Thirty barges were part of the fleet of 'Little Ships' that rescued soldiers of the retreating British Expeditionary Force from the beaches of Dunkerque. The flat-bottomed barges could reach the beaches, and take off the troops, ferrying them to the larger vessels waiting off shore. These would make the Channel crossing. Twelve barges were sunk, but eighteen vessels returned: one of these, , was harmed by a mine but has been fixed up and is still used on the rivers today; another, "Ena", had her crew taken off and was to be abandoned in France but was floated and sailed home by a group of soldiers with only holiday sailing experience. The oldest Little Ship still active is the barge "Greta" (built in 1892).