Captain Paulsen spoke both English and French, with a strong accent. His Glaswegian, Tiger Bay African, and Tyne Arab crew, would have been no easier to understand.

Suffolk may have been told that a Paul Timbal, the manager of the Antwerp Diamond Bank, was making his way across France with diamonds. On 8 June Timbal had flown to London to meet with Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, the Chairman of De Beers, who controlled the supply of rough diamonds. During that meeting it was agreed that the Belgian diamonds should be brought to the U.K. It was also decided that the diamond cutters and their families should be brought back, if at all possible.[iv]

M. Timbal and others travelled in his car, followed by an old lorry that he had bought for the purpose, it carried two crates containing the diamonds. Another car followed. By this time many of the diamantaires and their families were sheltering in Royan: at the northern entrance to the River Gironde. The French authorities wanted to keep them in France and were being difficult. In the event few made it to the UK, most of those who did later went on to New York or Havana. Timbal was also sent to the Broompark and was introduced to the Earl, who was the centre of attention; in one account he was working, stripped to the waist and displaying his tattoos and carrying his two pistols, Oscar and Genevieve. They agreed that the diamonds should be loaded on the Broompark, with Paul Timbal, Hubert Jacques, Nicholas Ansiaux, and André Van Campenhout. M. Ansiaux was accompanied by his wife and her parents; he carried a brief case with a million Belgian francs for a stockbroker called Dewaay.

The ship loaded 600 tons of machine tools, which were on the quay[v] and the plans that the Earl and the Major had acquired. Just after midnight 18 June, while the loading progressed, the scientists Hans Halban and Lew Kowarski, arrived with their families and a consignment 'heavy water' that had originated in Norway. At that time the Norsk Hydro Ryukan plant was the only place where heavy water (deuterium oxide) could be produced. In early March 1940 Lieutenant Jacques Allier managed to move all the remaining 187.5 litres of heavy water, in twenty six cans, to France via Scotland. There the nuclear scientist Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie[vi] took charge of the material. When France was invaded his colleagues had loaded the cans, their research papers and their wives and infant daughters, both had one, into cars. They first hid their cargo in a Banque de France vault and then in a women's prison; before moving it to Bordeaux, where it was loaded on to the Broompark. The ship was bombed, possibly because the Fifth Column were aware of her presence. After this they moved berth, this meant that Joliot-Curie could not find the ship: had he done so it was likely that the Earl would have made him stay.

By now there were 101 extra people on board. The women and children were put in the officers’ cabins; wooden platforms were fitted in the cargo hold for the men. The photograph of the Broompark also shows two structures on deck, probably temporary lavatories (see Calumet). The Broompark sailed from Bordeaux shortly after 0600 on 19 June and from Le Verdon that afternoon. Also aboard were a 'British Army Major and four troops,' presumably Major Golding. Another 'Major' had been with Timbal in Paris, but this was a Major Renson of the Belgian Air Force. A French reserve officer supervised the placing of an anti-submarine gun on the stern and provided a gun crew (the four troops?). [vii]

Yet another Major was in Bordeaux at this time, the famous Frank Foley who had saved so many Jews while in Berlin. Of Foley one account says: 'While briefly in Bordeaux in June 1940, with thousands of retreating soldiers and civilians, he continued to issue visas for Britain.'[viii]

On the way down the Gironde a nearby ship was mined and sunk (the Mexique?), the crew were saved by 'other ships in the convoy.' Some secondary sources say that the ships sailed without pilots (this is possible, see the photograph of the Broompark), if so this sixty mile river journey would have been hazardous. Others say that Suffolk kept plying the crew with wine, but a drunken crew would never have got the ship to sea, especially if the firemen had been incapable of firing the boilers; and Captain Paulsen was a teetotaller. It is doubtful that Suffolk's would have praised the crew in a report that they would never see (see page 74). The ship stopped at Le Verdon to load ammunition for the guns. Later the Germans became aware that the heavy water had left, but Joliot-Curie convinced them that it was in the sunken ship.

