Bear with me for a very short history lesson which is required for background.
In 1667, during the Second Anglo-Dutch Wars, a Dutch fleet under De Ruyter sailed up the Medway and handed the Royal Navy a royal beating. During this action a Dutch Captain named Van Brakel forced a chain that secured the Medway from being entered by foreign ships.
Fast forward to 14 December 1941, the Dutch minelayer HMNLS Van Brakel (named after the guy), in allied service, accidentally damaged an anchor buoy securing the Medway. Supposedly a signal was sent to shore “Van Brakel damaged boom defence Medway”. Supposedly the instant reply was “What, again?”
Is this (the 1941 “replay”) just a tale or can you find some evidence for this? Personally I thought this was a nice little story and demonstrates typical British humour.