Dunkirk 85th anniversary - remembering Southwold Lifeboat Station's contribution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is marking the anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation, Operation Dynamo, by looking back at the remarkable journey its lifeboats and crew took 85 years ago and sharing stories of courage.
The maritime rescue would later be heralded by Winston Churchill as a ‘miracle of deliverance’. The RNLI sent 19 boats across in total, two crewed by its volunteers and 17 crewed by the Royal Navy.
Southwold Lifeboat Station sent the Mary Scott, who was towed to Dunkirk by the paddle steamer Empress of India along with two other small boats.
Manned by naval ratings, the crew of Mary Scott rescued 160 men from the beaches, delivering them safely to the Empress of India.
When the steamer returned to Dover, Mary Scott set out once more, transporting fifty more men to another waiting vessel.
The Mary Scott was later abandoned on the beach at La Panne, when her engines broke down and could not be restarted.
Sub-Lieut. Stephen Dickenson, her Commander (a former RNLI Inspector of Lifeboats), together with her crew were brought home to Dover in the Louise Stephens, the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat.
Mary Scott was later refloated and reinstated into RNLI service, but in 1940 as Britain braced for invasion, Southwold Harbour was sealed off with a permanent boom of floats and chains, preventing any boats from passing through. With the coastline on high alert and access to the sea restricted, the lifeboat station was forced to close.
Mary Scott took part in 52 more recues as part of the RNLI relief fleet before she was sold out of service in 1953.
Now a private yacht Mary Scott returned to Dunkirk in 2010 and 2015 and was featured in the 2017 film Dunkirk. In 2020, she returned to Southwold for the first time.
The RNLI was recently awarded a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to research and share stories of courage from the Second World War. The project, called RNLI Stories of Courage 1939-45 explores the charity's Second World War story.
Hayley Whiting, RNLI Heritage Archive and Research Manager, says: ‘As we mark the 85th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation, it gives us an opportunity to remember and share stories of courage from the RNLI. The crews that set sail for Dunkirk all those years ago faced a very difficult journey and we are so proud of their courage and their lifesaving efforts.
‘We know there are more stories from the Second World War connected to the RNLI that are yet to be discovered, we want to find them now before it’s too late.’
RNLI Media contacts
For more information, please contact Jeremy Taylor, Southwold RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer:
[email protected]
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.
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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.