At 18.57 hours on Sunday, 26 May 1940, the Admiralty issued the directive which instigated the start of Operation Dynamo. This was the order to rescue the British Expeditionary Force from the French port of Dunkirk and the beaches surrounding it. The Admiralty believed that it would only be able to rescue 45,000 men over the course of the following two days, ‘at the end of which’, read the signal to Admiral Ramsey at Dover, ‘it was probable that evacuation would be terminated by enemy action’. The Admiralty, however, was wrong.

Between 26 May and 4 June 1940, when Dynamo officially ended, an armada of ships, big and small, naval and civilian achieved what had been considered impossible. In fact, in this period a total of 338,682 men had been disembarked at British ports. Such a figure has exceeded the expectations of most. Little wonder, therefore, that an editorial in The New York Times at the beginning of June declared, ‘So long as the English tongue survives, the word Dunkirk will be spoken with reverence’.

Through 100 objects, from the wreck of a ship through to a dug-up rifle, and individual photographs to large memorials, all of which represent a moving snapshot of the past, the author sets out to tell the story of what came to be known as The Miracle of Dunkirk. The full-color photographs of each 100 items are accompanied by detailed explanations of the object and the people and events which make them so special or relevant.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Acknowledgements
• THE 100 OBJECTS
  • 1 Wartime Postcard of General Lord Gort
  • 2 The War Office, Whitehall
  • 3 Vice-Admiral Ramsay’s Headquarters
  • 4 The Tunnels at Dover Castle
  • 5 Official Evacuation Chart
  • 6 HMS Wolsey Underway
  • 7 The Steamer Mona’s Isle
  • 8 Battle-scarred Château Coquelle
  • 9 A Spitfire Survivor
  • 10 Steamer’s War Service Plaque
  • 11 Admiral Tennant Memorial
  • 12 Teddington Lock Memorial
  • 13 Hôtel du Sauvage in Cassel
  • 14 Bastion No.32
  • 15 The East Mole Information Panel
  • 16 The Droit Office
  • 17 The Barn at La Plaine au Bois
  • 18 Wormhoudt Lake
  • 19 The Beach at Malo-les-Bains
  • 20 The Dunes at Bray
  • 21 Bombed at Dunkirk
  • 22 French Anti-Aircraft Positions
  • 23 Margate’s Winter Gardens
  • 24 The Jetty at Margate
  • 25 Naval Beachmaster’s Photographs
  • 26 HMS Wakeful’s Tread-plate
  • 27 The East Mole is Damaged
  • 28 Sea Scouts at Dunkirk
  • 29 The Ketch Reda
  • 30 Medway Queen
  • 31 Princess Elizabeth
  • 32 The Crested Eagle Binoculars
  • 33 Mona’s Queen’s Anchor
  • 34 Thames Sailing Barge Greta
  • 35 Bullet-Holed Lifeboat Relic
  • 36 An Airman’s Letter
  • 37 Telegram Confirming Loss of Gracie Fields
  • 38 The Cockle-Boat Heroes
  • 39 The Dunkirk Challenge
  • 40 Hurricane ‘R’ for ‘Robert’
  • 41 The Fishing Boat Tamzine
  • 42 The Wreck of Devonia
  • 43 Grave of Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson
  • 44 Fire Float Massey Shaw
  • 45 An Air Gunner Casualty
  • 46 The Dunkirk VC
  • 47 HMS Havant Memorial Window
  • 48 Piece of Timber from the East Mole
  • 49 Motor Yacht Tom Tit
  • 50 RNLI Lifeboat E.M.E.D.
  • 51 Damaged Over Dunkirk
  • 52 Man Overboard
  • 53 ‘Little Ship’ With a Titanic Connection
  • 54 Sergeant Jack Potter’s Flying Goggles
  • 55 Sub-Lieutenant Crosby’s Photographs
  • 56 Avro Anson in Action
  • 57 The Maritime Hospital, Zuydcoote
  • 58 Admiralty Pier, Dover
  • 59 Squadron Leader Graham Davies DFC’s Logbook
  • 60 A Lifeboat Coxswain’s Dunkirk Gallantry
  • 61 An Improvised Rear-Admiral’s Flag
  • 62 Dynamo’s ‘Traffic Policeman’
  • 63 Dynamo’s Youngest Casualty
  • 64 The Cassel Gate, Bergues
  • 65 Porte de Bierne, Bergues
  • 66 A Dunkirk Rifle
  • 67 Blue Bird at Dunkirk
  • 68 German Propaganda Leaflet
  • 69 Account by the Master of Tynwald
  • 70 German Soldier’s Tug Photograph
  • 71 Ramsay’s Signal to His Whole Command
  • 72 Safely Home Letter
  • 73 Newspaper Coverage
  • 74 Rescuing the French Soldiers
  • 75 Aerial Combat Drawing
  • 76 Headcorn Railway Station
  • 77 Great Western Railway Account
  • 78 A Little Ship’s Red Ensign
  • 79 La Place de Minck Information Panel
  • 80 Souvenir German Photographs
  • 81 Battle Damage on the Church of Saint-Éloi
  • 82 A German Officer’s Report
  • 83 Minister of Shipping’s Broadcast
  • 84 Minister of Shipping’s Letter
  • 85 The Major’s Mistake
  • 86 An Improvised Rear Admiral’s Flag
  • 87 Fortunino Matania’s Depiction of the Scene at Dunkirk
  • 88 ‘The Curlew at Dunkirk’
  • 89 The Sinking of the Bourrasque
  • 90 ‘Home From Dunkirk’
  • 91 Operation Dynamo’s First Memorial
  • 92 Dunkirk Propaganda Tour
  • 93 Dunkirk Movie Poster
  • 94 The Dunkirk Medal
  • 95 The Dunkirk Veterans’ Memorial
  • 96 Vice-Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay’s Despatch
  • 97 Relics of Operation Dynamo
  • 98 Together Again
  • 99 The 1940 Dunkirk Veterans’ Association Memorial
  • 100 The Dunkirk Memorial
  • Notes and References