how many british troops were rescued in the 1940 dunkirk evacuation
338,226
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Destroying the trapped BEF, French, and Belgian armies was left to the "Luftwaffe" until the order was rescinded on 26 May. This gave trapped Allied forces time to construct defensive works and pull back large numbers of troops to fight the Battle of Dunkirk. From 28 to 31 May, in the Siege of Lille, the remaining 40,000 men of the once-formidable French First Army fought a delaying action against seven German divisions, including three armoured divisions. On the first day only 7,669 Allied soldiers were evacuated, but by the end of the eighth day, 338,226 of them had been rescued
Dunkirk evacuation
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troops were rushed from England to defend Boulogne and Calais, but after hard fighting, both ports were in German hands by 26 May (see Battle of Boulogne (1940) and Siege of Calais (1940)). Gort ordered that the BEF should withdraw to Dunkirk, the only viable port remaining, to facilitate evacuation. In total, 338,226 troops were pulled off the beaches, of which 230,000 were British. However, almost all the army's equipment had been abandoned in France — many soldiers were unable to bring even their rifles. Despite failing to destroy the BEF, the Germans had succeeded in cutting off British formations
Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II
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Dover at 6.20pm. Refuelled, she was back to the Dunkirk mole at 10.30pm, the third trip of the day. This time, the ship stayed for only 35 minutes picking up another 500 troops. Finally on Tuesday the 4 June just after two in the afternoon the Admiralty announced the end of Operation Dynamo. All together an armada of over 860 ships including 39 destroyers had taken part in the evacuation of troops from the beaches and harbour. The Admiralty calculated the total British and Allied troops landed in England amounted to 338,226 troops rescued. HMS "Sabre" had made more round
Sir Edward Archdale, 3rd Baronet
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Destroying the trapped BEF, French, and Belgian armies was left to the "Luftwaffe" until the order was rescinded on 26 May. This gave trapped Allied forces time to construct defensive works and pull back large numbers of troops to fight the Battle of Dunkirk. From 28 to 31 May, in the Siege of Lille, the remaining 40,000 men of the once-formidable French First Army fought a delaying action against seven German divisions, including three armoured divisions. On the first day only 7,669 Allied soldiers were evacuated, but by the end of the eighth day, 338,226 of them had been rescued
Dunkirk evacuation
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HMS Dunkirk (D09) HMS "Dunkirk" (D09) was a later or 1943 fleet destroyer of the British Royal Navy (RN). Though there were other ships of the Navy that had been named "Dunkirk", as far back as the 1650s, it held added meaning after the evacuation from Dunkirk between late May and early June 1940, in which over 300,000 British, as well as French troops, were rescued by a ragtag fleet of ships. "Dunkirk" was built by Alexander Stephen and Sons of Govan. She was launched on 27 August 1945 and commissioned on 27 November 1946. In the year of her
HMS Dunkirk (D09)
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flown only by civilian vessels that took part in the Dunkirk rescue operation. Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week long Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a
Dunkirk evacuation
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Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week long Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the
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remained in action, evacuating 606 troops from Dunkirk on 30 May 658 troops on one trip and 588 troops on a second trip on 31 May 493 troops on 1 June, and 644 troops in two voyages on 2 June. She made her final evacuation trip on 3 June, transporting 1,022 troops and bringing to 3,991 the number of troops she had evacuated from Dunkirk. "Windsor" proceeded to Liverpool on 4 June 1940 for repairs and a refit, and her pennant number was changed to I42. After the completion of repairs, she and the destroyer on 1 July 1940 rescued
HMS Windsor (D42)
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British and Allied troops from Dunkirk had begun on 26 May, and on 28 May "Mallard" carried out anti-submarine patrols in support of the evacuation. She again operated off Dunkirk on 1–2 May, escorting the anti-aircraft cruiser . She became increasingly involved in escorting convoys on Britain's east coast, and on 3 August rescued the survivors from the merchant ship which had been sunk by a mine. On the night of 22/23 September 1940, "Mallard" and sister ship were escorting the destroyers , and on a minelaying operation off the Dutch coast when the two sloops came under heavy attack
HMS Mallard (L42)
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consisted almost entirely of conscripts serving full-time for only 13 months, before entering the reserves. On 1 September 1939, when the Wehrmacht invaded Poland, King Leopold III of Belgium ordered a general mobilisation, in which 600,000 Belgians were mobilised. Despite warnings from the French and British governments, the King refused an alliance. Belgium was invaded, defeated, and occupied in an 18 Days' Campaign after 10 May 1940. Later, 163 Belgian troops were rescued during the Dunkirk evacuation, and Belgium's new navy, the "Corps de Marine", only reformed in 1939, also participated. After the defeat in 1940, significant numbers of Belgian
Belgian Armed Forces
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from Åndalsnes on the night of 1/2 May, with "Calcutta" embarking 756 officers and men. At the end of May 1940, "Calcutta" took part in Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. She evacuated 656 troops on the night of 27/28 May 1940, when she operated off La Panne, and a further 1,200 troops on the night of 28/29 May. "Calcutta" again operated off Dunkirk on the night of 31 May/1 June, and was slightly damaged by near-misses by German bombs on 2 June. Following the completion of the evacuation from Dunkirk, British Forces continued to
HMS Calcutta (D82)
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Lille in recognition of their bravery. The Belgian Army surrendered on 28 May, leaving a large gap to the east of Dunkirk. Several British divisions were rushed in to cover that side. The "Luftwaffe" flew fewer sorties over Dunkirk on 28th. German attention switched to the Belgian ports Ostend and Nieuport. The weather over Dunkirk was not conducive to dive or low-level bombing. The RAF flew 11 patrols and 321 sorties claiming 23 destroyed with the loss of 13 aircraft. On 28 May, 17,804 soldiers arrived at British ports. On 29 May, 47,310 British troops were rescued as the "Luftwaffe"s
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minefields around Scapa Flow and off Loch Ewe and the Clyde estuary. At the end of May 1940, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was trapped by German forces at Dunkirk, France and it was decided to launch Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk. "Sharpshooter" was one of the ships assigned to the evacuation. She made her first evacuation run on the morning of 29 May, landing 69 troops picked up from the Dunkirk beaches at Dover, with a second run made on the morning of the 30 May, picking up 273 troops. "Sharpshooter" was outbound on another
HMS Sharpshooter (J68)
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which assisted the Allied defence during the Battle of Dunkirk The Welsh and Irish Guards were awarded the battle honour; "Boulogne 1940". Books Encyclopaedias Reports Battle of Boulogne (1940) The Battle of Boulogne was the defence of the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer by French, British and Belgian troops, during the Battle of France of the Second World War in 1940. The battle was fought at the same time as the Siege of Calais, just before Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) through Dunkirk. After the Franco-British counter-attack at the Battle of Arras (21 May) German units were
Battle of Boulogne (1940)
