- Contributed by听
- Longbentonclc
- People in story:听
- Ernie Perry and Jim Kane
- Location of story:听
- Dunkirk port
- Background to story:听
- Royal Navy
- Article ID:听
- A3700027
- Contributed on:听
- 22 February 2005
HMS Wakeful was sunk during the heroic mass evacuation of the Dunkirk beaches in the early hours of May 29 1940. The ship was on its way back to Dover with 640 rescued troops onboard. She hit a German torpedo and unfortunately most passengers died including 25 crew members and a handful of army evacuees. One Survivor, Jim Kane, quoted "It was while we were sleeping that we were hit by a torpedo. There was a terrible explosion which lifted the ship up, put out the lights and smashed evrything around us." Ernie Perry was also a lucky survivor of the devastating disaster. HMS Wakeful has remained on the sea bed 17 metres (57 feet)under the surface, 13 miles off the Belgium ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge ever since.
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