James Campbell Clouston | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1900-08-31)31 August 1900 |
| Died | 3 June 1940(1940-06-03) (aged 39) |
| Buried | Becklingen War Cemetery,Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1923–1940 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Commands | HMS Isis |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
James Campbell Clouston (31 August 1900 – 3 June 1940) was a Canadian officer in the BritishRoyal Navy, who acted as pier-master during theDunkirk evacuation. While returning toDunkirk, France, his motor launch was sunk by enemy aircraft and he perished awaiting rescue.
Clouston was born inMontreal,Quebec, Canada, the son of William Stewart Clouston and Evelyn Campbell.Edward Clouston, a prominent banker, was his uncle.[1] He studied atSelwyn House School,Lower Canada College andMcGill University.[2][3] After training at theRoyal Naval College, Dartmouth, he was commissioned as asub-lieutenant on 15 August 1923, with seniority from 15 May 1921.[4] He first served aboard thedestroyer leaderMontrose in the Mediterranean, receiving promotion tolieutenant on 11 March 1924, with seniority from 15 June 1922.[5] He trained atHMS Excellent, the Naval Gunnery School atPortsmouth, in mid-1927. Clouston had been an ice hockey player, and when stationed at Portsmouth, had organized the staff into a hockey team.[6] He then served as Gunnery Officer in thelight cruisersCapetown on theAmerica and West Indies Station, andDelhi atPortsmouth, being promoted tolieutenant commander on 18 June 1930.[7] Promoted tocommander on 31 December 1934,[8] Clouston served as a gunnery instructor atExcellent throughout the mid-1930s before being appointed to command the destroyerIsis on 29 May 1937.[9]
Clouston married Gwyneth Lilian Vanderpump (1906–2002) on 28 September 1935; they had two sons.[9]
His two younger brothers were also naval officers. Commander William Stratford Clouston (1908–1974), commanded theRoyal Navy destroyerScorpion during the engagement withScharnhorst in December 1943.[10] Lieutenant John Douglas Clouston (1909–1942) served in theRoyal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve aboardLoosestrife in the North Atlantic, and was killed in action.[11]
In May 1940 whileIsis was in dock for repairs, Clouston was attached to the Naval Shore Party of eight officers and 160 men under the command of CaptainWilliam Tennant sent to the port of Dunkirk to help organisethe evacuation. The Naval Shore Party embarked on the destroyerWolfhound at Dover and sailed on 27 May. Three officers cut cards for their assignments. Clouston won the easternmole, a narrow wooden walkway mounted on a concrete breakwater, not designed to be used by ships, but the only part of the port that had not been heavily bombed by theLuftwaffe. For the next five days, Clouston organised and regulated the flow of men along the mole into the waiting ships. Megaphone in hand, he shouted instructions, matching the flow of men to the flow of ships. Tennant estimated on May 28, that Clouston was getting men off at a rate of 2,000 an hour. When panicked soldiers began attempting to leave the pier, Clouston, a junior officer alongside him, promptly restored order by waving a revolver in the air, stating, "We have come to take you back to the UK. I have six shots here and I am not a bad shot. The lieutenant behind me is an even better one. So that makes 12 of you. Now get down into those bloody ships!"[12]
On 1 June, Clouston returned to Dover to report to Vice-AdmiralBertram Ramsay. On the afternoon of 2 June, he and a party of 30 men left Dover on twoRoyal Air Force rescue motorboats for the final night of the evacuation. Off the coast of France, the two boats were strafed and bombed by eightJu 87 Stukas, and Clouston's boat was sunk, leaving him and his crew clinging to wreckage. When the other boat attempted to pick up survivors, Clouston ordered the other boat to continue to Dunkirk, and refused to be picked up and wanted to remain with his men. A French liaison officer reported an empty lifeboat floating a mile away and Sub-Lieutenant Solomon asked permission to swim over and try to bring it back. Clouston approved and decided to come along. Despite being a good swimmer, Clouston was exhausted, and swam back to the others clinging to the wreck. Clouston's men sang and discussed old times, while Clouston tried to encourage them with white lies about the nearness of rescue, before he and his men eventually succumbed to exhaustion andhypothermia. Only one man, Aircraftsman Carmaham survived. Solomon had reached the empty lifeboat but was unable to get back to the others.[12] On 11 July 1940, Clouston posthumously received aMention in Despatches for his part in the Dunkirk operation.[9][13] Clouston is buried inBecklingen War Cemetery,Lower Saxony, Germany.[14]
Clouston was portrayed byWilliam Hope in the 2004 BBC seriesDunkirk.[15] Clouston's actions inspired the character of "Commander Bolton" inChristopher Nolan's 2017 film,Dunkirk.[3][16] Clouston's family drew criticism due to the lack of an actual depiction, with Nolan stating that he could not do Clouston's story justice. Due to the attention drawn to Clouston by the film,Parks Canada installed a plaque in Montreal honouring him for his role in the evacuation at Dunkirk.[17]