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vessels, its tugs and barges, that were represented within the merchant marine fleet that took part in Operation Dynamo, commonly known as the Dunkirk Evacuation during World War II, when in late May and early June 1940 a flotilla of 700 ships and boats assisted in the rescue and repatriation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and French troops. Amongst this fleet of ships and boats was the company's dredger 'Gallions Reach', originally built in 1936 as a steam hopper, but converted at the outbreak of war to a salvage vessel, this vessel rescued 123 men from the beaches and
Interserve
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TSS Scotia (1920) TSS "Scotia" was a twin screw steamer passenger vessel operated by the London and North Western Railway from 1921 to 1923, and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway from 1923 to 1940. She was built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton and launched in 1920. On 1 June 1940 she was bombed by German aircraft during the Dunkirk evacuation. The destroyer HMS "Esk" came alongside and rescued nearly 1,000 troops. The destroyer HMS "Worcester" was nearby and also picked up some survivors. Twenty eight of her crew and an estimated 200 to 300 French troops were
TSS Scotia (1920)
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on 14 June and France surrendered eight days later. The more than 100,000 French troops evacuated from Dunkirk were quickly and efficiently shuttled to camps in various parts of south-western England, where they were temporarily lodged before being repatriated. British ships ferried French troops to Brest, Cherbourg, and other ports in Normandy and Brittany, although only about half of the repatriated troops were redeployed against the Germans before the surrender of France. For many French soldiers, the Dunkirk evacuation represented only a few weeks' delay before being killed or captured by the German army after their return to France. Of
Dunkirk evacuation
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May/June 1940. The harbour had been made unusable by German bombing and it was clear that troops were not going to be taken directly off the beaches fast enough. Naval captain W. G. Tennant had been placed ashore to take charge of the navy shore parties and organise the evacuation. Tennant had what proved to be the highly successful idea of using the East Mole to take off troops. The moles had never been designed to dock ships, but despite this, the majority of troops rescued from Dunkirk were taken off in this way. The Churchill Barriers are a series
Mole (architecture)
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was taking part in the developing Dunkirk evacuation, the Windsor undertaking patrol and escort duties for some of the ships evacuating allied soldiers from the beaches. On 28 May 1940, his ship came under a coordinated and sustained aerial attack which resulted in the death of himself and 29 of his crew-mates. Despite this, The Windsor, still suffering significant battle damage, returned to Dunkirk and had rescued nearly four thousand troops from the beaches by the culmination of Operation Dynamo. 4) Leading Seaman Stanley George Bone, from the G-class destroyer HMS "Greyhound", who died on 31 May 1940. His ship
Hamilton Road Cemetery, Deal
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1940, after which she returned to home waters. "Sabre" was damaged by an accident early in the war and was under repair until spring 1940. At the time of the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940, "Sabre", "Scimitar" and "Shikari" were with the 16th Destroyer Flotilla at Harwich and "Saladin" with the 11th Destroyer Flotilla at Devonport; all participated in the evacuation, carrying over 12,000 troops between them. "Saladin" was severely damaged by air attack on 28 May 1940, while "Shikari" was the last ship to leave Dunkirk, (at 0340 hrs, 4 June 1940), with enemy troops only away. By June
S-class destroyer (1917)
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landed in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force in September 1939. They took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in June 1940 and then, after converting to become the 91st Anti-Tank Regiment and seeing action at the Normandy landings in June 1944, they fought through North-West Europe to the River Elbe. The 6th battalion landed in France as corps troops for I Corps with the British Expeditionary Force in September 1939. They took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in June 1940 and then, after converting to become the 93rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery saw action in the Tunisia campaign,
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
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which had to be reopened in 1944. Dunkirk was the route from which British and Allied troops were evacuated in 1940; see Dunkirk evacuation In September 1944, the First Canadian Army (Canadian, British, Polish, Czechoslovak and other national units) was to capture the ports from Le Havre to Zeebrugge. Dieppe and Ostende were undefended but Le Havre, Boulogne and Calais required major military actions. It took several weeks to bring the ports back into use at a time when Allied armies badly needed supplies. Dunkirk was left under siege until the general German surrender. Channel Ports The Channel Ports are
Channel Ports
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were no longer to sustain an effective counter-offensive. It was the entrapment of the allied troop that led to Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of British and French troops from Dunkirk. As the Germans advanced along the Somme throughout May and June 1940, more and more tanks, cannons and munitions passed through Rue. One resident of Rue remembered how the sky towards Abbeville being red. The town was literally burning. Seeing Stukas or Messersmitt’s (German fighter aeroplanes) in the skies over Rue was a common sight. By 22 May 1940, the German control of Northern France was becoming more visible. Barbed
Château du Broutel
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killed. TSS Scotia (1920) TSS "Scotia" was a twin screw steamer passenger vessel operated by the London and North Western Railway from 1921 to 1923, and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway from 1923 to 1940. She was built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton and launched in 1920. On 1 June 1940 she was bombed by German aircraft during the Dunkirk evacuation. The destroyer HMS "Esk" came alongside and rescued nearly 1,000 troops. The destroyer HMS "Worcester" was nearby and also picked up some survivors. Twenty eight of her crew and an estimated 200 to 300 French troops
TSS Scotia (1920)
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but informal departures continued from French Mediterranean ports until 14 August. From the end of Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk, Operation Cycle from Le Havre, elsewhere along the Channel coast and the termination of Operation Aerial, another were rescued, bringing the total of military and civilian personnel returned to Britain during the Battle of France to British troops. The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from Dunkirk left a surplus of men on the lines-of-communication, base depots and other establishments among the still in France. Sufficient lines-of-communication personnel for an armoured division and four infantry divisions and an Advanced Air
Operation Aerial
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the Netherlands, and Luxembourg that began that month. On the evening of 13 May 1940, she evacuated the Government of the Netherlands from the Hook of Holland. On 23 May 1940, she and the destroyer patrolled off Boulogne, France, and engaged troops and tanks of the German Armys 2nd Panzer Division that were attacking the port; "Windsor" entered the port that evening and evacuated British troops trapped there by the German advance. On 26 May 1940, "Windsor" was assigned to Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France. She began support operations on 27 May 1940, patrolling off
HMS Windsor (D42)
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1940, and by the beginning of 1943 nearly 19,000 were in service. Like many obsolete Home Guard weapons, it was eventually replaced by other weapons, such as the 2-pounder anti-tank gun. With the end of the Battle of France and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the port of Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June 1940, a German invasion of Great Britain seemed likely. However, the British Army was not well-equipped to defend the country in such an event; in the weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation it could only field twenty-seven divisions. The Army was particularly short
