Sunken Dunkirk wreck for sale
Skylark IX sank in 2010 and needs to be raised quickly
Scotland’s last remaining ship used in the Dunkirk evacuation has been put up for sale for just £1.
That’s because the Skylark IX filled with water and sank to the bottom of the river Leven in 2010.
involved in the rescue of Allied soldiers in 1940
Skylark IX is one of the few remaining boats anywhere involved in the rescue of Allied soldiers from the beach at Dunkirk in 1940. Hitler’s ‘Blitzkrieg’ or lightning war had been so successful in driving British troops backwards that tens of thousands of men became trapped on the beach at Dunkirk.
More than 900 navy and merchant ships staffed by courageous volunteers ran shuttle trips across the channel, many coming under intense fire themselves and taking casualties.
The Skylark IX was such a ship, ferrying 150 soldiers at a time, which is about 50% over her capacity. In all she saved around 600 lives.
Since WW2 the vessel has had a series of owners, eventually working her way north for a role as cruise ship on Loch Lomond. Never forgetting her past, just days after the annual Dunkirk Veterans Parade and Service of Remembrance in May 2010, the ship was found to have sunk.
Divers have inspected the wreck on the riverbed and believe if not raised quickly, she will break up for good.
The current owner has listed Skylark IX on Ebay for just £1. But before bidding make sure you have funds for raising a 30-tonne vessel.
Hopefully she can be successfully salvaged before another piece of Dunkirk history is lost forever.
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