Accounts of the voyage home are contradictory; some passenger reports say that it took four days in all. Suffolk and Timbal helped the ship's carpenter build a raft to house both the diamonds and the heavy water; the idea of this 'ark' was that it would float if the ship sank. Suffolk dictated a document in French, setting out the precautions that had been taken to ensure the survival of the most precious items.[ix] This was signed by those in charge of the heavy water and the diamonds and countersigned by Suffolk and Golding. The journal says that the Broompark arrived at Falmouth at 0600 on 21 June, so the facts suggest a shorter passage. Miss Morden's passport also records her arrival in Falmouth on 21 June. There seems to have been food aboard, but Ansiaux describes a meal as 'very unappealing' which they 'only ate because they were starving' (see below).

The Master was as economical with words as he was with everything else; he does not record loading the cargo, or the passengers, but does say in an Official Log entry that with 101 souls on board he decided to ignore a distress call from ONVJ (Ville de Namur, with a cargo including 900 horses?), 90 miles away. He had issued all available life jackets before leaving Bordeaux, but there were only sufficient for the women and children. An entry in the Official Log records that a lifeboat drill was held and the boats were swung out.

Nineteen vessels sailed from the Gironde between 17 and 23 June. Two were warships and several were British cargo liners, who may have been more suited to the work. No reports have been seen that explain the choice of the Broompark, who nevertheless did her job well.



Broompark, believed to be in Le Verdon Roads, June 19. J & J Denholm

Kowarski said:

We left the estuary on the 19th and crossed the Channel in about 36 hours. There were a few picturesque episodes, such as Lord Suffolk making a raft on which he moved all of the cans of heavy water and a huge sack of industrial (sic) diamonds. There were seasick people; he was limping around the ship to treat them with champagne, which he proclaimed to be the best remedy against seasickness. All this was completely in keeping with the ideas of British aristocracy I had gathered from the works of P. G. Wodehouse.

Timbal said:

There were about 50 (sic) passengers on board: prominent scientists, less prominent scientists, technical people - some of their families, not very many. The ladies immediately organized communal feeding. Quite a few of these people, including ourselves, had some canned food with them. All this was pooled. On the 21st we arrived in Falmouth right in the beautiful harbor. Several masts were visible sticking out of the water, marking the place of some recent sinkings right in the harbor itself. This was hardly a surprise: we had spotted some German planes on our way, but then we were told that they had no bombs, having spent them previously on somebody else.'

When they arrived in Falmouth 'tired and covered in coal dust' the Belgians were put in a hotel where 'after a quick bath and a very kind welcome, they are able to enjoy British hospitality and spend a pleasant night.'

Timbal said:

I decided to try and clean up a little. To do this, I used a little Evian water, left over in one of the bottles, to wash my face and shave. My neck was as black as a coal miner’s. My summer overcoat was stained with oil and coal. I put on another collar, my last clean one. I looked like a tramp in Sunday clothes.

He then started to fret about the diamonds, what would happen if the ship was bombed and sank in the harbour. At around ten o’clock several British Naval Officers boarded from a motor launch, they ‘conferred with the Captain, Major Golding and the Earl of Berkshire.’ A steam launch then brought a detachment of territorials aboard, their task being to guard the raft; the same launch took a number of British citizens ashore.

H M Customs and Excise were also concerned about the cargo; their unease was only heightened by one of the pair who seemed to be in charge. It was more than two hundred years since a pirate had last brought a cargo into Falmouth, claiming that he had ‘saved’ it from the French and even longer since one had said that the treasure he had was from the Spanish Netherlands.

Customs had no more reason to believe this than they would have believed one of the Earl’s Tudor ancestors. They noted on the cover of file CUST 106/854 that he claimed that part of the lading was:

A highly specialised and secret apparatus of which there is no duplicate anywhere in the world and which had been brought into the country on ministerial directions in the vital national interest (their underlining).

Most of that was true, though the bit about ministerial direction was something of an exaggeration. It will be remembered that the British Embassy had a great deal of difficulty communicating with London and as far as the Admiralty knew the Broompark carried just an ‘unknown number of British citizens and machine tools.’

Lord Suffolk also said that the diamonds had been sent from the UK to Holland for cutting. This was probably only true of a portion of the consignment; though it was true that De Beers controlled the diamond trade through London.

