sentences:  Unlike the neighbouring Netherlands, which had possessed a sizeable navy, the Belgian "Corps de Marine" had had only few ships before the war.With the surrender in May 1940, many vessels, including "A4" which had evacuated Belgian gold to Britain during the campaign, travelled to neutral Spain and interned themselves rather than return to occupied Belgium.Consequently, most of the volunteers of the RNSB had been civilian fishermen or members of the Merchant Navy rather than career soldiers.