Dunkirk - Preparations at Sheerness for the rescue of our troops from the beaches

When the small ships were arriving at Sheerness Docks preparing to sail for Dunkirk, my father-in-law Tom E Allsworth was in the docks with his Thames Sailing Barge. He had loaded a cannon which was to be taken to one of the forts in the Thames estuary. He told officials that his barge was ideal with its flat bottom and shallow draft to go to the beaches. He was told it was more important for him to get the defences in the Thames increased, in case!!!

The photo is of Tom Allsworth at the wheel of the Thames barge CIV which was named for City Imperial Volunteers, first formed to fight in the Boer War, and then reformed for World War 1.