Devonia - Bray-Dunes (F)
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Axel-F
N 51° 04.759 E 002° 30.146
31U E 465145 N 5658763
At low tide visible wreck of Devonia, left behind after Operarion Dynamo at the beginning of in WWII.
Waymark Code: WMPR6Q
Location: Hauts-de-France, France
Date Posted: 10/12/2015
Views: 18
When the British left Dunkirk in June 1940 they abandoned a huge amount of material, including many damaged or destroyed ships, now beached on the sand along the coast. Some were repaired and reused by the Germans, and others cut up for scrap, but incredibly the wrecks of several of them are clearly visible on the beach today. Indeed, some can easily be found using Google Earth.
The most impressive wrecks are this vessel the Devonia and Crested Eagle which lie between Zuydcoote and Bray-Dunes. They can be reached on foot from the parking areas close to the seafront apartments at Bray, but can only be seen at low tides. Both were paddle steamers – the Crested Eagle worked the Essex and Kent coast and the Devonia the Bristol Channel.
The Crested Eagle caught fire after coming under German attack, It’s thought that more than 300 soldiers on board perished in the flames. Today both sets of remains and more than a dozen other small ships are largely used as mussel beds.
source: (
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Devonia came under air attack and after an explosion caused serious leaks astern, the commanding officer, temporary Lieutenant J. Brotchie was instructed to beach the vessel as far inshore as possible in the hope that she could be used as a jetty and boarding point by the troops.
about Devonia:
Built: 1905 by John Brown and Co. Clydebank, for the Barry Railway Company; acquired by P. & A. Campbell in 1911.
Gross Tonnage: 641
Length: 245 feet
Width: 29 feet
Machinery: Compound diagonal, two cylinders.
Speed: 18 Knots
1939 Route: Laid up throughout season, previously Bristol Channel excursions for P. & A. Campbell
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