An indecipherable note in the margin of the file gives the time of 1221 alongside a reference to ‘Dr Gough Msc, M.B.E., F.R.S.’ – someone was ‘pulling rank.’ The next paragraph is:

On the grounds of urgency, these goods have been released without formality on landing. They were immediately removed by rail to their destinations, being accompanied by responsible members of the mission. An undertaking given by the Earl of Suffolk is annexed.

The Earl’s scrawled note is there, including the words ‘to wit’, which he seemed fond of. There was a further note:

Lord Suffolk was under the impression that the authority produced by him when the goods were imported was sufficient to dispense with all custom’s formalities and also that they were of such special character that they were altogether outside the (unclear word – definition?) of merchandise.

The Earl sent a telegram to London: 'OHMS[x] PRIORITY = TRAINLOAD LEAVING SPECIAL TRAIN FALMOUTH 2300 APPROX STOP WILL TELEPHONE DEPARTMENT ON ARRIVAL = SUFFOLK AND BERKSHIRE. In his report the Director of Scientific Research Dr. H. J. Gough, says that the train arrived at 0930 on 22 June. On the previous day he had briefed the Minister (Herbert Morrison or Harold Macmillan?) who authorised the Admiralty to send a signal to Bayonne regarding the transport of uranium ore and the 'technicians'. When the D. S. R. went to the Admiralty he found that the First Sea Lord was 'at a conference...and (he) waited till 7.0 p.m.' The Second Secretary at the Admiralty got in touch with the Director of Operations and was told that, as there were a number of merchant ships in Bayonne, the Admiralty ''did not consider it necessary to send a special destroyer.'

Lord Suffolk and Major Golding made a three page report, which concluded:

We should like to make this the occasion of expressing our warmest thanks to the following people:-

Captain Bichelonne and Colonel Raguet of the Ministere de l'Armement, without whose devoted help, without whose unparalleled efficiency and without whose heartfelt sympathies our mission could not even have started.

To the members of the British Embassy who were at that time in Bordeaux, with especial reference to the Commercial Attache, Mr Irving, and the Minister, Mr Harvey, who in the case of Mr Irving secured us our ship, and in the case of Mr Harvey secured us an omnibus passport and clearance through the Customs, without which our task would have been made immeasurably more arduous and difficult.

To Captain Paulsen, the Officers and members of the ship's crew of the s.s. "Broompark", who afforded the most loyal, painstaking and hardworking assistance to us and who, in circumstances which might have been of extreme discomfort, did all they could to make us and our personnel as comfortable as circumstances would allow.

Thanks are also due to Mr Barton, who was a Director of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and whom the Embassy asked us to transport as a passenger. Mr Barton took endless trouble to organise the catering department of our journey on the ship and did this very successfully.

Also our thanks are due to Monsieur Berthiez, who when we were faced with the removal of our dock foreman and dockers organised a scratch crew from the Port and with the aid of the 1st Mate of the ship and Colonel Liebessart, superintended the extremely difficult matter of loading these machine tools himself.

We should also like to comment most favourably upon the efficiency, courtesy and diligence shown to us by Lt. Commdr. Mills, R.N.V.R., of the Falmouth Contraband Control. This Officer did everything within his power to facilitate the landing and despatch of our personnel and valuables and was of the very greatest possible assistance to us.

Finally, we should like to cite in the very warmest manner possible the conduct of our two secretaries, Miss Morden and Miss Nicolle. Faced with the most uncomfortable possible conditions, faced with hours of work which frequently amounted to some twenty per day, faced at times with the greatest possible danger, they conducted themselves coolly, calmly and extremely efficiently and did what they could to render the operation a success.

An undated covering note, which is only initialled, says:

As we are in secret session I am able to tell the House[xi] of a piece of work by two officers of the Ministry who were in Paris as Liaison Officers with the Ministry of Armament. These officers, with the co-operation of certain patriotic Frenchmen and the British Embassy, succeeded in obtaining a ship and arming it against attack from the air. This ship was loaded with, among other things, machine tools and large quantities of valuable and secret stores, some of them of almost incalculable scientific importance. There were also embarked on this ship, owing to the efforts that were made, a considerable party of key personnel consisting of eminent scientists and armament experts.

In spite of an attempt to bomb it, this ship arrived safely in England and arrangements are being made for the personnel to continue their work in the service of the Allied cause and the stores have been safely disposed of.

