The Wartime Vessels Association Fleet

Service history: Gerfalcon is a 34-foot wooden motor yacht built by William Osborne Ltd. at Littlehampton on England’s south coast. Commissioned as a private leisure craft in 1937 for Commander Valentine Searles‑Wood, Royal Navy (retired), she embodies the interwar Osborne style: compact, seaworthy, and finely finished for coastal cruising. In the summer of 1940 the vessel’s civilian life was interrupted when she took part in the evacuation from Dunkirk and then served briefly as an Auxiliary Patrol Craft with the Royal Navy Patrol Service. Demobilised at the end of that summer, Gerfalcon returned to private ownership and has remained in civilian hands ever since, with a modern history encompassing both active preservation and public commemoration. The yacht’s post‑war life is unusually well documented. Ownership changes are recorded from 1946 onward, and her peacetime career includes notable public appearances: in 2012 she was among the fleet on the Thames for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant; in 2014 she became a member of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships; and in 2019 she was added to the UK’s national register of historic vessels. After condition surveys in 2021 and July 2024, Gerfalcon was purchased on 8 July 2024 by Lieutenant (VCC) Gary Fletcher (retired). A concentrated restoration effort followed, culminating in relaunch and a return to Dunkirk for the 85th anniversary commemorations of Operation Dynamo in 2025. Gerfalcon is a compact, semi‑traditional motor cruiser typical of pre‑war William Osborne output. The hull is mahogany planking on oak frames, a robust timber combination favoured by the yard for private cruisers of the period. Contemporary Osborne literature from 1937–38 highlights “Falcon”‑series boats of similar length and arrangement, and surviving material indicates Gerfalcon was originally fitted with Navigator petrol engines (twin units of modest horsepower, consistent with contemporary small‑cruiser practice). Her present machinery reflects later refits: brokerage specifications list a single 3GM30 diesel of approximately 24 hp in recent years, together with upgraded domestic fittings (galley, heads and cabin joinery) suitable for cruising and display. The hull form and deckhouse give a purposeful, workmanlike appearance. Period photographs show the yacht in different liveries across her life: an earlier white hull with varnished superstructure, and more recently wartime‑style grey with a bold bow numeral applied for commemorative events. Interior images show a compact wheelhouse with traditional timber wheel and engine controls, a saloon with opposing settees and table, a simple galley to port with stove and sink, and a forward cabin with twin berths—layouts consistent with a late‑1930s 34‑footer designed for short coastal passages and inland waterways. In late May and early June 1940, the little yacht was among the myriad small craft that assisted in the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk. In this role, vessels of Gerfalcon’s size ferried soldiers from beaches or shallow inshore waters out to larger ships waiting off the coast, working under threat of enemy air attack and in heavy traffic. Following the evacuation, Gerfalcon was taken into naval service as an Auxiliary Patrol Craft with the Royal Navy Patrol Service from 4 June to 8 August 1940. This brief, formalised duty—typical for requisitioned private craft—placed her on local patrol and support tasks during a critical phase of the war before she was returned to civilian life. After the war the yacht passed through a sequence of private owners beginning in 1946. Although her operational role ended in 1940, Gerfalcon’s story continued to accumulate public resonance. She joined commemorative gatherings of surviving Dunkirk little ships and, in 2012, took part in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames—an event that brought many historic British craft together in a high‑profile national celebration. The vessel’s heritage status was further consolidated in the 2010s. She became a member of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships in November 2014 and, in August 2019, was formally added to the national register of historic ships in the United Kingdom. These milestones reflected both her wartime provenance and the continuity of care provided by successive owners. By the early 2020s, surveys documented the need for significant remedial work typical of an elderly timber cruiser—localized structural attention, deck and superstructure maintenance, and systems renewal. Sold via brokerage in July 2024 and soon lifted ashore, the boat began a focused program of restoration. Photographic records depict hull assessment, cleaning and preparation, followed by staged works to return the vessel to reliable, working order while preserving historic fabric and layout. In April 2025 the yacht was relaunched, and within weeks completed a celebratory passage to northern France to mark the 85th anniversary of Operation Dynamo. The return to Dunkirk—undertaken in company with fellow historic craft—reaffirmed the vessel’s place in Britain’s collective memory of the evacuation. A poignant coda to this phase came on Good Friday, 18 April 2025, when Gerfalcon’s new custodian received the wartime medal of her original owner, Commander Valentine Searles‑Wood, to be kept aboard as part of the vessel’s interpretive story. Gerfalcon is significant as a representative small motor yacht pressed into national service at a moment of profound crisis. Her surviving fabric preserves the design language of interwar British wooden cruiser construction; her brief naval period exemplifies the adaptability of private craft in wartime; and her modern career—parades, anniversaries, and now educational use—demonstrates how vessels can function as active, public‑facing heritage. As restoration and stewardship continue, the yacht offers a hands‑on platform to interpret civilian seamanship, the “little ships” story of Dunkirk, and the Royal Navy Patrol Service’s coastal support effort in 1940.