Operation Dynamo & David William Leon Simpson

British troops

During Operation Dynamo, over 305 vessels were lost during the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk between 27 May and 4 June 1940. Approximately 1,000 ships, including pleasure craft and fishing vessels, participated in the rescue efforts. 

Operation Dynamo, also known as the Dunkirk evacuation, involved the rescue of over 338,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk. This operation began after significant numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were encircled and isolated by German forces during the six-week Battle of France.

Background of the Operation

Map of three evacuation routes 

After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and the British Empire declared war on Germany and implemented an economic blockade. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was dispatched to assist in the defense of France. Following the Phoney War from October 1939 to April 1940, Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and France on the 10^th of May, 1940. Three panzer corps advanced through the Ardennes and moved northwest towards the English Channel. By 21 May, German forces had surrounded the BEF, the remaining Belgian troops, and three French field armies along the northern coast of France. BEF commander General Viscount Gort identified evacuation across the Channel as the most viable option and began organizing a retreat to Dunkirk, the nearest suitable port.

On the 23^rd of May, Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt, the commander of Army Group A, issued an order to halt. Adolf Hitler approved this order the following day, and the German High Command sent confirmation to the front. The Luftwaffe was tasked with attacking the trapped BEF, French, and Belgian armies until the order was rescinded on 26 May. This allowed Allied forces to build defensive works and withdraw significant numbers of troops for the Battle of Dunkirk. From 28 to 31 May, during the siege of Lille, the remaining 40,000 men of the French First Army engaged in a delaying action against seven German divisions, including three armored divisions.

On the first day, 7,669 Allied soldiers were evacuated, and by the end of the eighth day, 338,226 had been rescued by a fleet of over 800 vessels. Many troops were able to embark from the harbour's protective mole onto 39 British Royal Navy destroyers, four Royal Canadian Navy destroyers, at least three French Navy destroyers, and various civilian merchant ships. Others had to wade out from the beaches, waiting for hours in shoulder-deep water. Some were transported to the larger ships by what became known as the Little Ships of Dunkirk, a flotilla of hundreds of merchant marine boats, fishing boats, pleasure craft, yachts, and lifeboats called into service from Britain.

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) suffered significant losses during the French campaign, with 68,000 soldiers lost and nearly all tanks, vehicles, and equipment abandoned. In his "We shall fight on the beaches" speech to the House of Commons on June 4th, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill described the event as "a colossal military disaster," noting that "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk, facing potential destruction or capture. He praised the rescue operation as a "miracle of deliverance." Churchill also cautioned against interpreting this evacuation as a victory, stating that "we must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations."

One of the vessels lost during Operation Dynamo was HMT Thuriniga, a naval trawler that struck a mine in the North Sea off the Belgian coast and subsequently sank. Only four crew members survived the incident.

The following are the names of the crew members who tragically lost their lives on board HMT Thuringia.

1.      BALFOUR Richard – Stoker, 28 years old.  Son of Alexander and Ellen Balfour, of Methil, Fife. His brother, Peter Smart Balfour, also died on service.  Buried at St. James’s Cemetery, Dover.

2.      BROWN Bertram Frank – Seaman Cook, 20 years old. Son of Henry William and Ethel Maud Brown, of Barsham, Suffolk. Commemorated on Lowestoft Naval Memorial,

3.      BRUCE John – Engineman, 30 years. Son of George and Margaret Jane Bruce, of Buckie, Banffshire; husband of Rose Bruce, of Buckie. Commemorated on Lowestoft Naval Memorial.

4.      COOK Charles Henry – Ordinary Seaman.  Commemorated on Lowestoft Naval Memorial

5.      DIVERS Wallace – Stoker.  Commemorated on Lowestoft Naval Memorial

6.      GEDDES William Alexander – Second Hand.  Son of William and Isabella Geddes; husband of Janet Geddes, of Portgordon, Banffshire. Buried at St. James’s Cemetery, Dover

7.      GRATION Joseph – Chief Engineman, 59 years. Husband of Annie Gration, of Buckford, Buckie, Banffshire. Commemorated on Lowestoft Naval Memorial.

