 During the Siege of Calais , Grafton escorted the light cruisers Arethusa and Galatea as they provided naval gunfire support for the 30th Motor Brigade on 26 May . The following day she evacuated over 1 @,@ 600 troops from the beaches of La Panne and Bray , northeast of Dunkirk . On the morning of 29 May , she stopped to rescue survivors from the destroyer Wakeful , which had been torpedoed and sunk earlier that morning by the German E @-@ boat S @-@ 30 . While rescuing survivors from Wakeful off Nieuwpoort , Belgium , Grafton was struck in the stern by a torpedo from the German submarine U @-@ 62 . This seriously damaged the ship , and also triggered a secondary explosion which damaged the bridge , killing the captain and another officer . 13 ratings and the Canteen Manager were also killed . The ship 's back was broken , but she remained afloat long enough for all survivors to be rescued by the destroyer Ivanhoe and the transport Malines . Ivanhoe sank Grafton with naval gunfire , as she was too badly damaged to be towed to safety . 
