Dunkirk 1940 photos. Some never seen before .

A-ha! Cheers.

 

Everard London·
It may not be 100% .
Here is the English translation of the German document shown in the image:
The State Representative for Netherlands/Belgium
in the Main Committee for Shipbuilding
under the Reich Minister
for Armaments and War Production
– Chief Shipyard Staff –
Technical Department
Zeist, 18.7.44 (July 18, 1944)
Journal Number: S 3
To the
Representative of the Reich Minister of Transport for
Inland Shipbuilding
Government Councilor (retired) H. Kirstein
Berlin W 8
Wilhelmstr. 80 a
Subject: Barge "Everard London".
In the Ostend area, a prize barge has been salvaged and is now available.
We request information as to whether there is any interest in it on your part.
A general arrangement plan and a lines plan are enclosed as attachments.
2 Attachments

 

Everard London·
It may not be 100% correct
The Specific Vessel: "Everard London"

• Type of Vessel: The text refers to it as a Beuteschute (prize barge) A Schute is a flat-bottomed river or harbor barge typically used for transporting cargo like coal, gravel, or general freight through inland waterways.
• Prize Status (Beute): Labeling it a Beuteschute means the vessel was originally British (owned or registered by the prominent British shipping company F.T. Everard & Sons of London). It was captured or seized by German forces, likely during the occupation of the Low Countries or northern France, and repurposed for German war logistics.
• The Location (Ostend): Ostend (Ostende) is a strategic port city on the Belgian coast. By July 1944, this area was under intense strain. The Allies had landed in Normandy just a month prior (June 1944), and the German military was desperately trying to salvage, clear, or refloat blocked and sunken vessels in nearby coastal harbors to keep supply lines open or deny them to advancing Allied forces.

The Shipbuilding & Transportation Departments
The document highlights the bureaucratic overlap between Albert Speer’s armaments ministry and the civilian transport ministry as Germany scrambled to centralize resource management late in the war:

• Hauptausschuss Schiffbau (Main Committee for Shipbuilding): This was a powerful industrial steering committee operating under the Reichsminister für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion (Reich Ministry for Armaments and War Production), led by Albert Speer. This committee completely controlled German ship planning and output, directing both military surface vessels and the late-war U-boat production programs.
• Oberwerftstab (Chief Shipyard Staff) – Technische Abteilung: This was the technical branch responsible for overseeing work at actual physical shipyards, conducting structural damage assessments, and determining if salvaged hulls could be repaired or refitted for service.
• Länderbeauftragte Niederl./Belg. (State Representative for Netherlands/Belgium): Operating out of Zeist (a town in the occupied Netherlands), this office managed the local industrial assets and maritime resources seized within the occupied Dutch and Belgian territories
• Reichsverkehrsministerium (Reich Ministry of Transport): The recipient of the letter, Regierungsrat H. Kirstein, worked under the Representative for Inland Shipbuilding (Binnenschiffsbauten) Because Allied air raids had heavily damaged Germany's rail networks by 1944, the transport ministry was heavily reliant on utilizing inland waterways (rivers and canals) to move heavy war materials, making a salvaged cargo barge highly valuable. [1]

 

It may not be 100% correct
Archival records from the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) confirm specific details about this individual, providing a clear picture of his identity and his exact function within the wartime regime:

1. Identity and Real Name

• Full Name: His full name was Heinz Kirstein.
• Title: The letter addresses him as Regierungsrat a.D. (Government Councilor, retired / außer Dienst) . In the German civil service, Regierungsrat was a highly prestigious mid-to-upper tier administrative rank. Even though listed as "retired" or "inactive" from his peacetime civil career, he was recalled or specially assigned to handle vital wartime logistics.

