New Britannic Arrives in Conyer after taking Part in the Jubilee Pageant.
Now berthed at Conyer her current owner Greg McLeish is determined to return her to her former glory. He said: “It’s quite mind boggling to think that this one boat evacuated so many troops from Dunkirk amidst all the German gunfire. It literally saved the lives of thousands of men. “My father was a soldier in World War II and by restoring the New Britannic, we can create a lasting reminder of the grim reality of what happened all those years ago.”
New Britannic was built for pleasure trips but with space for more than 100 passengers she was ideal for the job of rescuing men from the beaches of Dunkirk. Built in 1930 she was originally designed to carry people on excursions to the Goodwin Sands and along the coast to Deal. However,
her ability to sail close to the shore, in shallow depths of only 4ft, meant she was ideally suited for the evacuation of military personnel stranded in northern France. In May 1940, skipper Walter Read and his son Joe took her to the French coast where they tirelessly ferried troops to Naval
destroyers offshore. Over three days and two nights, they are estimated to have saved 3,000 of the 330,000 soldiers trapped in Dunkirk.
New Britannic saw out the rest of the war with the Navy but when hostilities ended she returned to her pleasure-cruise past.
New Britannic was built for pleasure trips but with space for more than 100 passengers she was ideal for the job of rescuing men from the beaches of Dunkirk. Built in 1930 she was originally designed to carry people on excursions to the Goodwin Sands and along the coast to Deal. However,
her ability to sail close to the shore, in shallow depths of only 4ft, meant she was ideally suited for the evacuation of military personnel stranded in northern France. In May 1940, skipper Walter Read and his son Joe took her to the French coast where they tirelessly ferried troops to Naval
destroyers offshore. Over three days and two nights, they are estimated to have saved 3,000 of the 330,000 soldiers trapped in Dunkirk.
New Britannic saw out the rest of the war with the Navy but when hostilities ended she returned to her pleasure-cruise past.