Although I cannot do so publicly I should like to pay tribute to the highly successful efforts of the representatives of the ministry and also to the members of the British Embassy and to the officers and crew of the ship.

Presumably because the mission was top secret no awards are recorded.

At first no one knew what to do with the heavy water. Until, on the 4 July, General Sir Maurice Taylor, a Senior Military Advisor (to the Ministry of Supply?) wrote to Lord Wigram at Windsor Castle telling him:

We have rescued from France a small stock of what is probably the most valuable and rare material in the world and one which is most urgently needed, in very small quantities, for what we hope may prove to be without exaggeration the most important scientific contribution to our war effort.

He went on to ask ‘if he could arrange safe storage ‘in some small chamber in the depths below Windsor Castle’.

On 9 July Lord Suffolk collected twenty of the cans and delivered them to the Castle library, where the librarian O F Morshead took charge and arranged for the consignment to be stored in the same place as the Crown Jewels. This destroys the myth that the Crown Jewels have never left the Tower of London; but no one could say that the British did not appreciate the value of the material that had been saved.

On 11 July Morshead wrote a note to Gough confirming arrangements for the release of the material and saying ‘the King knows that it is here.’ Morshead was much more than a librarian; his decorations were C.V.O. D.S.O. M.C. Croix de Guerre. By 1952 he was Sir Owen Frederick Morshead KC.V.O etc. and in 1958 K.C.B. Even in 1936 Lord Wigram’s full style was Colonel the Right Honourable Clive, Baron Wigram G.C.B. G.C.V.O. C.S.I.

Twelve square tins of more concentrated material and eight round tins of less concentrated material were taken to Windsor. Three square tins and three round tins, with the same contents as the Windsor consignment, remained at Wormwood Scrubs prison – the temporary headquarters of MI5.





Possibly an even more dramatic salvage was carried out by another collier, the Polish Chorzow. Chorzow, of only 845 gross registered tons, had carried coal or tar to Bordeaux, where she was requisitioned to help with the evacuation. She embarked 193 Polish airmen, who wanted to join their squadron at Northolt.

Others were charged with escorting the Polish National Treasure to Britain. The treasure had already been on an epic journey by barge, horse and cart, bus and lorry to Romania were it was taken aboard a merchant ship. The ship was twice intercepted by the Royal Navy, who suspected that she was carrying cargo for the enemy. On the second occasion she was escorted into Malta to be searched, from there she went to Genoa. The priceless cargo was then taken to Marseilles and then on to Aubusson, where it was stored for four months.

On 19 May the custodians decided that France was no longer safe and the treasure resumed its journey; this time to Bordeaux. At Bordeaux the lorry was driven to the Polish consulate. Staff at the consulate told them that the only Polish ship in the port was the Chorzow, commanded by a Captain Gora.

When Gora arrived, he listened to the Consul’s story and, without a word, climbed into the cab of the lorry and guided the lorry to the port. As they approached the dock gate he told the driver to ‘put his foot down’ and they swept pass the shouting security guards. When they reached the ship the crew were told to transfer the treasure into the hold as quickly as they could.

By the time the guards arrived, the lorry had been unloaded and the lorry crew were hidden on board the ship. When the Master was asked why he had not stopped at the dock gate he said that he saw no reason to, as the lorry was empty. He then sent them off as he ‘had more important things to do.’

The Chorzow sailed from Le Verdon on the same day as the Broompark. She was probably in the convoy that was astern of the Broompark, but, when one of the other ships was hit by a bomb, she went on to Falmouth alone also arriving on the 21st. From there the cargo was taken by rail to the Polish Embassy in London. Later the treasure was carried to Canada by the liner Batory; reaching Halifax on the 12 July. The Polish treasures were carefully packed in specially constructed large trunks and long metal tubes.

The consignment included:

The jewelled Coronation sword of Polish Kings dating back to 1320, a two volume of Gutenberg Bible, 136 Flemish Tapestries some of which had been commissioned by King Sigjsmund III Augustus between 1549 and 1572, an aquamarine sceptre set in gold, the sword of the Order of the White Eagle and the Chain of the Order last used at the Coronation of King Stanislaw Augustus Poniatowskii in 1764, the Prayer Book of Queen Bona, religious manuscripts from the 13th century, the 14th century Florian Psalter - the oldest translation of the Psalms into Polish, the Annals of the Holy Cross, written by Archbishop Jacob of Znin in the early 13th century and thought to be the oldest preserved original Polish document, thirty six original Chopin compositions and thirteen pieces of his correspondence, hundreds of pieces of gold and silver cups and mugs, sabres, salvers, clocks and suits of armour from the 17th century and a chessboard belonging to King Sigismund III from 1608.

