Dunkirk

“Seargent stay here and hold the Germans off for as long as possible” ordered the officer. As the beaches emptied and nothing more could be achieved the Seargent and his men made a run for the sea. The Seargent had to swim a couple of miles out to a boat, abandoning the dog he had tried to save mid swim. And that is the family story of how my Grandad made it off Dunkirk. About 350,000 British, French and Belgian soldiers were evacuated from the beach over about a week. It was nearly the whole of the British army on that beach and they had to leave all heavy weapons. And I’m sure you have all heard about the horses. 3000 civilians alone were killed in the battles that raged all around. The British cemetery lists 3505 dead or missing. 250 RAF planes where lost. Then there were the French, Belgians and Germans (around 200 planes to start with) to add to that number. This trip has taught me a lot about the war.

Our first day at Dunkirk was wild and rainy. I’m sure in summer the beach would be nice as it is golden sand and a nice shelving beach. We did the town, the Dunkirk museum, the war graves and then wandered around the seafront. We lashed out on a not so expensive, but more than we normally pay French meal. Packed the van and headed for home. If you have not been to Dunkirk go and sober yourself up on the events of 1940.