Northover Projector
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her duties were expanded to include the defence of convoys along the east coast of Great Britain and in the English Channel. She did not take part in the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, remaining on convoy escort duties instead. On 11 June 1940, she was escorting Convoy FN 23 when it came under German air attack and, after a German bomb hit sank the collier "Heworth", rescued "Heworth"s crew. In July 1940, "Valorous"s duties expanded again to include anti-invasion patrols. In 1941, after the threat of invasion had subsided, she returned to her convoy escort focus. On
HMS Valorous (L00)
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in Malta. On arrival she was placed in Reserve and recommissioned in 1939, returning to England to work on the East Coast. On 31 May 1940, "Dundalk" took part in the Dunkirk evacuation to Margate with 500 British troops. She sailed back to Dunkirk and on 1 June was attacked by 12 Messerschmitt aircraft. "Dundalk" then sailed back to Margate giving assistance to the "Havant" en route. She arrived at Margate at 12.15 on 1 June and disembarked 280 troops. She returned to Dunkirk, embarked about 450 French troops and arrived back at Folkestone on 3 June. The ship was
HMS Dundalk (J60)
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Dunkirk Evacuation (27 May to 4 June 1940). He and a friend travelled by train from Cambridge to Chatham, Kent. There, they underwent an interview, and, being officer cadets in the RNVR, they were accepted for immediate service. Having been recruited in Chatham, he was sent to Ramsgate, Kent, to take command of a ship. He became captain of a newly seized Belgian merchant ship, therefore gaining his first independent command at 21 years old. He and his command then joined the little ships of Dunkirk and he became involved in the Dunkirk Evacuation. He and his ship rescued 150
John St Aubyn, 4th Baron St Levan
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Operation Aerial Operation Aerial (also Operation Ariel) was the name given to the Second World War evacuation of Allied forces and civilians, from ports in western France, from 15 to 25 June 1940. The evacuation followed the military collapse in the Battle of France against Nazi Germany, after Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk and Operation Cycle, an embarkation from Le Havre, which finished on 13 June. British and Allied ships were covered from French bases by five Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter squadrons and assisted by aircraft based in England, to lift British, Polish and Czech troops, civilians and
Operation Aerial
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but $1,750,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $371,000. Dunkirk (1958 film) Dunkirk is a 1958 British war film directed by Leslie Norman and starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough, and Bernard Lee. The film is based on the novels "The Big Pick-Up" by Elleston Trevor and "Dunkirk" co-authored by Lt. Col. Ewan Butler and Maj. J. S. Bradford. The film is set during Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of surrounded British and French troops from the beaches of Dunkirk, France between 26 May and 4 June 1940, during the Second World War. Events are seen mostly from the viewpoints of two
Dunkirk (1958 film)
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Dunkirk (1958 film) Dunkirk is a 1958 British war film directed by Leslie Norman and starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough, and Bernard Lee. The film is based on the novels "The Big Pick-Up" by Elleston Trevor and "Dunkirk" co-authored by Lt. Col. Ewan Butler and Maj. J. S. Bradford. The film is set during Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of surrounded British and French troops from the beaches of Dunkirk, France between 26 May and 4 June 1940, during the Second World War. Events are seen mostly from the viewpoints of two people, a civilian in England, newspaper reporter Charles Foreman
Dunkirk (1958 film)
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to the skies for what will be the next threat of total war. Dunkirk finally falls to the enemy but the rescued troops of the BEF make up the core of Britain's wartime army. Reviews were mixed, though "The Telegraph" thought the documentary portrayed the events very fairly. They singled out Simon Russell Beale's portrayal of Winston Churchill as "in a superior class altogether". Dunkirk (TV series) Dunkirk is a 2004 BBC television factual about the Battle of Dunkirk and the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II. "Dunkirk" used archive film footage, eyewitness accounts and original dramatised sequences to describe
Dunkirk (TV series)
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postwar, attribute 299 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed and 65 seriously damaged by RAF fighters. The last 66 Hurricanes of the 452 engaged during the Battle of France left France on 21 June; 178 were abandoned at several airfields, notably Merville, Abbeville, and Lille/Seclin. During Operation Dynamo (the evacuation from Dunkirk of British, French and Belgian troops cut off by the German army during the Battle of Dunkirk), the Hawker Hurricanes operated from British bases. Between 26 May and 3 June 1940, the 14 Hurricane units involved were credited with 108 air victories. A total of 27 Hurricane pilots became aces during
Hawker Hurricane
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sharing in the war effort. In early June 1940, about 13,500 evacuees were shipped to Casablanca in French Morocco but after the capitulation of the French to the Germans in June 1940, the new pro-German French Vichy Government found the presence of Gibraltarian evacuees in Casablanca an embarrassment and sought an opportunity to remove them. That opportunity soon arose when 15 British cargo ships arrived under Commodore Crichton; they were repatriating 15,000 French servicemen who had been evacuated from Dunkirk. Once the rescued servicemen had disembarked, the ships were interned until they agreed to take away all the evacuees. Although
Evacuation of the Gibraltarian civilian population during World War II
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In May 1940 she was again reassigned, this time to Dover Command to take part in Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, which she joined on 28 May 1940. She made seven trips between Dunkirk and Dover, England, carrying 241 troops in a voyage on 29 May 582 and 622 troops in two trips on 30 May 640 and 168 troops in two voyages on 1 June 1940, and 37 and 414 troops in two trips on 3 June 1940. On 12 June 1940 she joined the escort of the French battleship "Jean Bart" on "Jean
HMS Vanquisher (D54)
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recommissioned to attend the Royal Review of the Reserve Fleet in Weymouth Bay. At the outbreak of war "Wakeful" was assigned to convoy escort duty with the 17th Destroyer Flotilla, which was part of the Western Approaches Command. "Wakeful" was selected to support Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of allied troops from Dunkirk, on 26 May 1940. On 27 May 1940 "Wakeful" embarked 631 Allied troops. While returning them to Dover "Wakeful" came under air attack and received minor damage below the waterline. Despite the near miss "Wakeful" returned to Dunkirk to continue the evacuation, embarking 640 Allied troops on 28
HMS Wakeful (H88)
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be lost in the best of circumstances". Hitler did not rescind the Halt Order until the evening of 26 May. The three days thus gained gave a vital breathing space to the Royal Navy to arrange the evacuation of the British and Allied troops. About 338,000 men were rescued in about 11 days. Of these some 215,000 were British and 123,000 were French, of whom 102,250 escaped in British ships. On 26 May, Anthony Eden told General Lord Gort, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the BEF, that he might need to "fight back to the west", and ordered him to prepare plans
Battle of Dunkirk