Much of the story may be at the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London. The Chorzow’s records are in archive A42, items 54 and 408. There do not seem to be CUST files at The National Archives referring to this shipment; the story is that the Poles just flatly refused to let Customs open the crates![xii]

At 1312 on 20 June HMS Berkeley was ordered by the Admiralty to get in touch with Feller & Co., 1, Espirit de Lois, Bordeaux, and arrange shipment of vital goods ex. Goth Co., Switzerland. These included Oerlikon guns, spares (and drawings?). One file states that 'valuable stores' had been shipped on Swift (a General Steam ship) on 17 June. On 22 June B.N.L.O. Bordeaux was informed by the Admiralty that s.s. Formedine (Fort Medine?), with a valuable cargo of copper and machine tools, should be sailed without delay. The French ship Le Trait was included in the series of messages, but she was diverted to North Africa, with the goods ex Goth Co? The French Admiralty had already moved 250 tons of Belgian gold to a 'safe destination' outside France. Admiral Darlan was not willing to tell the British (or the Belgians?) where this was! Le Trait remained under the

In one article the young Earl is described as an Apprentice and in the other a cadet: the terms are interchangeable, though an Apprentice would have signed indentures. The Mount Stewart's Articles of Agreement are at: http://www.mun.ca/mha/holdings/viewcombinedcrews.php?Official_No=98559

[ii] Primary sources: TNA files:- AVIA 22/2288A , AVIA 22/3201 (Lord Suffolk etc.) and BROOMPARK Official Log. Oral History Transcript - Dr Lew Kowarski http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/4717_1.html;

Baron Ansiaux - Souvenirs and Paul Timbal's Diamond Odyssey. (last two via Bruno Comer)

[iii] Source: Captain Olaf Paulsen, matelot extraordinaire, Capt J M Henderson, courtesy Joyce Murdoch, J&J Denholm

[iv] The diamonds were in sealed named packets, mainly gem diamonds. information courtesy Bruno Comer.

[v] The 'rule of thumb' for loading and stowing a general cargo like this was fifteen tons per gang per hour.

[vi] 'Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie and his wife Irène (Marie Skłodowska Curie's daughter) shared the 1935 Nobel prize for Chemistry. By the outbreak of war, Joliot-Curie was a professor at the Collège de France.': Terence Holland, www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/D2O/D2Oh.htm. http://www.1940lafrancecontinue.org/1940.php www.physics.ubc.ca/~waltham/pubs/d2o_19.pdf. www.scribd.com/doc/22231284/Paulsen-s-Broompark. http://francefightson.yuku.com/topic/678/t/Translation-of-French-Site Chronology-June-1940-Part-1.html

[vii] These facts are from Paul Timbal's account, provided by Bruno Comer. In AVIA 22/3201, Suffolk and Golding's report states: 'We also succeeded in extracting from the Naval Authorities in Bordeaux two anti-aircraft 75'mm. guns one "under and over" 9mm pair of Hotchkiss machine guns and one single barrelled Hotchkiss anti-aircraft machine gun of the same calibre.' They also supplied a gun crew of picked members of the French Navy.

[viii] http://www.sarachi.org/commemorating-diplomats.pdf - Yad Vashem Righteous Among Nations, Archive file 8378 Most notable in Bordeaux was the Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who issued 30,000 visas against the orders of his government. As punishment he was stripped of his lands by the dictator Salazaar.

[ix] See AVIA 22/2288A at The National Archives for both the French and English versions.

[x] OHMS = On His Majesty's Service

[xi] The next occasion that the House of Commons sat in secret session was on the 27 June.

[xii] Also The Strange Odyssey of Poland's National Treasures, 1939-1961 By Gordon Swoger

 

Sorry that much of the previous post seems to have ended up in italics.

