RNLB ''Guide of Dunkirk'' (ON 826) is a 35ft 6in Self-righting motor-class

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

whose construction was funded by the

Girl Guides Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

in 1940. She was self-righting and designed for launching from a beach. As one of the

Little Ships of Dunkirk The Little Ships of Dunkirk were about 850 private boats that sailed from Ramsgate in England to Dunkirk in northern France between 26 May and 4 June 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo, helping to rescue more than 336,000 British, French, and oth ...

she was used in the evacuation of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Between 1941 and 1963 she was stationed in

Cadgwith Cadgwith ( kw, Porthkajwydh, meaning ''cove of the thicket'') is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the Lizard Peninsula between The Lizard and Coverack. It is in the civil parish of Grade Ruan. History ...

, UK as a lifeboat. In 1963 she passed into private ownership.

Before Dunkirk

The £5,000 needed to buy a lifeboat was one of the targets of the Guide Gift Week appeal of 1940. Money was donated by Guides throughout the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

from their salaries or, for those too young to work, by earning money doing odd jobs. ''Guide of Dunkirk'' was built by Rowhedge Iron Works near

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, UK, and was unnamed when she was called into service straight from the builder's yard for the Dunkirk evacuation on 1 June 1940. She had the designation ON 826.

Dunkirk

At the Dunkirk evacuation, she made two crossings. Her crew was made up of men from

Walton-on-the-Naze Walton-on-the-Naze is a seaside town on the North Sea coast and (as Walton le Soken) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district in Essex, England. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Ha ...

and

Frinton-on-Sea Frinton-on-Sea is a seaside town and (as just Frinton) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district of Essex, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 4,837. In 1931 the parish had a populati ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, under British Naval command. On her first trip, she was used to ferry soldiers off the beaches to larger ships waiting offshore. She was badly damaged by machine gun fire and a rope became wrapped around her propeller. She was towed back to England stern first. On her second trip, she was hit by shellfire and extensively damaged.

After Dunkirk

In May 1941 she was stationed at

in Cornwall as a

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

(RNLI) lifeboat. In 1947 she was named ''Guide of Dunkirk'' in honour of her history so far. In 1963, the Cadgwith lifeboat station was closed and ''Guide of Dunkirk'' was sold into the private ownership of John Moor and renamed ''Girl Guide''.

Retirement

The boat is now ashore in

Mevagissey Mevagissey (; kw, Lannvorek) is a village, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Historic RNLI Lifeboats Since its inception, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has provided lifeboats to lifeboat stations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Once past their operation life, the boats have mostly been sold by the RNLI and purchased for domes ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guide Of Dunkirk Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting Girlguiding Water transport in Cornwall 1940 ships Little Ships of Dunkirk Self-Righter-class lifeboats