WWII Dunkirk 'little ship' fails to sell on eBay

The vessel helped rescue soldiers from the beaches of northern France in 1940

A boat that was used to evacuate stranded soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in World War II has failed to sell on the auction website eBay.

The 30ft (9m) vessel, Anne, was one of the "little ships" that helped rescue 380,000 British and French from the beaches of northern France.

More recently it was among the boats which took part in the Thames Pageant to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

The craft attracted bids of £24,700, but failed to reach its reserve price.

Owner Kes Travers, of Worthing, West Sussex, had pledged to give 20% of the sale of the boat, which is kept in Shepperton in Surrey, to Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion.

He said the vessel was the last remaining Dunkirk little ship with its original engines and was a "quintessential and ultimate example of a Dunkirk little ship".

The Dunkirk evacuation, code name Operation Dynamo, took place between 26 May and 4 June 1940.

It involved 900 naval and civilian craft, including fishing boats, pleasure crafts, paddle steamers and lifeboats, which were sent across the Channel from Ramsgate in Kent under RAF protection.

Historians say the evacuation boosted British morale at a crucial point of the war.