 Ena lying on the mud at Hoo, 2018 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Ena |
| Owner |
|
| Builder | McLearon, Harwich, Essex, UK |
| Launched | 1906 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Lying in the marshes |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Thames sailing barge |
| Tons burthen | 73 |
| Length | 88.13 ft (26.86 m) |
| Beam | 20.6 ft (6.3 m) |
| Draught | 2 ft (0.61 m)approx |
| Depth of hold | 6.89 ft (2.10 m)approx |
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan | mulie rig sprit mainsail, topsail, mizzen, gaff rigged with boom. |
| Capacity | 150 tonnes |
| Complement | 2 |
| Notes | Served in both World War I as an ammunition barge, and in World War II in the Dunkirk evacuation.[1] Focus of 2002, first series of theSalvage Squad.[2] |
TheEna is a woodenThames sailing barge constructed inHarwich in 1906 that is resting on the flats adjacent to Stargate Marina inHoo, Kent. She is a notableDunkirk little ship reputed to have rescued 100 men.[3]
In 2002,Ena was the focus of an episode of theChannel 4 TV seriesSalvage Squad.[2][4]
The barge was built speculatively by W B McLearon at the Navy Yard slip, Harwich in 1906. R & W Paul Ltd, the grain and agricultural merchants, bought her in 1907 to use in thegrain trade. This was the second barge they had bought from W B McLearon's Navy Yard, after theThalatta. They rigged her as a mulie in their own Dock End Shipyard.[1]
Ena served in the First World War, delivering supplies across the Channel to troops in France. Her shallow draught allowed her to operate in waters too shallow for the enemy U-boats.[1]
ThirteenThames sailing barges made the crossing, six from R & W Paul Ltd's fleet. On the Dunkirk beaches, her crew were ordered to abandon her. She was beached but then refloated by Lt Colonel W G Mc Kay and men of the 19th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, and taken back to Kent, notable as none of them was asailorman.[1]
