RNLB Guide Of Dunkirk (ON 826)
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RNLB ''Guide of Dunkirk'' (ON 826) is a 35ft 6in Self-righting motor-class lifeboat whose construction was funded by the
Girl Guides Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of Girlguiding, The ...
in 1940. She was self-righting and designed for launching from a beach. As one of the
Little Ships of Dunkirk The Little Ships of Dunkirk were about 850 private boats that sailed from Ramsgate in England to Dunkirk in northern France between 26 May and 4 June 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo, helping to rescue more than 336,000 British, French, and othe ...
she was used in the evacuation of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Between 1941 and 1963 she was stationed in
Cadgwith Cadgwith (, meaning ''cove of the thicket'') is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the Lizard Peninsula between The Lizard and Coverack. It is in the civil parish of Grade Ruan. History The village has ...
, UK as a lifeboat. In 1963 she passed into private ownership.


Before Dunkirk

The £5,000 needed to buy a lifeboat was one of the targets of the Guide Gift Week appeal of 1940. Money was donated by Guides throughout the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
from their salaries or, for those too young to work, by earning money doing odd jobs. ''Guide of Dunkirk'' was built by Rowhedge Iron Works near
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...
, UK, and was unnamed when she was called into service straight from the builder's yard for the Dunkirk evacuation on 1 June 1940. She had the designation ON 826.


Dunkirk

At the Dunkirk evacuation, she made two crossings. Her crew was made up of men from
Walton-on-the-Naze Walton-on-the-Naze is a seaside town on the North Sea coast. It is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring District, Tendring district in Essex, England. The town is located north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich; ...
and
Frinton-on-Sea Frinton-on-Sea is a seaside town and (as just Frinton) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district of Essex, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 4,837. History The place-name 'Fri ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, under British Naval command. On her first trip, she was used to ferry soldiers off the beaches to larger ships waiting offshore. She was badly damaged by machine gun fire and a rope became wrapped around her propeller. She was towed back to England stern first. On her second trip, she was hit by shellfire and extensively damaged.


After Dunkirk

In May 1941 she was stationed at
Cadgwith Cadgwith (, meaning ''cove of the thicket'') is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the Lizard Peninsula between The Lizard and Coverack. It is in the civil parish of Grade Ruan. History The village has ...
in Cornwall as a
Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...
(RNLI) lifeboat. In 1947 she was named ''Guide of Dunkirk'' in honour of her history so far. In 1963, the Cadgwith lifeboat station was closed and ''Guide of Dunkirk'' was sold into the private ownership of John Moor and renamed ''Girl Guide''.


Retirement

The boat is now ashore in
Mevagissey Mevagissey (; ) is a village, fishing port and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.< ...
, Cornwall and has remained in her original condition as when she left RNLI service.


See also

*
Historic RNLI Lifeboats Since its inception, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has provided lifeboat (rescue), lifeboats to lifeboat stations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Once past their operation life, the boats have mostly been sold by the RNLI and pu ...


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guide Of Dunkirk Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting Girlguiding Water transport in Cornwall 1940 ships Little Ships of Dunkirk Self-Righter-class lifeboats Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats by name
826 Year 826 ( DCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 826th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 826th year of the 1st millennium, the 26th year of the 9th century, and the 7th y ...