During the Second World War, Massey Shaw, along with a volunteer crew of firemen, formed part of the flotilla of small vessels which were sent to Dunkirk to help evacuate British troops from the beaches.

Massey Shaw made three trips to the beaches and rescued over 500 troops, most by ferrying them to a larger ship standing offshore.

In 1980 Philip Wray, Dick Helyer, and several other concerned individuals found the Massey Shaw abandoned in St Katharine Docks.

They founded "The Massey Shaw Fireboat Society" and began to lobby the Fire Authority to save this historic vessel, eventually being granted a 50-year lease.

The society had planned to return Massey to the River Thames in May 2013 by sailing her around the south coast of the UK, stopping off at various ports on the way, including Cowes, Isle of Wight where the vessel was built in 1935.