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[title]On the afternoon of Thursday May 30 1940, nineteen RNLI lifeboats set sail for France, joining the fleet of ‘little ships’ tasked by the Admiralty to rescue stranded British troops at Dunkirk.
Seventeen of the lifeboats were crewed by Navy men but the lifeboats from Ramsgate and Margate crossed the Channel with their own brave volunteer coxswains and crew on board. Along with their regular sea-rescue equipment, they were kitted with steel helmets, gas masks, grass towing warp and extra supplies of fuel and fresh drinking water.
Their task was to pick up soldiers from the beaches at Dunkirk and convey them to the safety of larger rescue ships that were moored further offshore.
Howard Knight, coxswain of the Ramsgate lifeboat Prudential, later recalled the moment he informed his crew of their mission: ‘“We are going over the other side to fetch our boys,” I told them. Not one of them hesitated.’
In rough seas, the Ramsgate lifeboat towed eight Thames wherries (small work boats) to the coast of France. Rowing the wherries back and forth to the beach, the men ferried soldiers for 30 hours, until the last of the wherries was too battered by the unforgiving surf to continue.
Meanwhile, the Margate crew aboard their lifeboat Lord Southborough carried soldiers from the beach and wounded men from La Panne Hospital to rescue vessels.
Lieutenant Commander Roper of HMS Icarus said of the crew: ‘With no thought of rest... they brought off load after load of soldiers from Dunkirk, under continuous shelling, bombing and aerial machine gun fire... an inspiration to us as long as we live.'
Then and now
The Dunkirk spirit of duty, courage and saving lives at sea remains today.
There are personal connections between 1940 and 2017. Ian Cannon, the current coxswain at Ramsgate lifeboat station is the great-great nephew of one of the Ramsgate crew who went to Dunkirk. His daughter Becky is also a volunteer. They are one of many families where RNLI work continues through the generations.
Volunteers who’ll drop everything when the call comes to save lives are still the lifeblood of the RNLI. Independent of government and rooted in communities all over the British Isles, it depends on public support to provide crews with the right kit, training and equipment to be able to save lives safely in the most dangerous of conditions.
The modern RNLI also shares its expertise with partners internationally to enable at-risk communities to develop their own lifesaving programmes – working around the world, from Ghana to Bangladesh.
Watch a short clip of RNLI training in action.
Support the RNLI
The RNLI is supported by volunteers, with stations all over the UK and Ireland, including London. It draws on a wide range of skills for everything from fundraising to rescue.
The charity’s work has evolved to include lifeguards, flood rescue, lifesaving on inland rivers, and its Respect the Water campaign, which helps people understand how to avoid danger when they are on or by water. The RNLI also goes into classrooms and communities to educate people on safety, working to identify places of greatest risk, with the aim of reducing coastal drownings by half by 2024.
Ninety-five per cent of RNLI people are volunteers and 95 per cent of its income comes from donations. It costs about £460,000 per day to keep the service going – and it is entirely reliant on the support of the general public.
You can donate now at the RNLI website. On the website you can see incredible footage of crews in action and find out more about the RNLI’s history and training programmes.