HMS Worcester's heroic role in Dunkirk evacuation

JUST over 80 years ago, HMS Worcester was racing across the English Channel to reach the men of the British Expeditionary Force and their allies who were fighting a running battle with the fast-moving German onslaught that would be known as Blitzkrieg. The BEF were being cornered at a place that would go down in history – Dunkirk.

The V and W Destroyer, HMS Worcester, had been patrolling the coast of Britain, 120 miles North of Land’s End when it received orders to proceed to Dover to take part in Operation Dynamo. An operation to bring back as many soldiers from Europe as possible.

HMS Worcester arrived at Dunkirk on May 29 1940 and put up some fierce anti-aircraft fire, seeing off several aerial attacks and escaping with 450 men.

The ship’s crew watched helplessly when a nearby destroyer was bombed by the dreaded Stuka dive bombers. A breakwater known as ‘The Mole’ was being used as a makeshift harbour and required great skill from the ship’s crew, including the  commander of HMS Worcester, Cmdr John Hamilton Allison RN.

HMS Worcester returned to Dover, refuelled and rearmed, and cast off the following day to bring home hundreds more wounded and tired men escaping the German attacks. It was on another journey where they watched HMS Grenade sink, 10 minutes after pulling away from the Mole.

As time went by smaller craft were used to ferry men from the beaches around Bray. This became the time of the iconic ‘little ships of Dunkirk’. More than 2,000 men were evacuated under fire in the days that followed and each time the heroism of the crew was seen by all.

Luck was running out when HMS Worcester returned for the sixth day. At around 1500hrs on June 1, near No5 buoy two ships could be partially seen below the water with survivors being picked up by some passing ships.

It was at this time HMS Worcester was ordered back to Dover.

Cmdr Allison RN wrote in his report: “It seemed however not worthwhile to return so close from Dunkirk and so I continued my course.”

The ship’s bell bearing the date she was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy’s fleet. The bell hangs in the Randall room of the Guildhall

HMS Worcester managed to evacuate a further 900 men under very heavy fire and began to pull away, hoping the air attacks would subside and an easy journey would ensue.

Unfortunately, further attacks led to bombs landing very close, lifting the ship out of the water several times and causing casualties to those on board.

Further aerial attacks were made on HMS Worcester as she left the coast behind, with approximately 100 bombs being dropped with the intent of sinking her.

Cmdr Allison’s report, written at Tilbury on June 7 1940, went on to say “only a miracle prevented the ship being struck… the behaviour of the gun crews was magnificent.”

Two, possibly three, enemy aircraft were shot down during this daring escape and orders were made for every man to lie down to limit injury from shrapnel, blast and machine gun fire from the aircraft.

On the bridge Sub Lieutenant Humphreys was killed whilst firing a Bren gun to help ward off and shoot down enemy dive bombers.

At sea there was nowhere for HMS Worcester to hide and therefore she steamed on and took the battering bravely.

Sadly, the worst was not yet over. A piece of white-hot shrapnel embedded itself in the racking of some high explosive shells, which exploded, killing 46 men and injuring 180. The victims were predominantly men in the sickbay area.

Three holes were made below the waterline that were blocked with wood almost immediately by the crew and several important pieces of equipment were damaged, including the gyro compass, and the fuel tanks were ruptured.

Just five miles north of the Goodwin Light Vessel the ship’s engines stopped completely but HMS Worcester was not going down without a fight.

The crew made some repairs and despite a tug being summoned, the engines were restarted and she limped into Dover under her own power at 2030hrs.

As the battle scarred HMS Worcester manoeuvred into the inner harbour she collided with the SS Maid of Orleans due to the damage made to her rudder and screws.

HMS Worcester ended the operation badly damaged, having fired 266 rounds of 4.7in ammunition, 360 rounds of pom-pom and more than 10,000 rounds of .303 ammunition. The ship’s crew lost six dead and suffered 40 injured. 

In total 4,350 men were evacuated on HMS Worcester and this also included men from the 67th (Worcestershire) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, some men from the 8th Worcester’s and men from the 53rd Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery (Worcestershire Yeomanry).