On 29 May 1940 at 11:00, Ferry Nymph and her sister ship Southern Queen were engaged in ferrying passengers across the entrance of Poole Harbour for their owners, J. Harvey & Sons, who had constructed both vessels. During this operation, a telephone message was received from the Admiralty ordering both ships to proceed to Dover.

At Dover, Ferry Nymph was taken over by Lieutenant-Commander Gerrard RN, refuelled, and dispatched to Dunkirk. Her shallow draft made her particularly suitable for embarking troops directly from the beaches. She is recorded to have carried 72 troops on one trip and 90 on another, transporting them across the English Channel to Ramsgate.

In July 1940, Ferry Nymph was towed back to Poole, bearing numerous scars on her hull as well as empty cartridge cases and sand from Dunkirk in her bilges. She resumed service as a ferry for J. Harvey & Sons until 1953.

In 1953, the vessel was sold to the Great Yarmouth Ferry Company on the East Coast, where she provided satisfactory service for ten years. Subsequently, she was sold to Percy Fields, a local fisherman, who renamed her Shepherd Lad. Fields converted the vessel for use as a herring drifter, a role she fulfilled for 22 years.

Percy Fields attracted local attention when apprehended by a government fisheries officer for attempting to land a catch exceeding 5,000 kilograms during a herring ban. The officer informed him that the catch could not be sold locally. In response, Fields landed the fish and invited local residents to help themselves, thereby complying with the law which prohibited sale but not distribution.

In 1985, the vessel changed ownership again. The new owner rediscovered her original name and distinguished wartime service in time to participate in the 50th Anniversary return to Dunkirk commemorating the 1940 evacuation.

In 1994, Ferry Nymph sank in rough weather off Holehaven but was subsequently salvaged and restored by members of the Association. She remains in new ownership.

Additional Information

Chris Harnett, who worked for Davis's and Harvey's boats in Poole during the early 1960s, recalled that Ferry Nymph was the largest of Harvey's yellow boats at the time and was considered the fastest on the Poole to Sandbanks and Shell Bay route. Contrary to some reports, she was powered by a 4-cylinder Lister Freedom diesel engine rather than a three-cylinder. Harnett occasionally crewed the vessel and noted that the two skippers most associated with her operation were Arthur and George Cole, who closely guarded the privilege of piloting the ferry.

It is believed that Ferry Nymph was sold around 1964 or 1965 when Harvey's acquired a larger cabined vessel named Northern Angler. Other vessels in the fleet at that time included Ferry Niaid, Ferry Sprite, and Ferry Neried.