The partially restored historic paddler Medway Queen was one of the main attractions at Ramsgate in May during the latest gathering of Dunkirk Little Ships prior to their return to the French port to mark the 75th anniversary of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force in 1940.
As well as Medway Queen, more than 50 of the historic small craft gathered in the Kent port for several days of celebrations and commemorative events before departing, in bright sunshine, on the morning of 21 May 2015 for the trip across the Channel to Dunkirk, with a Spitfire and Hurricane send-off.
Many of the Little Ships are well known and have undertaken the return to Dunkirk on a number of occasions. However, one first-timer at the 75th anniversary return was Lucy Lavers, a beautifully restored former lifeboat which, a few years ago, was just a bare hull lying near Southampton, but which has been just been lovingly renovated.
