“Guide of Dunkirk,” a decommissioned RNLI lifeboat, which has been painstakingly restored, was on display in the Marina at this year’s Southampton International Boat Show.
Originally commissioned in 1939, she was paid for through wartime fundraising efforts by the Girl Guides of the Girl Guide Association. A total of £5000 was raised, half a million pounds at today’s values, and she was built at Rowhedge Ironworks in Colchester, Essex, although she was constructed mainly in wood.
At her launch in 1940, she was named “Girl Guide”, but was immediately commandeered by the Royal Navy. Her destination was Dunkirk, taking part in Operation Dynamo, one of 19 RNLI lifeboats in service, as well as dozens of little ships including a number from the Isle of Wight. These were sent to rescue servicemen from the beaches. She made three return trips from Ramsgate to Dunkirk but sustained severe shell damage to her stern on her third return. After repairs, she began service as a RNLI lifeboat at Cadgwith, in Cornwall, where she was stationed between 1941 and 1963 under the name “Guide of Dunkirk”.
For a number of years she was a tourist attraction at a boatyard owned by John Moor in Mevagissey. In 2025 she was put up for sale by John’s son Peter, at her original price of £5000. Up stepped Abbey Molyneux, the owner of Abbey Boat Builder, at Reedham on the Norfolk Broads. After initial remedial work, the vessel was towed to Falmouth, before a long road trip to her new destination.
Restoration began in the winter of 2025, with local members of Girlguiding and residents helping in the making of replacement traditional rope. Some new woodwork was needed, plus sails and rigging. Even the engine was rebuilt. In 2026, the new custodians of “Guide of Dunkirk” became members of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. Abbey Molyneux is a qualified shipwright who after ten years on the River Thames, learning her trade, was encouraged by her mentor to set up her own business.
“Guide of Dunkirk” was on display at Southampton and will be on show elsewhere in the future.
