Association of Dunkirk Little Ships

First mentioned in the Battle Summary amongst the Little Ships which arrived off Dunkirk on 31st May 1940, Mermaiden was still in the thick of it on 3rd June. This was the last day of the evacuation, when 30,000 troops, mostly French, still remained to be evacuated.

She belonged to a Naval officer, Lieut. Cdr. P.M. Filleul, RN and was commanded that day by Sub -Lieut. L. Beale, RN with her crew: Petty Officer J. Norton, Leading Stoker W.A.S. Horner, plus one RAF gunner on leave and one "white-haired old gentleman who normally took care of Lord Horatio Nelson's flagship Victory at Portsmouth".

Mermaiden was picked by Rear-Admiral Taylor, who sailed in her for some time, to lead a convoy of small, slower motorboats, which had been towed by tugs, to be released off Dunkirk harbour and make their own way to Quai Felix Faure, which was still reasonably intact, to embark French troops. Mermaiden made four trips between the harbour and the transport ships at a time when the Germans were already entering the town. Her deck and wheelhouse were riddled by machine-gun bullets and she was so crowded that the helmsman could not see to steer. Directions had to be shouted to him over a cacophony of French voices. For this action, her Petty Officer received the DSM and the Stoker was Mentioned in Despatches.

After the war she went back to Lieut. Cdr. Filleul and had two more British owners before she was sold to return to her native Holland. Frits and Gerda Rouschop of Maastricht, who now own her, have restored her to a condition which should make her the winner in any concours d'elegance.

Although she is in constant use and attends many of the reunions of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, where she is always much admired, she is kept, between outings, in a climatically controlled shed and is pampered like a film star.

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 19 & 20

Updated: 06/09/99