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and 463 troops on her final voyage from Dunkirk on 4 June. In all, she evacuated 3,128 or 4,410 troops (sources differ) in her five evacuation voyages to the Dunkirk beachhead. "Venomous" was released from operations related to the Battle of France on 7 June 1940 and reassigned to convoy defence and anti-invasion patrols in the North Sea, which she conducted through August 1940. She and the destroyer were escorting Convoy FN 19 off Great Yarmouth on 11 June 1940 when they came under attack by six German aircraft, but she used skilful manoeuvring to avoid damage. In September 1940,
HMS Venomous
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Battle of Boulogne (1940) The Battle of Boulogne was the defence of the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer by French, British and Belgian troops, during the Battle of France of the Second World War in 1940. The battle was fought at the same time as the Siege of Calais, just before Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) through Dunkirk. After the Franco-British counter-attack at the Battle of Arras (21 May) German units were held ready to resist a resumption of the attack on 22 May, despite the protests of General Heinz Guderian, the commander of XIX Corps, who
Battle of Boulogne (1940)
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to retreat into the Brittany peninsula. Following Operation Cycle (10 to 13 June), Operation Ariel, the final Allied evacuation, began on 15 June. Norman Force In the Battle of France in June 1940, Norman Force was a formation of units of the British Expeditionary Force, following the Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo). On 12 June 1940, Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Brooke returned to France and next day, assumed command of all British troops in the country. He placed the British units fighting with the Tenth Army under the command of Lieutenant-General J. H. Marshall-Cornwall. This improvised formation was known as Norman Force
Norman Force
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citizens before returning to Dover. On 25 May, she and the destroyer engaged German 150-mm (5.9-inch) howitzers in defence of the evacuation of Calais. On 26 May 1940, "Wolsey" was assigned to Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied troops from the beaches at Dunkirk, France. She embarked evacuees from small craft offshore on 27 May and disembarked 102 evacuated troops at Dover on 28 May. She delivered another 315 troops from Dunkirk at Dover on 29 May. On 30 May, she made two evacuation voyages, carrying 616 troops to Dover on the first one and 1,065 on the second. On
HMS Wolsey
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de Marine" units, 4 tugs and 2 patrol vessels. The Belgian fishing fleet itself transported 4,300 British and French soldiers to the English coast. Among the notable Belgian ships to participate in the evacuation were: An Irish Marine and Coastwatching Service Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) made two separate trips to rescue allied soldiers during the Dunkirk evacuation. In nine days, 192,226 British and 139,000 French soldiers – more than 331,000 total – were rescued by the 700 little ships and around 220 warships. The rescue operation turned a military disaster into a story of heroism which served to raise the
Little Ships of Dunkirk
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on 3 June 1940, in which blockships were sunk to block the harbor at Dunkirk; she took aboard the crews of the sunken ships and brought them to Dover. One of those rescued from Dunkirk was the Rev Ivan Neill who would later become the Chaplain General. After the evacuation was complete, "Vivacious" was transferred to the 21st Destroyer Flotilla at Sheerness on 7 June 1940 for convoy escort and anti-invasion patrol duty in the North Sea. While escorting Convoy FN 288 from Southend to Methil on 22 September 1940, a mine detonated near her, causing damage that was not
HMS Vivacious (D36)
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Charlie Hurst Charlie Hurst (25 January 1919 – 23 January 1999) was an English footballer who played as a centre half for various clubs including Bristol Rovers, Oldham Athletic and Rochdale. Hurst was born in Denton, Lancashire and started his football career with Hyde United in the 1930s before playing for Bristol Rovers, Oldham Athletic and Rochdale. The Second World War, which took the best years of his footballing career, saw him serve in the British Army and he was one of the many soldiers rescued during the Dunkirk Evacuation in 1940. After the war had finished he returned to
Charlie Hurst
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Daffodil" along with the passenger steamer "Archangel" carried troops of the 30th Brigade to Calais. She was one of the ships that took part in Operation Dynamo, the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. She rescued 9,500 men in seven trips. On 2 June 1940, a bomb passed straight through her and exploded under her. The explosion caused a hole in the starboard side, and the Master ordered everyone to port side, which raised the hole out of the water and enabled a temporary patch of mattresses and wood to be applied. "Royal Daffodil" made it safely to Ramsgate and disembarked the
MV Royal Daffodil (1939)
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establish a second British Expeditionary Force in France after the evacuation at Dunkirk. He was later promoted to Major General and appointed General Officer Commanding the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division in 1941. Roberts was put in charge of the ground troops for the raid against Dieppe, on August 19, 1942. His command post was aboard and due to poor communications he had no idea how his troops were managing, until they called for landing craft for immediate evacuation. Roberts was criticized for unnecessarily committing his reserve troops (Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal) and inadvertently increasing the casualties. He was relieved of his
John Hamilton Roberts
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would form the rearguard. In fact, the 35,000 men who finally surrendered after covering the final evacuations were mostly French soldiers of 2nd Light Mechanized Division and the 68th Infantry Division. Their resistance allowed the evacuation effort to be extended to 4 June, on which date another 26,175 Frenchmen were transported to England. The evacuation was presented to the German public as an overwhelming and decisive German victory. On 5 June 1940, Hitler stated "Dunkirk has fallen! 40,000 French and English troops are all that remains of the formerly great armies. Immeasurable quantities of material have been captured. The greatest
Dunkirk evacuation
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in the evacuation of British troops from Åndalsnes on the night of 30 April/1 May, and continuing to operate off Norway for the rest of the month. In early June 1940 "Westcott" took part in the escort of a convoy (including the liners , , , and ) carrying Australian troops to the United Kingdom, on the leg from Gibraltar to Britain. "Westcott" then took part in Operation Ariel, the evacuation from ports in Western France of Allied troops who had remained in France following the evacuations from Dunkirk and Le Havre. "Westcott" was sent to Brest, but collided with
HMS Westcott (D47)
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and build a defensive line. Despite the Allies' gloomy estimates of the situation, with some in Britain even discussing a conditional surrender to Germany, in the end more than 330,000 Allied troops were rescued. On 10 May 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. By 26 May, the BEF and the French 1st Army were bottled up in a corridor to the sea, about deep and wide. Most of the British forces were still around Lille, over from Dunkirk, with the French further south. Two massive German armies flanked them. General Fedor von Bock's Army Group B
Battle of Dunkirk
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the battlecruisers , which had been sunk by "Bismarck", and and the battleship , both of which were sunk by Japanese bombers in late 1941. The Royal Navy provided critical cover for the British and French troops during the Dunkirk evacuation and rescued the bulk of the troops, the remainder being evacuated by a fleet of small ships. Later the Navy provided cover for the Dieppe Raid catastrophe, that saw 3,623 of the 6,086 men who made it ashore killed, wounded, or captured. In the summer of 1941, the Soviet Union entered the war on the side of Britain. Although
Maritime history of the United Kingdom
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80th Infantry (Reserve) Division and later to the 47th Infantry (Reserve) Division. The regiment raised many other battalions during the war, although none of them saw active service overseas in their original roles, instead some were converted to other roles. The 21st Battalion, for example, formed soon after the Dunkirk evacuation, was sent to India in the summer of 1942 and later became part of the 52nd Infantry Brigade, acting in a training capacity in order to train British troops in jungle warfare for service in the Burma Campaign. The 23rd Battalion, also created in June/July 1940, was later converted
Royal Fusiliers
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of 1940. Money was donated by Guides throughout the British Empire from their salaries or, for those too young to work, by earning money doing odd jobs. "Guide of Dunkirk" was built by Rowhedge Iron Works near Colchester, UK, and was unnamed when she was called into service straight from the builder's yard for the Dunkirk evacuation on 1 June 1940. She had the designation ON 826. At the Dunkirk evacuation, she made two crossings. Her crew was made up of men from Walton-on-the-Naze and Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, under British Naval command. On her first trip, she was used to ferry
RNLB Guide of Dunkirk (ON 826)
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LAA Rgt at the Dunkirk evacuation, where his guns had defended the Mole and protected the embarkation of many of the troops. The cities of NW England were heavily bombed during the winter of 1940–41 (the Liverpool Blitz and Manchester Blitz). On the night of 21/22 November the Manchester guns engaged raiders on their way to and from Liverpool, and on the following two nights it was Manchester's turn to be hit. Raids on Manchester peaked at Christmas. The Royal Artillery's historian considered that during these attacks on British cities 'the actions fought [by the AA batteries] were as violent,
44th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom)
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as late as the North African campaign of 1942. On 2 June, the Dean of St Paul's, Walter Matthews, was the first to call the evacuation the "Miracle of Dunkirk". A marble memorial to the battle stands at Dunkirk. The French inscription is translated as: "To the glorious memory of the pilots, mariners, and soldiers of the French and Allied armies who sacrificed themselves in the Battle of Dunkirk, May–June 1940." The missing dead of the BEF are commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial. British press later exploited the successful evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, and particularly the role of the
Battle of Dunkirk
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carrying about 400 evacuees each, along the way knocking out a German tank and shooting up two German troop columns. "Venomous" and "Wild Swan" then escorted the damaged "Venetia" to Dover. On 26 May 1940, "Venomous" began operations in support of Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied personnel from the beachhead around Dunkirk, France. She made two trips on 31 May 1940, carrying 670 troops from De Panne, Belgium and Bray-Dunes, France, on the first one and 408 troops from the pier at Dunkirk on the second. She transported 630 troops on 2 June 1940, 957 more on 3 June,
HMS Venomous
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troops lacked steel helmets. Only gradually did a full complement of more modern weapons, equipment, and transport begin reaching the division in 1940. Nevertheless, in the wake of the disastrous Battle of France and the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940, the 1st Canadian Division was ordered to France the following month. Among the infantry units that landed at Brest were The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR), The 48th Highlanders of Canada and The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, all part of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade. Members of the RCR were present
1st Canadian Division
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Royal Navy warships, held out from 22 to 27 May 1940 against the 10th Panzer Division. The town was flattened by artillery and precision dive bombing and only 30 of the 3800-strong defending force were evacuated before the town fell. This may have helped Operation "Dynamo", the evacuation of Allied forces at Dunkirk, as 10th Panzer would have been involved on the Dunkirk perimeter had it not been busy at Calais. Between 26 May and 4 June 1940, some 330,000 Allied troops escaped from the Germans at Dunkirk. During the ensuing German occupation, it became the command post for German
Calais
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land his troops near Narvik and wait until the snow melted to take over the town. Coordinated by the Norwegian General Carl Gustav Fleischer, Norwegian, French, Polish, and British forces recaptured Narvik on 28 May 1940. This is also considered the first Allied infantry victory in World War II. However, by that time, the Allies were losing the Battle of France and the evacuation from Dunkirk was underway. Since the Nazi German invasion of France had made Scandinavia largely irrelevant, and since the valuable troops assigned to Narvik were badly needed elsewhere, the Allies withdrew from Narvik on 8 June
Narvik
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Air Component of the British Expeditionary Force, to support operations in France, where the RAF suffered heavy losses. After the evacuation of British and French soldiers from Dunkirk and the French surrender on 22 June 1940, Hitler mainly focused his energies on the possibility of invading the Soviet Union in the belief that the British, defeated on the continent and without European allies, would quickly come to terms. The Germans were so convinced of an imminent armistice that they began constructing street decorations for the homecoming parades of victorious troops. Although the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, and certain elements
Battle of Britain
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commissioned directly into the Army and held army ranks, and those remaining in the FANY, known as Free FANYs. The first recruits to the ATS were employed as cooks, clerks and storekeepers. At the outbreak of the Second World War, 300 ATS members were billeted to France. As the German Army advanced through France, the British Expeditionary Force was driven back towards the English Channel. This led to the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk in May 1940, and some ATS telephonists were among the last British personnel to leave the country. As more men joined the war effort, it was
Auxiliary Territorial Service
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time of the incident she was transporting mostly Italian prisoners of war from Cape Town to Freetown, under the command of Captain Rudolph Sharp. The ship was carrying 463 officers and crew, 87 civilians, 286 British soldiers, 1,793 Italian prisoners and 103 Polish soldiers acting as guards of the prisoners. Sharp had previously commanded , which had been sunk by German bombs on 17 June 1940 off the French port of Saint-Nazaire while taking part in Operation Ariel, the evacuation of British nationals and troops from France, two weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation. At 10 p.m. on 12 September 1942,
Laconia incident
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Dunkirk (TV series) Dunkirk is a 2004 BBC television factual about the Battle of Dunkirk and the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II. "Dunkirk" used archive film footage, eyewitness accounts and original dramatised sequences to describe the events of the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation. The BBC also included an interactive 'red button' facility allowing television viewers to reach further information. The documentary has been described as helping the BBC build 'Digital Britain' and fulfill its public service remit. Day 1: Captain Bill Tennant, RN, at the Admiralty receives reports of the British Expeditionary Force's retreat and prepares to oversee Operation "Dynamo".
