Dunkirk Little Ship Hilfranor will take part in the jubilee flotilla

by Nisha Chopra

There will be a bit of 'Dunkirk spirit' in the Queen's diamond jubilee flotilla - as nearly 40 of the Second World War Little Ships take part in today's pageant. Simon Palmer, from Tunbridge Wells, owns one of the historic boats due to set sail in the 1,000-boat seven-mile parade from Battersea Park to Tower Bridge. Built in 1935, the Hilfranor - named after the original owner’s three daughters, Hilda, Frances and Nora - joins the Dunkirk Little Ships squadron and follows the royal barge, The Spirit of Chartwell. On board will be the Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Viscount De L'Isle, who sailed with Simon to Dunkirk two years ago.

Sorry, this video asset has been removed.

The Hilfranor was taking part in the jubilee flotilla

Mr Palmer said: "He knows the ship very well and he said he'd like to use this vessel as his representative boat when on the jubilee pageant."

The Lord Lieutenant's grandfather, FM Viscount Gort VC, commanded the British Expeditionary Force, which was evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk.

The Dunkirk Little Ships transported 338,000 British and French troops to Kent's ports during Operation Dynamo in 1940.

Mr Palmer added: "Because these were smaller boats they were able to get into the beaches and take the troops off to the larger ships - the troops were brought into Dover, Ramsgate and Margate so Kent was a focal point for the evacuation."

The pageant gets under way from 3pm, with an estimated one million spectators and 20,000 people on water.

The flotilla will take around 75 minutes to go past any single point.