September 2016: the day the Davia officially became a Dunkirk Little Ship again

One of the moments I will never forget is opening the envelope that came from Ramsgate in September 2016. Inside were two documents: the certificate of membership of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, and an enamelled plaque bearing the arms of the town of Dunkirk, with the inscription Davia — Dunkirk 1940.

Here is how it played out.

The early days of the file

In 2015, a year after taking on the boat, I was sanding back the wheelhouse brightwork with wire wool. Between two rounds of polishing, I began digging into the Davia's history. Francis Ruffenach's archives were fragmentary: the boat had had at least six owners between 1929 and 1980, several changes of name (Davia → Barracuda → Barracuda II → Davia again), and her entire British period was a blur.

I contacted the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships through their website. An archivist replied: John Tough. He is a volunteer, a passionate one, and he probably holds the largest database in the world on the Dynamo boats.

I sent him what I had: photographs of the Davia, the details of the Silver yard, the original English registration number I had found on a plate beneath the engine, and a few inscriptions carved into the wheelhouse woodwork.

One of them, painted on a beam in the saloon, intrigued John: « Cert Chart Space 27 Tons ». I had thought it was a cargo reference. He explained that it was a notation from Trinity House, the British body that manages the lighthouses and buoys around the coast of Great Britain. Trinity House was historically funded by « light dues » levied on commercial vessels calling at port. These dues were calculated according to the boat's net registered tonnage. The 27 tons carved into the wood corresponded to the weight deducted from the gross tonnage to account for the engine space and crew accommodation, unusable for freight. So she was indeed a pleasure boat, but commercially registered, probably for tax or maritime compliance reasons.

The investigation continues

For six months, John combed through his archives and the Lloyd's registers. He found:

• The 1929 certificate of registration in the name of Sir William Coryton, Air Chief Marshal.
• An article in Motor Cruising magazine (K. M. Miller & John Irving, 1930s) in which the Davia is photographed, with the caption: « This twin-screw, Scottish built, 52-ft cruiser has a fine cruising record. She has two 30 H.P. paraffin engines. »
• A 1942 Dutch document referring to the Davia as a Royal Navy auxiliary vessel at Greenhithe (Kent), on the Thames.
• An obituary of Coryton in The New York Times of 29 November 1994, confirming his role in Operation Dynamo.

The file was beginning to hold together. In June 2016, John offered to put the Davia's case before the ADLS committee for full membership.

The committee

The ADLS does not accept just any boat. You must prove either direct participation in Dynamo, or a solid historical link to a boat that took part. In the Davia's case, the committee archives confirmed her presence on the list of Royal Navy auxiliary vessels at Greenhithe in January 1942, and the Silver records confirmed that her type and year of build were consistent with the requisition of May 1940.

The committee voted unanimously. The Davia was admitted in September 2016.

Prince Michael

The patron of the ADLS is His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He sets great store by the association and attends the plaque presentation ceremonies whenever he can. My plaque arrived by post; with the Davia in France, I was unable to attend the Ramsgate ceremony that year.

Instead, I received a letter signed by the ADLS secretary, with a photograph of Prince Michael at an earlier ceremony, and these words: « We are delighted to welcome Davia into the Association. Her history speaks for itself and we look forward to seeing her alongside the fleet at Ramsgate in the coming years. »

Fixing the plaque

It took me four months to fix the plaque. I wanted the right place, the right wood, the right day. It now sits on the aft bulkhead of the saloon, beside the original Davia 1929 bell.

On every visit, when someone notices it and asks what it stands for, I tell this story. It is the very reason the association exists: so that this plaque, this bell, and this 1929 hull go on telling what they have to tell.