On Friday, 31 May 1940, the sixth day of Operation Dynamo, approximately 150,000 British soldiers had already been evacuated by first light. Although this was a significant achievement, fewer troops remained to defend the perimeter of Dunkirk, and La Panne beach could no longer be held. Evacuation efforts continued from Bray-Dunes and Malo-les-Bains under intense artillery fire. A fresh northerly on-shore breeze created dangerous surf conditions, which disrupted the improvised lorry-piers.

The Thornycroft cabin cruiser Jong, commanded by Sub-Lieutenant I.F. Smith, RNVR, was present during these operations. Alongside the vessels Marsayru, SS Foam Queen, and SS Jaba, Jong was engaged in loading French and British troops from the beaches.

Jong had been acquired by Douglas Tough from her owner, Donald Aldington, a motor engineer, while she was moored on the Thames. A crew of three—G. Allendale, G. Thomas, and H. Morte, as recorded in Douglas Tough’s notebook—navigated her to Sheerness, where the Royal Navy assumed control. After a week, Douglas Tough received the vessel back with only minor damage to her stanchions and guardrail.

Following the war, in 1951, the vessel was renamed Gentle Ladye. By 1965, under the ownership of Wing Commander Tom Jefferson, DSO, AFC, AE, she became one of the founding members of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships (ADLS). Gentle Ladye participated in the first Return and cruised extensively along the south coast, reaching as far as Dartmouth. Throughout this period, she was maintained with great care.

However, an incident occurred when a guest aboard noticed water leaking from the wardrobe. This was traced to damage sustained when the vessel was recently lifted out of the water; the hoist’s chains had been tightened excessively, causing cracks in her ribs. By the time she arrived at A.E. Rogers’ boat yard, water had risen to the top of her batteries, and she was nearly beyond repair.

Although four ADLS members offered to secure her to their boats to keep her afloat, the Port of London Authority was reluctant to allow her to remain in the water. Subsequently, Gentle Ladye was rescued and changed ownership several times. She was observed along the Kent coast and at Allington Lock on the Medway, stripped and unused.

Most recently, Paul Rainbow has undertaken restoration of the vessel. She was last seen at Platt’s Eyot at Hampton, near the location where she was originally built by Thornycroft nearly seventy years earlier.