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D-DAY 85 Years On: 67 Little British Boats That Rescued 330,000 Are Returning
D-DAY 85 Years On: The Restored Little British Boats Are Coming AGAIN
Battle of Dunkirk: Operation Dynamo - The Little Ships That Rescued Thousands at Dunkirk Are Returning to The Miracle of Dunkirk
BFBS Forces News 21 MAY 2025
More than 330,000 soldiers were rescued from the beach at Dunkirk, despite the siege from German forces
People will set sail from Hythe Quay in Maldon UK
Under the cover of darkness, hundreds of civilian sailors took their 800 small boats into the shelling and gunfire of a warzone, and helped rescue more than 330,000 soldiers.
Eighty five years later, 67 of these surviving little boats are restored and making their return to Dunkirk, to mark arguably the most miraculous feat in military history.
Pudge, the wooden Thames sailing barge, was moored up in London at night in May 1940 when her unremarkable life as a cargo carrier was interrupted in spectacular fashion.
She was one of about 850 little ships that were requisitioned by the government to help rescue Allied forces stranded on the beach in northern France.
Pudge was towed to Dunkirk with two other barges, but they both sank.
An estimated 160 troops wounded, soaked through and traumatised clambered aboard Pudge and were taken back to Ramsgate in Kent.
Tim Kenney in navy blue overalls, yellow and black gloves, and a navy baseball cap, leaning on the ropes aboard Pudge the sailing barge
Tim said nothing in his career skippering oil tankers would compare with sailing to Dunkirk
Pudge now enjoys a peaceful retirement in Maldon, Essex, as a charter boat.
Just as she did 85 years ago, the barge will set sail before sunrise this time with 16 local people on board.
Tim Kenney used to captain oil tankers but said nothing in his career would compare with sailing on Pudge to Dunkirk.
Its something that I never thought I would ever be able to do, said the 66 year old.
Theres going to be mixed emotions.
Thousands of people were killed, thousands were saved its hard to believe that, less than 100 years ago, people were still fighting like that, and there is still fighting going on nowadays, and you think why?
Its mixed emotions, you're proud, but also sad. Alan Coday, another of the crew, said the trip would help him understand the trauma his grandfather experienced.
Ted Coday was not at Dunkirk, but his grandson said he would never talk with family about what he saw while serving as a radio operator as a teenager in World War One and as a fire warden in World War Two.
For me going to Dunkirk is the closest thing I can get to understanding the enormity of the whole exercise its just huge, he explained.
Harry Styles sits on the beach with water lapping his feet, with two other actors also dressed in military uniform to his left
The real Endeavour ship was briefly seen in the 2017 blockbuster movie Dunkirk, featuring actor and singer Harry Styles
The Endeavour is another Essex little ship making the trip across the Channel.
The 10m long 33ft vessel was one of six ****le boats from Leigh on Sea that were together credited with squeezing 180 soldiers onboard and bringing them home.
It featured in the 2017 blockbuster Dunkirk, starring actors including Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Harry Styles and in the movie it could be seen crewed by real local fishermen.
Cameron McGregor wearing a navy fleece standing on the decking at Leigh Marina, with the green Endeavour boat in the water behind him.
Cameron McGregor will be one of nine people on board the Endeavour, secretary of the Leigh on Sea Endeavour Trust, is one of nine people braving the elements on deck
He joined the last anniversary trip in 2015, although the 2020 return to Dunkirk was cancelled due to the Covid19 pandemic.
You cant go back to these places without having a bit of an emotion because of the sacrifices of people, both civilian and military particularly military the destruction of lives, property and everything else you just cant forget it
Alan Barttram, skipper of the Endeavour, said it would be very, very emotional
What a wonderful job they did to get the soldiers off the beach, but to go back and commemorate will be something very special in my mind; something I will never forget.
Men clamber aboard a ship from the water. They are soaking wet. The image is black and white
Hundreds of civilian boats joined the mission to Dunkirk
The two boats from Essex will be joined by at least one other from the East of England: the Maid Marion, which is a 39ft Cornish lugger moored in Woodbridge, Suffolk.
The ships and their crews will gather in Ramsgate on Monday before making the eight hour Channel crossing as a flotilla to Dunkirk on Wednesday.
Crews will attend a series of ceremonies in northern France over the course of a week.
Alan Coday has only a few artefacts to remember his grandfather Ted Coday
D-DAY 85 Years On: 67 Little British Boats That Rescued 330,000 Are Returning
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