Little Ships of Dunkirk Flotilla to Dock in Chiswick
Will be returning to scene of evacuation to mark its 85th anniversary
A previous Little Ships Flotilla on the Thames. Picture: Chiswick Pier Trust
May 12, 2025
There will be a chance this week for Chiswick residents to see part of the 65-boat flotilla of little ships which is assembling to mark the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Dunkirk.
The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships has regularly gathered surviving vessels, that went to assist with the evacuation of allied troops from France in 1940, to cross the Channel again.
Four of these boats will be moored at Chiswick Pier this Thursday (15 May). These will be Wanda, White Merlin, Margo 2 and Deenar.
Other little ships including White Wing will be at the Dove Pier in Hammersmith and the crews plan to meet for dinner at Mari Deli and Dining on Chiswick Mall in the evening. There will be an early departure the following morning as they all make their way to Ramsgate sailing up the Thames with other boats moored elsewhere along the river.
The motor cruiser White Wing was one of the last of the Little Ships to leave France in the wake of the Battle of Dunkirk carrying six soldiers. It was later found languishing in a field in North Wales by Janine Marshall from Chertsey who took on the project of restoring it with boat builder Malcolm Jones.
Wanda will be moored at Chiswick Pier again this week. Picture: Chiswick Pier Trust
Operation Dynamo, which resulted in the rescue of 336,000 trapped soldiers, began on 27 May 1940 and continued until 4 June. A call was made by the Admiralty for assistance from shallow-drafted boat owners and 800 departed from Kent to collect men from the water off the beaches which Royal Navy vessels couldn’t reach. These "Little Ships" included pleasure boats, fishing vessels, and other small craft, and their contribution is considered a significant part of the "Miracle of Dunkirk."
One of the vessels was the Princess Freda, which still serves as a Thames River cruiser and offered free trips during Chiswick Pier’s annual Party on the Pier up until five years ago. Sea Scouts from the local Mortlake squadron were asked to come to Chiswick to help crew boats which were short of men.
The Little Ships Flotilla commemorates these events and, although it doesn’t assemble every year, significant anniversaries such as the 85th are marked.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |