6 November 2022 - THE HEROINE OF DUNKIRK

 

THE HEROINE 

OF DUNKIRK

G'day folks,

The "Heroine of Dunkirk" rescued over 7,000 Allied troops during the historic World War II evacuation. 

In May of 1940, hundreds of thousands of Allied troops found themselves stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk, France. The German forces had cut them off and surrounded them, leaving them trapped between their encroaching enemies and the sea. All hope seemed lost, until a fleet of over 800 civilian boats and ships were mobilized in a miraculous rescue effort to evacuate the stranded soldiers.

The civilian fleet was able to rescue around 338,000 trapped Allied soldiers from the hands of the advancing German forces. Over 7,000 were transported across the channel by a single vessel, the PS Medway Queen paddle steamer. The ship’s role in the historic rescue earned it the well-deserved nickname of the “Heroine of Dunkirk.” Its service was so well respected that when the person contracted to scrap the ship found out its history, he refused to finish the job.

 

One of 20 paddle steamers that participated in the evacuation, the Medway Queen made seven trips, more than any other small vessel. On its last trip, while alongside the dock in Dunkirk, one of the ship’s paddle boxes was badly damaged in a collision with a destroyer that had been displaced by the force of an explosion. Medway Queen limped home carrying 400 members of the French rearguard.

The ship wasn’t destined to be a wartime vessel. It was built in 1924 in Troon, Scotland, for use as a ferry. It served on the Medway and the Thames Estuary before being requisitioned in World War II as a minesweeper. However, it was the ship’s role in the Dunkirk evacuation that earned it a place in British maritime history.

After the war, the ship returned to civilian use until 1963, when it was due to be scrapped in Belgium. However, when the ship breaker heard that Medway Queen had taken part at Dunkirk, he refused to continue with the job. The ship was sold and used as a floating restaurant and nightclub on the Isle of Wight until it was replaced by a bigger vessel in 1970. Under private ownership, the hull started to leak and the ship sank in the River Medina in 1978, where it remained until it was recovered in 1984.

After nearly two decades, the ship was eventually restored to its former glory in 2013.  Although mobile, Medway Queen is now tied up as a museum ship alongside Gillingham Pier. It’s the last remaining mobile estuary paddle steamer in the United Kingdom.

22 August 2021 - BABY ELEPHANT SAVED BY TRAIN PASSENGERS IN INDIA

 

BABY ELEPHANT SAVED BY

 TRAIN PASSENGERS IN INDIA

 

G'day folks,

When you aren’t typically surrounded by wild animals, you don’t think too much about the hazards they probably encounter every day. This can include predators looking for their next meal, humans looking to cash in on their valuable body parts, but what about road hazards? 

 That’s exactly what happened in this story. This cute little elephant was walking with his herd when he slipped and fell into an embankment under a railroad track in Assam, India. Thankfully, the train came to a halt and dozens of passengers leaped out to help pull him to safety.

 

The little elephant had been trying to keep up with its herd when it slipped on the crumbling rail track.

 Thankfully dozens of passengers stopped to lend a hand as he became submerged in mud. He continued to sink, but they were determined to help.

 The animal appeared scared at the predicament it faced but, but fortunately the situation was happily resolved. The baby elephant was able to be rescued and reunited with its herd.

 

Clancy's comment: A happy end to this story.

I'm ...

 

13 July 2014 - ASS-UP IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

ASS-UP IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

G'day folks,

Today I present another anecdote from my travels in South East Asia.

Some years back I was holidaying in southern Thailand with a good Kiwi friend of mine with whom I had worked in Washington DC. Brendan and I decided to visit an island, Koh Larn, which lay off the coast. We, plus Brendan’s Thai wife, Ya, and my Thai girlfriend hired a speed boat and took off. Sadly, fifteen kilometres off shore the boat flipped at high speed. Fortunately all of us survived but were left clinging to our upturned speed boat with no safety vests. I lost one of my precious cameras.

     For near on two hours we clung to that boat, hoping someone would find us. How, I had no idea. However, in the distance we ironically stared at a massive US Naval flotilla that had arrived in port the day before to provide R & R (rest and recreation) to seamen who’d been at sea for 130 days. All up we saw two massive aircraft carriers and ten big destroyers.

     Then, out of the blue, a young Thai boy on a sailboard appeared. He was about eight years-of-age. He had not come from the shore but from the ocean. All of us screamed, hollered and pleaded with him to get help. The kid said nothing, just gave us a magnificent smile and sailed off.

     Soon after five jet skis arrived in a flurry of noise. The drivers picked us up and returned us to the main beach, where I crawled on the sand, grateful to be back on land. I’d made a great attempt to stop smoking a few days before, but landing back at the beach I begged a tourist for a cigarette and was back on the bloody durries. After reporting the incident to the tourist police so I could make an insurance claim for my expensive camera when I returned home, we all went and had a few beers; grateful to have been found and rescued. That day was the first experience I’d ever had with ‘divine providence’. I mean, why did that gorgeous Thai boy appear just where we had overturned? He had an entire ocean to sail in. Secondly, what in the bloody hell was he doing so far off shore? Anyway, we did compensate him the following day. We caught up with him and his family and took them all out for dinner. 

     The very night of our rescue, my Girlfriend  and I were having a drink at a local bar, waiting for Brendan and Ya to appear for dinner. As you can imagine, there were sailors everywhere, bars were packed and US military police and Thai police were ever present. The entire city had been swamped by seamen wanting to enjoy their time off. From memory there were 110,000 sailors on shore.

     At the bar, I started chatting to some mature-aged yanks and told them of our experience that afternoon. I especially told them how I’d clung to our upturned boat, staring at the US fleet in the distance, hoping one of their helicopters might rescue us. The yanks were interesting blokes, especially the eldest guy, Lachlan. He was very approachable and humorous and we had a lot in common. He’d spent a few years working at the Pentagon in Washington DC. At one stage Lachlan shot off to the toilets and one of the other guys in their group informed me who he was. He was the Commander of the fleet. Gob smacked, I looked at the yanks and said what most Aussies would have said.

     ‘Well I’ll be buggered.’ The yanks laughed. So did my girlfriend who’d become accustomed to my swearing.

     That evening, Brendan, Kai, Ya and I shouted the four yanks to a splendid Thai dinner at a restaurant a mate of mine owned. It was a top night. The following day we were invited on a tour of the biggest bloody aircraft carrier I’d ever seen. God, it was massive. We also had lunch with the Commander of the fleet, who slipped me a $100 US donation for our orphanage as I left the aircraft carrier. Lachlan and I stayed in touch and he and his wife, Sandy, made an annual donation to our orphanage. Lachlan died in 1992 in Virginia, USA. I’m bloody glad I met him. Good bloke – top human.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... Sometimes I wonder. It can't have been my time to die, and I'm still here years later.

I'm ...

R.I.P Lachlan!

Loved ya work, mate.