2. Precise Bureaucratic Role

• Official Designation: By 1943–1944, Heinz Kirstein held the title of "Beauftragter des RVM (Reichsverkehrsministeriums) für Binnenschiffsbauten" (Representative of the Reich Ministry of Transport for Inland Shipbuilding).
• His Mission: Kirstein was the central coordinator responsible for allocating resources, managing ship construction, and handling the logistics of building or procuring cargo ships, tugs, and tank barges for Germany’s inland shipping lanes. [1

3. Context of His Work (1943–1944)
Historical logs indicate that Kirstein reported directly to top levels of the Reich administration regarding the status of the waterway fleet.

• The Danube Programs: In late 1943, Kirstein issued an official report directly to Hermann Göring (who oversaw the Four Year Plan) stating that the emergency military shipbuilding programs he had ordered for the Danube River shipping routes were mostly finalized and wrapping up by the spring of 1944.
• The Shift to Salvage: Because Allied bombing campaigns and naval blockades made building brand-new ships incredibly difficult by mid-1944, Kirstein’s department stopped issuing massive new production programs. Instead, they shifted heavily toward seizing and salvaging existing vessels—which explains exactly why the technical shipyard staff in the Netherlands/Belgium reached out to him directly regarding the captured British barge "Everard London"

 

Good info . Google , OPERATION DYNAMO ARCHIVE.
Link. https://operationdynamo.navy/dunkirk-little-ships?q=Barbara Jean

 

Ethel Everard?
At the bottom of the document it says
“2 Anlagen” — 2 attachments.

One was apparently a Generalplan and the other a Linienriss.

Those drawings could potentially give us:

• length
• beam
• depth
• hull form
• construction
• deck arrangement
• possibly even distinguishing features.

If we can locate those two missing German attachments, we could compare them directly with the known dimensions of Ethel Everard.

That could potentially prove the identification.

 

Source: KTB Port Commandant Dunkirk.
English translation
21 November 1941

13:30

Tug D 116 S with a diver aboard proceeds to Malo Terminus beach to salvage a Thames tug and Thames lighter.

16:30

Thames lighter “Aidie” from Ipswich salvaged.

16:40

Taken through the North Lock and moored in the reserve basin.

In plain English
The German record says that on 21 November 1941:

• The German tug D 116 S, carrying a diver, went out to Malo Terminus beach.
• Its purpose was to recover a Thames tug and a Thames lighter.
• At 16:30, the Thames lighter Aidie, of Ipswich, was successfully salvaged/recovered.
• Just 10 minutes later, at 16:40, Aidie was taken through the Nordschleuse (North Lock).
• She was then moored in the reserve basin.

The wording “Thamesleichter ‘Aidie’ von Ipswich geborgen” is especially significant: it explicitly identifies Aidie as an Ipswich Thames lighter and records her actual German salvage operation.

 

The German tug D 116 S, carrying a diver, went out to Malo Terminus beach.
Its purpose was to recover a Thames tug and a Thames lighter.
The tug could be the Fossa? in the German document
Keith

 

The Specific Vessel: "Everard London, may not be the same barge as Ethel Everard but i can not find a barge or boat with name Everard London so might be the Ethel Everard?
English translation of the readable text.

Document heading
Betr.: Schute „Everard London“
Re.: Barge “Everard London”

Bezug: Dortiges Schreiben vom 18.7.1944 – B.Nr. S 3–
Reference: Your letter of 18 July 1944 – Ref. No. S 3–

Main text
Die Schute „Everard London“ scheint mir nach ihren Abmessungen als Schute für den Hamburger Hafen geeignet zu sein.

The barge “Everard London” appears to me, judging from her dimensions, to be suitable as a barge for the Port of Hamburg.

Bevor ich mit Interessenten im Hamburger Gebiet wegen der Übernahme der Schute in nähere Verhandlungen trete, wäre ich für Beantwortung der folgenden Fragen dankbar:

Before I enter into more detailed negotiations with interested parties in the Hamburg area concerning the acquisition/takeover of the barge, I would be grateful for answers to the following questions:

1.
Welche Arbeiten müssen ausgeführt werden, um die Schute kriegsmäßig betriebsfähig zu machen?

What work needs to be carried out to make the barge operational under wartime conditions?