Dunkirk (TV series)
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General Maxime Weygand named him as Commander-in-Chief of the northern naval forces. Abrial worked in cooperation with the British troops during the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, even though he had not been informed of it prior to the operation. The operation began on 26 May with the requisitioning of several private boats in attempts to organize assistance from the French Navy. On 29 May the evacuation began; Abrial was one of the last to be evacuated. After evacuation, Abrial was based in Cherbourg — where, as senior officer, he was forced to surrender the port to the Germans on
Jean-Marie Charles Abrial
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the town of Dunkirk on one side, and ""Dunkerque 1940"" on the reverse side. Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was a military operation that took place in Dunkirk (Dunkerque), France, during the Second World War. The battle was fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation to Britain of British and other Allied forces in Europe from 26 May to 4 June 1940. After the Phoney War, the Battle of France began in earnest on 10 May 1940.
Battle of Dunkirk
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Ensign. Their British crews were taken aback when the tricolour was hoisted. They went on strike and refused to sail until the ships were transferred to the British registry and red ensign was restored. "Scotia" was sunk in the Dunkirk evacuation with the loss of 30 crew and 300 troops. "Hibernia" had a fortunate escape on the night of 20 December 1940. She was berthing at Dún Laoghaire when a German bomber swooped down. All lights were extinguished. Bombs fell on the nearby Sandycove railway station. The GWR ferries operated the Rosslare to Fishguard route sailed under the red ensign.
Irish Mercantile Marine during World War II
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replacement as captain was found to be missing on the second day of the Dunkirk evacuation, and the crew searched the entire vessel for him without result. On 1 June, "Vimy" collided with and sank the yacht "Amulree" in the Gull Channel, to the west of the Goodwin Sands. That same day an air attack caused some damage. During the evacuation of Dunkirk, "Vimy" transported 2,976 troops; for her efforts she received the battle honours "Dunkirk 1940". In 1941 she was reconstructed to long range escort, the work being finished in June 1941. On 21 September 1941, depth charges from
HMS Vancouver (1917)
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Norman Force In the Battle of France in June 1940, Norman Force was a formation of units of the British Expeditionary Force, following the Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo). On 12 June 1940, Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Brooke returned to France and next day, assumed command of all British troops in the country. He placed the British units fighting with the Tenth Army under the command of Lieutenant-General J. H. Marshall-Cornwall. This improvised formation was known as Norman Force and on 15 June comprised the 3rd Armoured Brigade of the 1st Armoured Division, the 157th (Highland Light Infantry) Brigade, 71st Field Regiment
Norman Force
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Regiment in 1927. In 1933, he was appointed as Chief Instructor at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst serving for three years. In 1937, he served briefly as General Staff Officer, Grade 1 (GSO1) for British troops stationed in China. At the start of the Second World War in September 1939, Irwin, promoted to temporary brigadier on 15 March 1939, headed the 6th Infantry Brigade, part of the 2nd Division. On 20 May 1940, he was promoted to acting major-general and took command of the division during the retreat to Dunkirk in the Battle of France. Following the Dunkirk evacuation in
Noel Irwin
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she serves as a charter boat. Aberdonia (yacht) The Aberdonia is a British pre-war motor yacht moored at Chelsea Harbour. Built by the Thornycroft ship yard and launched in 1935 "Aberdonia" has a rich history, former uses include a patrol boat, mine sweeper and is one of the Little ships of Dunkirk. "Aberdonia" was requisitioned to work as a patrol boat in the Royal Navy attached to HMS "Fervant" in 1940, at which time she was renamed "Navigator". She participated in the evacuation of Allied troops at Dunkirk. The yacht is believed to have made four trips to the shore
Aberdonia (yacht)
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Aberdonia (yacht) The Aberdonia is a British pre-war motor yacht moored at Chelsea Harbour. Built by the Thornycroft ship yard and launched in 1935 "Aberdonia" has a rich history, former uses include a patrol boat, mine sweeper and is one of the Little ships of Dunkirk. "Aberdonia" was requisitioned to work as a patrol boat in the Royal Navy attached to HMS "Fervant" in 1940, at which time she was renamed "Navigator". She participated in the evacuation of Allied troops at Dunkirk. The yacht is believed to have made four trips to the shore to take on men cut off
Aberdonia (yacht)
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of the war No. 4 Commando became part of the occupation force in Germany, but together with all other army commando units were disbanded in 1946. The British Commandos were organised for special service in June 1940. After the Dunkirk evacuation, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, called for a force to be assembled and equipped to inflict casualties on the Germans and bolster British morale. Churchill told the joint Chiefs of Staff to propose measures for an offensive against German-occupied Europe, and stated, "they must be prepared with specially trained troops of the hunter class who
No. 4 Commando
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reinforcements and supplies for the area had to travel around the Cape of Good Hope. For this reason, it was more convenient to reinforce General Sir Archibald Wavell's Middle East Command with troops from Australia, New Zealand and India. Nonetheless, even when Britain was threatened with invasion after the Battle of France and equipment was urgently required to re-equip the British Expeditionary Force after its losses in the Dunkirk evacuation, troops and supplies were still despatched to the Middle East Command. A convoy that departed the United Kingdom in August 1940 brought guns, stores, ammunition, and three armoured regiments, including
Battle of Bardia
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Canadian Navy, and took part in the Dunkirk evacuation, where more than 338,000 allied troops were rescued during the Battle of Dunkirk. Paul McLaughlin (sailor) Paul James McLaughlin (September 28, 1919 – July 2, 2000) was a Canadian sailor. He competed at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics in single-person dinghy and finished fifth and eighth, respectively. At both Games he was the captain and manager of the Canadian sailing teams. In 1977 he was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. Paul's wife was also a competitive sailor. Their sons Terry and Frank became Olympic medalists in sailing, and
Paul McLaughlin (sailor)
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end of the month by the need to evacuate the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. On 29 May, "Express" towed the disabled destroyer clear of a wreck in Dunkirk harbour and transferred many of her evacuees aboard before she could repair her engines later that day. The following day, Rear-Admiral Frederic Wake-Walker, commanding the ships involved in the evacuation, briefly hoisted his flag aboard her. She was lightly damaged by bomb splinters on 31 May, but continued to ferry soldiers back to England. The ship and the destroyer were the last ships to leave Dunkirk with troops on 4 June
