Name Mimosa

MIMOSA was one of four identical hulls built at Thornycrofts Hampton Launch Works.  She was rigged as an auxiliary ketch for Mr A Gordon and only five years later was requisitioned for Operation Dynamo.

MIMOSA was requisitioned along with many other pleasure boats in 1940 for 'Operation Dynamo' and, after being provisioned and fuelled at Dover, left under the command of Lieutenant Commander Dixon for three trips to the beaches off Dunkirk.

Immediately after Dunkirk, MIMOSA was chartered (for £21 per month) as an Auxiliary Patrol Vessel and had a name change to OCELOT, thereby hiding her contribution to the evacuation. The name 'OCELOT remained with her when she finished war service and was retained when registered for the first time in 1951, 16 years after she was completed at Thornycroft's yard at Hampton-on-Thames. Of the four identical hulls completed there, two returned from Dunkirk whilst the other two did not survive the war years.

It took 57 years for MIMOSA'S Dunkirk history to come to light. In 1997, after careful research uncovered her significant past. That name change concealed her identity as a Dunkirk Little Ship until she was purchased as a stripped-out restoration project by Jane Percival and boatbuilder Colin Messer in 1995, laying in Thames Ditton Marina - just a stones throw from where she was built 60 years before!

A previous owner had completed a thorough restoration of the hull and had started fitting out the interior.  Colin Messer rebuilt the wheelhouse to reflect the original design, rebuilt the skylights in teak, re-caulked the iroko decks, and installed new systems and engines.

OCELOT subsequently reverted to her original name of MIMOSA and in 1999 cruised in company with other Dunkirk Little Ships in preparation for her return to Dunkirk in June 2000 on the Diamond Anniversary of the Evacuation.

MIMOSA successfully completed the 2015 Dunkirk return under the stewardship of her new owner, and remains an active member of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. She has made several notable appearances at the Thames Traditional Boat Festival in Henley and was also featured in the 2017 film Dunkirk.

In recognition of her historical significance, MIMOSA was individually featured in the Little Ships of Dunkirk stamp series, issued by Palau in 2015 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Operation Dynamo.