8.      JEFFERSON Matthew – Seaman, 31 years. Son of James and Elizabeth Jefferson, of Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire. Buried at St. James’s Cemetery, Dover

9.      LINTON Thomas – Stoker 2^nd Class, 20 years. Son of Henry and R.M. Linton, of Workington, Cumberland. Commemorated on Lowestoft Naval Memorial.

10. PETERS Thomas – Seaman, 35 years. Son of Thomas and Mary Peters, of St. Ives, Cornwall; husband of Janie Peters, of St. Ives.  Commemorated on Lowestoft Naval Memorial.

11. PIRIE Alexander – Chief Engineman.  Son of Alexander and Mary Ann Pirie; husband of Matilda Pirie, of Aberdeen. Buried at St. James’s Cemetery, Dover

12. RYLETT Wilfred – Leading Seaman, 24 years. Son of George and Elizabeth Frances Rylett, of Hull; husband of Elizabeth Rylett, of Hull. Commemorated on Lowestoft Naval Memorial.

13. SIMPSON David William Leon – Chief Skipper, 44 years. Son of Leon O'Connell Spence Simpson and Mary Simpson; husband of Susan Ella Simpson, of Hafod, Swansea.  Buried at St. James’s Cemetery, Dover.  Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal

14. THOMAS George – 31 years. Seaman. Son of Charles and Anne Thomas; husband of Dorothy Claudina Thomas, of Delabole, Cornwall. Commemorated on Lowestoft Naval Memorial.

 

David William Leon Simpson

David was born in Steynton, Pembrokeshire, in 1895. He was the eldest son of Leon O’Connell Spence Simpson and Mary Bryce, who were married in Pembroke Dock in 1893.

The Simpson family lived at 41 Marble Terrace, Steynton, Pembrokeshire during the 1901 Census.

1901 Census

Leon, aged 27, is employed as a fisherman, whereas Mary is 28 years old.  Their children are:

Agnes E., aged 7; David W. L., aged 5; Ade E., aged 4; Henry E. D., aged 3; and Rachel D., aged 2.

Mary died in 1903, and during that same year, Leon would remarry Beatrice Mary Shurvin, in Swansea.

Two additional children were born: William H. L. in 1906, and Arthur L. A. in 1908.

During World War I, Leon O’Connell Spence Simpson served as Second Hand on H.M.T. Benton Castle.  

H.M.T. Benton Castle 

H.M.T. Benton Castle was constructed in 1914 by Smiths Dock Co. Ltd for Castle Steam Trawlers Co. Ltd Swansea. Requisitioned by the admiralty in 1915, it was armed and used as a minesweeper near the River Dart. On the 10^th of November 1916, UC-17 sank it off Dartmouth, resulting in the loss of 10 crew members.

Leon O’Connell Spence Simpson
Plymouth Naval Memorial
credit - findagrave

The crew of H.M.T. Benton Castle, including Leon Simpson, is commemorated at the Plymouth Naval Memorial.

David appears in the 1921 census, living with his wife Susan at 14 Morgan Street, Hafod. His occupation is listed as a fisherman.

1921 Census

David married Susan E. Loye, the previous year, 1920, at St. John-juxta, Swansea.

David William Leon Simpson and Susan E. Loye
marriage certificate
St. John-juxta, Swansea

Susan is listed as residing at 14 Morgan Street on the 1939 Register, which was compiled during the outbreak of the Second World War.

David William Leon Simpson
Royal Naval Reserves Service
Records
credit - National Archives 

David William Leon Simpson
Royal Naval Reserves Service
Records
credit - National Archives

David, like his father, served in World War I and received the Distinguished Service Medal for Minesweeping Services in January 1917.

David William Leon Simpson
St. James's Cemetery, Dover
credit - findagrave

South Wales Evening Post

Early 1940, David, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the South Wales Evening Post reported that he was “missing, believed killed, on active service”  David William Leon Simpson was buried at St. James's Cemetery, Dover.