HMS Express (H61)
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in the Siege of Calais. On 26 May, along with the squadron's Lysanders, six Hectors dive bombed German positions around Calais and on the following day, attempted to drop supplies to the troops, unaware that they had already surrendered; two Hectors were lost. Hectors were used by the RAF from 1940 as target-tugs, and for towing the General Aircraft Hotspur training glider. Irish Air Corps examples were received after the Dunkirk Evacuation. In general they were in poor condition. They were sold by the British War Office to Ireland upon requests for aircraft. The Irish military were wholly unprepared for
Hawker Hector
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evacuation. It accurately depicts a few Royal Air Force planes dogfighting the Luftwaffe over the sea, limited to one hour of operation by their fuel capacity. In 1940, destroyers and fighter planes were indeed held back from battle, as the Royal Navy and Air Force would have been the sole defenders against invasion. Also noted were the accurate depictions of how a small boat attempted to evade aerial attack, and of how soldiers returning to England saw a civilian population largely unaware of or unaffected by the war. British officers did initially refuse to evacuate French soldiers, although Churchill later
Dunkirk (2017 film)
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Bn was still part of 27th AA Bde, but was now in 6 AA Division, responsible for guarding the Thames Estuary. Early in 1940, 34 AA Bn supplied searchlight detachments for the Thames Defence Flotilla, three paddle steamers converted as Auxiliary AA ships: HMS "Royal Eagle", "Crested Eagle" and "Golden Eagle". On 29 May the Flotilla was ordered to France to assist in the evacuation from Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo). Between the three ships over 3500 men were rescued, often at great risk to the crews. "Crested Eagle" was bombed and sunk by "Luftwaffe" aircraft off Dunkirk on 29 May. Great
20th Battalion, London Regiment (Blackheath and Woolwich)
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, a of the 7th Destroyer Squadron, based in the Mediterranean, which had experienced some engine problems and therefore had to be replaced. "Dunkirk" finally returned home in 1963. In 1965 "Dunkirk" was listed as 'reserve' and later that year was scrapped at Faslane. HMS Dunkirk (D09) HMS "Dunkirk" (D09) was a later or 1943 fleet destroyer of the British Royal Navy (RN). Though there were other ships of the Navy that had been named "Dunkirk", as far back as the 1650s, it held added meaning after the evacuation from Dunkirk between late May and early June 1940, in which
HMS Dunkirk (D09)
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evacuations. At 10:20 on 4 June, the Germans hoisted the swastika over the docks from which so many British and French troops had escaped. The desperate resistance of Allied forces, especially the French 12th Motorised Infantry Division from the Fort des Dunes, had bought time for the evacuation of the bulk of the troops. The Wehrmacht captured some 35,000 soldiers, almost all of them French. These men had protected the evacuation until the last moment and were unable to embark. The same fate was reserved for the survivors of the French 12th Motorised Infantry Division (composed in particular of the
Battle of Dunkirk
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she had carried over 30,000 passengers. Mobilized at the outbreak of World War II, she served as a troop transport and a hospital ship by the Allied Navy for the rest of the war. In 1940 she, along with MS "Chrobry", transported allied troops to Norway. She was also responsible for secretly shipping many valuable Polish treasures to Canada for safekeeping. She participated in the evacuation of Dunkirk late May early June, taking aboard 2,500 persons. Later she carried as many as 6,000 people in one evacuation. In June to July, she secretly transported much of Britain's gold reserves (₤40
MS Batory
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the flagship for Operation Lyster, the sinking of two blockships at Zeebrugge. The following day, she joined the Polish Navy destroyer in a night reconnaissance of the harbor at Dunkirk, France, to determine whether Allied troops could be evacuated there; although two German aircraft attacked them and there were many wrecks in the harbor, they found it navigable, and the Royal Navy decided to send ships there to evacuate troops. On 10 June 1940 she escorted blockships to Dieppe, France, and, after they sank themselves to block the harbor there, supported the evacuation of Allied personnel from Le Havre, France.
HMS Vega (L41)
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were evacuated and just before midnight on 2 June, Admiral Bertram Ramsay, the officer commanding the evacuation, received the signal "BEF evacuated"; the French began to fall back slowly. By 3 June, the Germans were from Dunkirk and at on 4 June, the Germans hoisted the swastika over the docks. Before Operation Dynamo, were embarked from Dunkirk; most of the remaining a total of troops along with and some Belgian troops, were evacuated from Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June, though having to abandon much of their equipment, vehicles and heavy weapons. Allied forces north of the Somme were
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
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September 1940, recruitment for the Free French movement plummeted and Germany responded by permitting Vichy France to maintain its remaining ships armed, rather than demobilised. In early June 1940, about 13,500 civilians had been evacuated from Gibraltar to Casablanca in French Morocco. Following the capitulation of the French to the Germans and the attack on Mers-el-Kébir, the Vichy government found their presence an embarrassment. Later in June, 15 British cargo vessels arrived in Casablanca under Commodore Crichton, repatriating 15,000 French servicemen who had been rescued from Dunkirk. Once the French troops had disembarked, the ships were interned until the Commodore
Attack on Mers-el-Kébir
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1940 under Captain D. Buining, the most men saved amongst the Dutch coasters. The vessel had already saved the crew of the British coaster on 30 January 1940. Other Dutch coasters that saved more than 1,000 men each were: Of these ships, seven were lost at Dunkirk or during the evacuation nearer the British coast. The Belgian Army, commanded by King Leopold III, had surrendered to the Germans on 28 May. However, numerous ships from the fishing fleet and small "Corps de Marine" were involved in Operation Dynamo. In total, 65 Belgian ships participated, including 54 fishing boats, 4 "Corps
Little Ships of Dunkirk
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the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the port of Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June 1940, a German invasion of Great Britain seemed likely. However, the British Army was not well equipped to defend the country in such an event; in the weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation it could only field twenty-seven divisions. The army was particularly short of anti-tank guns, 840 of which had been left behind in France and only 167 were available in Britain; ammunition was so scarce for the remaining guns that regulations forbade even a single round being used for training purposes.