Nach einem handschriftlichen Vermerk auf einer der übersandten Zeichnungen scheinen die Bodenreparaturarbeiten durchgeführt zu sein, dagegen fehlen offenbar die Luken und der hölzerne Bodenbelag in den Laderäumen.

According to a handwritten note on one of the drawings that was sent, the repairs to the bottom appear to have been carried out. On the other hand, the hatch covers and the wooden flooring in the cargo holds appear to be missing.

Wäre es möglich, die Schute mit von Ihnen bereitzustellenden Rohstoffen betriebsfähig herzurichten?

Would it be possible to make the barge operational using raw materials to be supplied by you?

2.
Ich nehme an, daß der Verkauf der Schute an einen deutschen Privatreeder ohne weiteres möglich ist.

I assume that the sale of the barge to a German private shipowner would be possible without difficulty.

Wer würde als Verkäufer auftreten?

Who would act as the seller?

Wie hoch würde der Preis der Schute sein?

What would the price of the barge be?

Würde dieser Preis die Schute in ihrem jetzigen Zustande erfassen, oder würde er bereits die noch auszuführenden Instandsetzungsarbeiten einschließen?

Would this price be for the barge in her present condition, or would it already include the repair work that still had to be carried out?

Wenn der Preis die Instandsetzungsarbeiten nicht umfaßt, müßte angegeben werden, welche Kosten für die Instandsetzung noch aufgewendet werden, damit der übernehmende Käufer ein klares Bild über den Gesamtpreis erhält.

If the price does not include the repair work, the costs still required for the repairs would have to be stated, so that the prospective purchaser taking over the barge has a clear picture of the total price.

3.
Erwünscht wäre eine Äußerung, auf wieviel Jahre die Schute noch als betriebsfähig angesehen werden kann.

It would be desirable to have an assessment of how many more years the barge could still be regarded as operational.

Diese Angabe ist wichtig für den Käufer, der danach seine Entscheidungen treffen muß.

This information is important for the buyer, who must make his decision on this basis.

4.
Sollten Sie jedoch der Meinung sein, daß der Verkauf an einen Privatreeder nicht durchgeführt werden soll, so würde sich gleichfalls eine Möglichkeit bieten, diese Schute in irgend…

However, should you be of the opinion that the sale to a private shipowner should not be carried out, there would likewise be an opportunity to put this barge to some…

 

This is a good website
Operation Dynamo Archive | Dunkirk Evacuation Records

 

Barges Ethel Everard and Aidie with there masts gone or taken down. Near Malo Terminus.
They were not destroyed, but the Aidie was refloated and used by the Germans and the barge Ethel Everard may have been as well.
Photos from my collection.
Keith

 

One more photo of the barge Aidie with masts gone or taken down. Near Malo Terminus.
Keith

 

Photos taken by the same german who took the photos of the barges Ethel Everard and Aidie.
Keith

 

I think all them barge masts were removed for bridging works.
There were certainly many to replace !

 

Well i went mad and bought these photos. I think they could be north of Dunkirk, bulding bunkers, pill boxes in 1940 . Seller put the date of the photos .Closeup of the houses that might give a clue as to area.
These may be early occupation defensive works, rather than the later Atlantic Wall structures.
Location ?
. Malo-Terminus

• Leffrinckoucke beach

• Batterie de Zuydcoote

• Fort des Dunes

• Malo-les-Bains eastern end

• Zuydcoote dunes

Five blockhouses were constructed during the German occupation in 1940 by French prisoners of war and STO workers.

 

Maps of the areas

 

One more photo shows a Todt guy. Organisation Todt (OT) was the vast civil and military engineering group in Nazi Germany responsible for constructing the Third Reich’s most critical infrastructure and defensive fortifications before and during World War II. Founded in 1938 by engineer Fritz Todt, the group eventually grew into a massive paramilitary megacorporation that became notorious for its widespread, brutal reliance on forced labor.
Last photo shows a few houses in the background that might help id the area.
Photo from my collection.
Keith