KR

Roy

 

Great thread Christian and congratulations on the excellent English by the way!

I didn't really know much about the events at St Valery but a holiday this summer in that part of France - though I didn't get to St Valery itself - gave me the opportunity to visit several cemeteries where men of the 51st Div were buried and seeing these men's graves made me want to learn more about what happened in the days and weeks after Dunkirk. It still seems incredible that we were landing troops in France following that desperate evacuation.

I am looking forward to hearing more from Father Falaise's book. He sounds like he was quite a man.

 

OK, let's get back to the matter at hand.
I have just finished translating the passage in Father Falaise's book I referred to earlier.
I didn't use Google Translate as I wanted (or rather endeavoured) to retain the original flavour of the original account.

The day is Tuesday, June 11th 1940, around 17h00 (local), the place, Saint-Valery-en Caux
Father Joseph Falaise is witnessing the bombardment of the harbour and its neighborhood.
This is where it gets interesting!

“However, it was the seaside that is being most heavily shelled. The enemy clearly intends to hinder ongoing troop embarkations. Despite the deluge, the English (sic) on the Amont-quay strive to reach the boats which are waiting on the edge of the shoreline to shuttle them towards transport vessels off the coast. From time to time, some of the boats gets hit by a shell, killing soldiers and throwing others overboard. The Aval-quay and the jetty have been earmarked for the French to conduct the same operation. On that side, one could only embark by using ladders that had been installed by the 'Génie Militaire' (the French equivalent of the Royal Engineers). Boarding the boats therefor proves more difficult. The high western cliffs, however, provided some protection (from enemy artillery fire). As such, it also became the preferred location for runaways, rogue soldiers and isolated troops to await their turn to embark. It was also there that the ‘Service de Santé’ (the French counterpart of the RAMC) hoped to evacuate the wounded.”









Although further cross-reference research should be called for in order to validate Father Falaise's account, it nonetheless allows formulating a couple of premises:

• At some point, an agreement had to be made between the French commanders and Major-General Fortune regarding troop embarkation arrangement
• As a result, French and 51st HD troops, respectively, had their own dedicated quay from which to embark: 51st HD from the eastern (Amont) quay; French troops from the western (Aval) quay.
• Somehow, these troop embarkation arrangements were communicated to the ships sent to evacuate the men.
• The shelling of Saint-Valery's port and its neighborhood came mainly from the West, which would indicate the artillery barrage was the work of Rommel's 7.Pz Div.
• Given the very approximate precision of the shelling, the German batteries were probably firing from a position in the vicinity of Le Tot/Saint-Lèger.
• Given the enemy artillery’s location, the local topography, the trajectory of the shells and the direction of the firing, the 51st HD troops on the eastern side of the port would have taken the full brunt of the bombardment (confirmed by photographic evidence – cfr. earlier posts).
• It therefor also stands to reason that the 51st HD suffered most of the casualties as a result of this bombardment.

I would also want to point out that the well-known photos of the Rommel collection were, for the most part, taken on the Amont quay showing the (undamaged) Aval quay in the background. If it had been the other way around, the background would have shown nothing but burning ruins and overall destruction. It would seem the guys of the Propagandokompanie travelling in Rommel's slipstream surely knew what they were doing!

Please feel free to provide comments or feedback,
Enjoy your weekend,
Christian

 

Hello Tomkil,

Thank you for your kind compliment – it’s very gratifying! I’m afraid though I’ll never reach the level of proficiency of a native speaker. Sadly, I often notice (among many other grammatical errors) that I still frequently mix up prepositions. I must also humbly admit I sometimes experience difficulties to keep US-English and UK-English apart.

The most difficult horde to take for a non-native speaker active on this forum, however, is to overcome the inherent fear of being misunderstood, misjudging the meaning of something being 'written between the lines' or inadvertently offending someone by a poor choice of words. Also, the level of mastery of the English language displayed by some forum members is just so high it often feels I’m way out of my league.

On the other hand, once one overcomes these initial apprehensions, this forum opens the door to another dimension. It is almost unimaginable how much I learned so much since I joined.

As to Father Falaise’s book, some editor in the UK should really take notice and publish a translation. For my part, I intend to use some relevant passages in his book as a baseline for fueling further discussions in this thread.

Cheers,
Christian