Coastal Forces was typified by young men, all volunteers, who took the war to the enemy in Britain’s darkest hour. The boats were small, frail craft armed with torpedoes and loaded with high octane petrol. They went into enemy waters to seek and destroy at close range and at night. Achieving remarkable success totally disproportionate to the numbers and size of the vessels, they were called “the Spitfires of the Seas”. By 1946, over 2000 vessels and 30,000 personnel formed Coastal forces. The Coastal Forces Heritage Trust is a small charity with all funding received from donations.