Plaque honouring 'little ships' of Dunkirk in the Second World War unveiled in Old Portsmouth - replacing a stolen memorial

Close to a hundred people attended the unveiling of the plaque next to The Spice Island Inn, with the dean of Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral and the commander of Portsmouth Naval Base speaking during the service.

The plaque – organised by the Society of Nautical Research (SNR) – pays tribute to the civilian craft that answered the navy’s call for assistance in evacuating more than 300,000 allied troops between May and June in 1940.

Among those civilian craft was a boat based in Portsmouth – but little is known about it, according to SNR member and city historian Jane Smith.

She said: ‘As far as I can find out there was one boat that came from Portsmouth – it was called The Bat. It left with a group of boats from the Isle of Wight and it came back.

‘It is listed on a memorial plaque for the ships that took part in Dunkirk in Newport, in the Isle of Wight.

‘We have checked in the newspapers from 1940 and there’s nothing about it.’

The Old Portsmouth plaque replaces the city’s previous memorial to the ‘little ships’ of Dunkirk, with the previous plaque on Portsbridge opposite Hilsea Lido – but it went missing and was presumed stolen in 2010.

She added: ‘It doesn’t take much for this history to disappear.’

And a slice of history was on hand to help celebrate the unveiling of the new plaque, with an original civilian boat used during Dunkirk moored nearby for the occasion.

Owner Tony Billson, who helped restored the boat Rakes Retreat, said: ‘What I thought would take 18-months actually took me five years – but she’s a little ship that keeps on giving.’

Commander Jeremy Bailey, who leads Portsmouth Naval Base, added: ‘Having run the naval base for the last three years or so, I know how difficult it is to maintain and support 21st century warships, so I take my hat off to those who have committed to restoring historic ships from the Dunkirk flotilla.’