- Contributed by
- Alexander Kenneth Josh
- People in story:
- John William JOSH, William JOSH, Albert JOSH
- Location of story:
- Beaches of Dunkirk 1940
- Article ID:
- A2276408
- Contributed on:
- 08 February 2004
My father John William JOSH and my two elder brothers William (Bill) and Albert (Joe) were all volunteers who assisted in the evacuation of Dunkirk.
John William JOSH was nearly 60 years of age and a Skipper of a Thames Sailing Barge operating around the east coast and London docks. For the evacuation of Dunkirk my father volunteered to skipper a tug owned by a company called Howlet of Gravesend.
William (Bill) aged 30 was a skipper of a Tilbury Lighterage Company tug and Albert (Joe) a 16 year old working on a Watkins tug called ‘Raicia’.
Evacuation of Dunkirk
The three men left from the river Thames on different tugboats bound for the beaches of Dunkirk. The tugs and their crew had the unenviable task of ferrying men from the shores of Dunkirk to the larger ships. It is not known how many trips from the beaches to larger ships the three tugs made or how many men were transported.
I do know that all three tugs and their crews returned safely to London with no injuries to crew or damage to any vessels. My father and brothers worked on throughout the war and all survived.
Author Captain A. K. Josh (retired)
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