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I think the second sergeant from the left back row is my Dad, he was in N. Africa with RASC, I have done facial reccognision check between this photo and my christianing photo  in March 1946 and it's a 94% match although the guy in the desert has a few more pounds on this may be due to the injuries Dad suffered since N. Africa and the three meals a day he got there. Anyway, I like to think it is him.

Unfortunately not him, just conformed he didn't make A/U/Sgt until after the war, best would be L/Cpl or Cpl

So now we have three soldiers who say they were on board, a civilian lady who boarded what sounds like a packet ship and now a crew member whose son says his farther was possibly St, Nazair on 17th June 1940 on the Ben-My-Chree, (several ship arrived at Brest only to be moved on the St. Nazaire) so either it was another ship or another ship was in dry dock on that day, can't be in two places at the same time, so someone is wrong. The logs say in dock with clean loos but.... I have checked the ship register and there was not another ship with a name anything like Ben-My-Chree on the seas at that time and it can't be a confusion on dates as the LAST ships left St. Nazair on the 18th, June        weirder and weirder

That's my message, but no-one was able to offer me any explanation

Scary thought, Your grandfather and my farther was the same person, I don't think so though.

Just re-read Dads notes, he landed in Plymouth on 20th from St Nazaire. there were, "at least 300 on the small decks",  they were ferried off on lighters to the docks, He wrote on a piece of "off white loo paper and stuffed it in a red cross envolop without a stamp, it was the finest letter my parents had ever recieved."
Movement wise he just says,  "en-route for Borden Camp, Salisbury Plain, to rest, to sleep, perchance to dream, of nightmares!.

All reports indicate the Ben My Chree was indeed in Birkenhead being repaired on the 17th June 1940 BUT, at least 4 independent accounts have her at St Nazaire on the 17th, the day the Lancastria was hit. The IOMPSC was of no help. I have the movement card and log but there are gaps. There is also the fact the Navy took over the ship in early June (and pranged it).
 The following is a message from WW2Talk forum

Hello,

I've just seen your post about the Ben-my-Chree and St Nazaire. My great-grandfather was also shipped out on the Ben-my-Chree from St Nazaire, he told my grandfather that the ship in front of them sank (the Lancastria). Everyone has been telling me, and you, that that the Ben-my-Chree didn't evacuate anyone from there but it strikes me as strange that both my great-grandfather and your relative should remember something so utterly wrong. It's not even like a ship with a similar name shipped out from there. I just wanted to say hello and add my support to the belief that the Ben-my-Chree evacuated troops from St Nazaire!

Kind regards,
Elissa
 The mystery deepens even more