Mystery ship at St Nazair June 18th 1940

[Sapper59]

My father (Jack Lee, T/99927, RASC) and many others in his group had a close shave when the Lancastria was sunk as they were to have boarded her on the 17th but ended up walking up a gankplank that midnight onto a ship and sailed for Plymouth early on the 18th, landing on the 20th. He said it was the "Ben McCree", an Isle of Man packet but there hasn't been such a ship, but there was, (and still is), a "Ben-My-Chree", which makes sense, but there is nothing in Navy records of the Ben-My-Chree being involved, according to records she was never at St, Nazaire! But there was a small cargo or ferry ship capable of entering the habour instead of laying off in the bay like the Lancastria and Oronsey and John Holt and it did take on survivours including Wilfred Oldham and Neville Chesterton who write of a simular experience in their memoirs elsewhere on the web.
After disembarkation and a cup of tea and a sandwich they were moved to Borden Camp on Salisbury plain.
 So what was that small ship,? Was the Ben-My-Chree at St, Nazaire on 18th June 1940?
 Any ideas or anyone know of my Dad in the war, he was discharded in 1946 after losing his left eye in late 1944 when he was a sergeant.

[HMac]

Hello,
You could check out BEN-MY-CHREE's WWII movement card which is held at Kew in piece reference BT 389/4 and downloadable for £3.50. See this link: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=8168883&queryType=1&resultcount=1

Regards
Hugh

[Sapper59]

Right done that and the Ben-My-Chree was damaged and in repair at the time untill at least the 20th June. worth noting that although she made four runs to Dunkirk and that is a fact, it's not logged either. The mystery continues, what was that boat that docked in St. Nazaire the night of 17th June 1940?

[ScouseBoy]

Could it have been a RN warship?

[ScouseBoy]

Have you looked up the movements of Floristan?

[ScouseBoy]

I think it is DORSETSHIRE   ( or possibly City of Cairo)

I have just looked at www.convoyweb.org.uk    and search for ports  and arrivals

[t mo]

hello sapper 59
found this article on the st nazaire pick up , hm ships detailed for st nazaire -cambridgeshire -havelock -highlander-vanoc-punjabi- hmt lancastria- merchant ships oracle -oronsay-john holt-robert l holt -city of lancaster -baharistan -clan ferguson-floristan -ulster prince -city of mobile -cymbula- fabian-glenaffric .
then the following sentence in relation to it all .
rn destroyers havelock & highlander with assistance from small french craft acted as tenders ferrying the evacuees from shore to the waiting ships.
i,m just wondering if one of the french craft could be the boat your looking for !!
trevor

[ScouseBoy]

Correction.

Look up Convoy FF.2A     and you will see a list of ships.

My dad was probably also on one of those ships.

[Sapper59]

Not a warship unless it was a small one and SNO St Nazaire didn't mention one, nor did they transfer to a lager one such as the Oronsey, Dad was quite specific about it being an IOM packet and the name he said was the Ben McCrea which is a possible corruption of Ben MY Chree, rumour has it that the crew of the Ben MY Chree, having undergone four runs to Dunkirk and suffered damage in a collision refused to sail again and the navy took over and sailed her to St Nazaire hence no log entry and also accounts for the "The Navies here" remark which is not a bit of the merchant marine I think.
 I have also looked at teh navy records for the 16th to 22nd June 1940 and quite a few things don't match up. I am begining to wonder if Dad was telling porkies and didn't get out at that port at all! Service records show up bugger all if mine are anything to go by, possible waste of £30 but I'll give it a go.