Sticky bomb
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Iceland. "Havant" joined the Dunkirk evacuation on 29 May and rescued over 2,300 men by 1 June. That morning she had embarked 500 troops and then went alongside the destroyer , which had been disabled by German dive bombers earlier that morning. The ship loaded all of the troops and wounded from "Ivanhoe" and sailed for Dover under heavy air attack. Shortly afterwards, Stukas hit "Havant" with two bombs in her engine room and another exploded beneath her hull. Eight crewmen were killed and 25 were wounded in the attack. At least 25 soldiers were also killed. She was severely
HMS Havant (H32)
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Roberts was immediately ordered back to Cherbourg to organise the evacuation of the rear area Postal units and any outstanding mails. Meanwhile, British troops left on French soil west of the river Seine had their own problems, Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) E G Hucker RE, OC 2nd Line of Communications (L of C) Postal Unit RE, was among them and kept a private diary (held in the RE Library). His entries for 9–10 June 1940 give some insight into the confusion that reigned immediately after the fall of Dunkirk, he recorded: Sunday 9 June 1940: ...Trucks of inward (UK) mails
History of the British Army postal service
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by a hastily assembled fleet of over 800 boats. Many troops were able to embark from the harbour's protective mole onto 39 British Royal Navy destroyers, four Royal Canadian Navy destroyers, and a variety of civilian merchant ships, while others had to wade out from the beaches, waiting for hours in shoulder-deep water. Some were ferried to the larger ships by what came to be known as the little ships of Dunkirk, a flotilla of hundreds of merchant marine boats, fishing boats, pleasure craft, yachts, and lifeboats called into service from Britain. The BEF lost 68,000 soldiers during the French
Dunkirk evacuation
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31 May while at Dunkirk, she suffered damage when a fire broke out in her degaussing equipment and in a collision with a merchant ship, but despite her damage she deployed offshore to serve as a wireless transmitter link between Dunkirk and Dover and later in the day landed 425 evacuated troops at Dover. She carried another 535 troops from Dunkirk to Dover on 1 June before being withdrawn from evacuation operations later in the day for repairs. "Wolsey" proceeded to Portsmouth on 2 June 1940, where she entered the Royal Navy Dockyard on 3 June for repairs. Upon their
HMS Wolsey
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1939, the "Ben-my-Chree" was requisitioned and served as a personnel ship until she was released from service in May 1946. Under the command of her Master Captain G. Woods, ""The Ben"" served alongside seven of her Steam Packet sisters during Operation Dynamo. She made three trips to Dunkirk, and rescued a total of 4,095 troops from the stricken port. Her only mishap was when she sustained damage after she came into collision with another ship soon after leaving Folkestone for Dunkirk, and this effectively finished her part in the Dunkirk Evacuation. Later she was engaged on trooping and transport duties
SS Ben-my-Chree (1927)
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James was a full admiral. During World War II, James served as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth from 1939. In 1940 he commanded Operation Ariel, the evacuation of British troops from Brittany and Normandy, a parallel operation to the Dunkirk evacuation. In 1942 he was appointed as Chief of Naval Information, in charge of coordinating naval publicity. James was elected in 1943 as Conservative Member of Parliament for the constituency of Portsmouth North, which he held until 1945. He retired from the Navy in 1944. Following his retirement from public life, James was active in support for ventures relating to seafaring, supporting clubs
William James (Royal Navy officer, born 1881)
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1940, where he oversaw the evacuation of Brussels as well as the beach at De Panne during the evacuation of Dunkirk. After a brief period of time in the Irish Free State, he volunteered for parachute training and joined the 1st Parachute Battalion, and was its commanding officer when its parent formation, the 1st Parachute Brigade, was deployed to North Africa. Hill commanded the battalion during its first airborne operation in North Africa, dropping near the towns of Souk el-Arba and Béja, in Tunisia. It secured Beja and then sent out patrols to harass German troops, ambushing a convoy and
James Hill (British Army officer)
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Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was a military operation that took place in Dunkirk (Dunkerque), France, during the Second World War. The battle was fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation to Britain of British and other Allied forces in Europe from 26 May to 4 June 1940. After the Phoney War, the Battle of France began in earnest on 10 May 1940. To the east, the German Army Group B invaded the Netherlands and advanced westward.
Battle of Dunkirk
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the French soldiers evacuated from France in June 1940, about 3,000 joined Charles de Gaulle's Free French army in Britain. In France, the unilateral British decision to evacuate through Dunkirk rather than counter-attack to the south, and the perceived preference of the Royal Navy for evacuating British forces at the expense of the French, led to some bitter resentment. According to Churchill, French Admiral François Darlan originally ordered that the British forces should receive preference, but on 31 May, he intervened at a meeting in Paris to order that the evacuation should proceed on equal terms and that the British
Dunkirk evacuation
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total of 838 children had been sent under the auspices of the American Committee for the Evacuation of European Children, with the collaboration of the Children’s Overseas Reception Board. On 10 May 1940, the Germans started their second blitzkrieg that overran the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and threatened France. Neville Chamberlain, resigned immediately as Prime Minister, and Winston Churchill was appointed to head a coalition government. Shortly afterwards the Germans initiated their assault on France, quickly overrunning the northern part of the country and forcing the evacuation of British and French troops from Dunkirk between 27 May and 4 June.
Children's Overseas Reception Board
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the sloop and the paddle minesweeper "Queen of Thanet", took off "Prague"s load of 3,000 French troops before "Prague" beached herself on the Sandwich Flats. "Shikari" herself was damaged by German bombing on 1 June. "Shikari" continued to make evacuation runs and at 03:40 on the night of 3/4 June 1940 was the last ship to leave Dunkirk. In total, "Shikari" made seven trips to Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo, embarking 3349 troops. After Dunkirk, "Shikari" returned to escort work, and on 4 July, when the cargo ship was damaged by German dive bombers and then collided with , "Shikari" took
HMS Shikari (D85)
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six from R & W Paul Ltd, grain and agricultural merchants of Harwich. At the outbreak of war, 10 of the 16 vessels in the fleet of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company were requisitioned. Four were lost. Eight of the company's ships took part in the Dunkirk evacuation. "Mona’s Isle" was the first to leave Dover, and the first vessel to complete a round trip. By the end of operations, the fleet had rescued a total of 24,699, 1 in 14 of those evacuated from Dunkirk. Whilst the evacuation is widely regarded as the Isle of Man Steam
Little Ships of Dunkirk
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Four of them were lost, three retained by the government and four returned to service. and also served as aircraft/seaplane carriers. In the Second World War, ten of the fleet of sixteen ships were commandeered for active duty, four of which were lost. The Dunkirk evacuation was perhaps the company's finest hour, with "Mona's Isle (IV)" being the first to leave Dover and the first to complete the round trip during the evacuation. Eight company ships took part in this mission, rescuing a total of 24,699 British troops – one in fourteen of those evacuated from Dunkirk. However this was
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
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1942. On mobilisation in 1939, the Regiment was part of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) that was sent to France, initially attached to the 1st Infantry Division in the Lille area. In May 1940 it would be attached in turn to the 46th and 44th Infantry Divisions during the German advance the regiments Guns and vehicles were caught in a traffic jam and had to be destroyed, with the troops proceeding on foot to Dunkirk for evacuation. Back in the United Kingdom the regiment was attached to the 1st Infantry Brigade while it reformed it remained in the United Kingdom
Sussex Yeomanry