Diversion for Dunkirk Little Ships as flotilla makes way for migrant dinghy
Image courtesy of Royal Navy
Yesterday (21 May) a fleet of 66 vessels set sail from Ramsgate, Kent, to commemorate the 85th anniversary of Operation Dynamo. That’s when the so-called Little Ships rescued around 300,000 Allied soldiers over 10 days in 1940.
But the planned route was tweaked as, according to The Telegraph, sailors were told in a maritime frequency message: ‘There is a [French] warship on our head with a migrant [boat] close by. And we’ve been requested to give one nautical mile distance from that vessel, over.’
Operation Dynamo took place between 26 May and 4 June 1940, as German forces surrounded British, Belgian and French troops during the Battle of France. The British Admiralty called on civilian mariners to assist in the evacuation effort.
Over nine days, hundreds of boats helped evacuate more than 338,000 Allied troops trapped on the beaches of northern France. The operation became dubbed the Miracle of Dunkirk. The combined efforts turned a potential military disaster into a dramatic rescue, says Kent Live.
Every five years, members of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships retrace the original route taken. That said, this year’s crossing marks the first time the little ships have made the journey since 2015.
This year’s flotilla, escorted by a Royal Navy guard of honour, including seven P2000 patrol boats from the Coastal Forces Squadron, supported by the RNLI, was the largest reunion of the original Little Ships seen.
Dunkirk Spirit alive and well
So successful was the operation that the saying Spirit of Dunkirk / Dunkirk Spirit entered the English lexicon. The Cambridge Dictionary defines the Spirit of Dunkirk as willingness by a group of people who are in a bad situation to all help each other.
As the migrant’s perilous journey caused the flotilla’s diversion, one observer told The Telegraph: ‘It is one of the most important days in history and they [migrants] are shoving them [Little Ships] out of the way.’
Meanwhile, on GB News, presenter Martin Daubney told viewers he felt close to tears as the flotilla diverted, saying “I feel like I have been punched.”
Overloaded dinghy
It’s understood that the cause of the incident was two people losing their lives. The dead were pulled from waters off the Calais coast by the French Navy after an overloaded dinghy got into difficulties.
The dinghy, designed to carry no more than 20, had 80 people aboard, according to wider media reports.
The unidentified people were pulled out of the water by the French Navy vessel and sailors performed first aid with no success.
Ten other passengers requested rescue from the dinghy, while about 70 others asked to remain aboard the inflatable which continued its journey towards the English coast.
An enquiry has been opened into the fatalities; French police are searching for people smugglers who arranged the crossing (recently Yamaha spoke out against people smugglers using its outboards). It’s believed that 17 people have died on small boats making the crossing so far, in 2025. Last year, 78 people died.
Making the Dunkirk commemorations even more poignant this year was the death of one of the last naval known veteran of Dunkirk. Telegraphist Duncan McInnes died at the age of 105 last week in Australia.
McInnes served on Admiralty S-class destroyer, HMS Saladin, during Operation Dynamo.
“This will be the first time when we’ve gone over when there are no veterans,” said Ian Gilbert, Honorary Vice Admiral, Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. “The little ships are the veterans because the living link has now gone and we have to keep these boats alive to keep the memory alive.”
