Ships mark 70th anniversary of Dunkirk evacuation

[Fade]

Ships mark 70th anniversary of Dunkirk evacuation

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2010/05/27/14136786.html

Dozens of WW2 ships and boats with veterans set out today from Ramsgate harbour to mark the “miracle of deliverance”.

[CanadianStormtrooper]

What a great operation, thank you englishmen :D
Canadians were also actively involved in the operation, and were some of the first Canadian soldiers and sailors on active duty specifically trained for WWII against the Germans.
There was a Canadian navy captain who took part in the event.

[nemowork]

Im still trying to figure this one out, as a Brit the one thing we dont do is obvious patriotism and waving the flag, on the other hand Dunkirk hits some deep rooted national nerve that i cant explain.

I dont know if its volunteering, the whole amateur spirit, citizens saving the government or all pulling together when we need to but there is something in Dunkirk that gets into our national identity and wont let go.

Ive seen quotes from 20 years ago where the owners of the little ships reckoned they would slowly become decrepit and be discarded and fade away, these are seriously antique boats that take a lot of high finance maintenance but exactly the opposite is true, every year more and more of the 1940 little ships are rescued and restored so that the fleet grows. Maybe its preparing for this years 70th anniversary but there have been more ships than ever this year.

[nemowork]

What a great operation, thank you englishmen :D
Canadians were also actively involved in the operation, and were some of the first Canadian soldiers and sailors on active duty specifically trained for WWII against the Germans.
There was a Canadian navy captain who took part in the event.

Robert Timbrell?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Timbrell

[mas-36]

It's also worth remembering the French troops who defended the perimeters of Dunkirk, as well as the city of Lille. Over the past few years, I've taken up an interest in the Dunkirk episode of 1940 and read quite a few books on the subject, both in English and French, and I've come to realize that the French side of this story is almost always left out in the US/UK versions of events and as a result, completely forgotten, despite it's great importance. The remnants of the French 1st Armee more often than not fought on to the last man and bullet so that the evacuations could take place. Without their sacrifice, the Dunkirk evacuations would have lasted only a day, if that.

[Kiiski]

Im still trying to figure this one out, as a Brit the one thing we dont do is obvious patriotism and waving the flag, on the other hand Dunkirk hits some deep rooted national nerve that i cant explain.

I dont know if its volunteering, the whole amateur spirit, citizens saving the government or all pulling together when we need to but there is something in Dunkirk that gets into our national identity and wont let go.

It is simply a damn fine story. Romantic, selfless, patriotic, you name it.

A cynic might suggest that the journeys between Dunkirk and English ports could have been done by regular RN vessels. He might also point out that a far greater contribution would have been made by running "shuttle" between the beaches and the RN vessels (this is obviously an unfair expectation).

But none of that really matters. During a summer when everything fell apart, a group of civilians did heroic deeds, largely at their own expense. It is a remarkable tale by any standards.

P.S. I have noticed that the UK has time and again done the same trick: When a military disaster takes place, a heroic story emerges to deflect attention from the real thing.

[curlyboy]

It is a fascinating story from the push out of France to Hitler refusing to push his units forward quick enough to catch them on the beaches.

Also the people taking part were normal citizens who understood well enough that they would be next to come under nazi attention and the more of the army that could be bought home the more would be there to fight when Hitler did try to invade.

Also an interesting note the second officer of the RMS Titanic Charles Lightoller was one of the 'common' people to go to the BEF's aid.

curlyboy

[Kiiski]

Also an interesting note the second officer of the RMS Titanic Charles Lightoller was one of the 'common' people to go to the BEF's aid.

Well, I took care to avoid the word 'common':)

[curlyboy]

Well, I took care to avoid the word 'common':)

I use it with the utmost respect of course.

But a lot of the people involved had no military background and were weekend sailors and day sailors and most had never crossed the channel which i a dangerous place anyday.

curlyboy

[nemowork]

Also an interesting note the second officer of the RMS Titanic Charles Lightoller was one of the 'common' people to go to the BEF's aid.

curlyboy


On 1st June, 1940, C.H. Lightoller, a retired naval officer who served on The Titantic, took his yacht Sundowner to help bring soldiers back from Dunkirk. One son, Pilot Officer H. B. Lightoller, had already been killed in the war. Another son helped him on board the Sundowner.

For some time now we had been subject to sporadic bombing and machine-gun fire, but as the Sundowner is exceptionally and extremely quick on the helm, by waiting till the last moment and putting the helm hard over - my son at the wheel - we easily avoided every attack, though sometimes near lifted out of the water.
The difficulty of taking troops on board from the quay high above us was obvious, so I went alongside a destroyer where they were already embarking. I got hold of her captain and told him I could take over a hundred (though the most I had ever had on board was twenty-one). He, after consultation with the military C.O., told me to carry on and get the troops aboard. I must say that before leaving England, we had worked all night stripping her down of everything movable, masts included, that would tend to lighten her and make for more room.

I now started to pack them on deck, having passed word below for every man to lie down and keep down; the same applied on deck. I could feel her getting distinctly tender, so took no more. Actually we had exactly a hundred and thirty on board. They were literally packed like the proverbial sardines, even one in the bath and another on the WC, so that all the poor devils could do was sit and be sick. So that after discharging our cargo in Ramsgate at ten p.m., there lay before the three of us a nice clearing-up job.


Although i'm not sure how reassuring its going be to find out that your Captain once had a hand in sinking the Titanic :lol:

And come to think of it got sunk at least once in WW 1 and a couple of other times as a merchant sailor?

[martinexsquaddie]

my great grandfather who was 70 at the time took my family's pleasure boat to Dunkirk that would have been a hell of a crossing from hastings anyway