Forgotten Voices of Dunkirk

It could have been the biggest military disaster suffered by the British in the Second World War, but instead the mass evacuation of Dunkirk became an inspiration and the "Dunkirk spirit" became synonymous with the strength of the British people in adversity. Towards the end of May 1940, over 400,000 Allied troops were trapped in and around the port of Dunkirk without shelter or supplies. Hitler's tanks were just ten miles away. But on May 26th, the British Admiralty launched Operation Dynamo. This famous rescue mission sent vast numbers of vessels—from navy destroyers and troopships to pleasure cruisers and fishing boats—over the Channel to Dunkirk. It was the smaller boats who picked up soldiers from the shallow beaches and transported them to the destroyers and transport ships, while at risk from minefields and German bombers. Of the 850 "Little Ships" that sailed to Dunkirk, 235 were lost, but over this nine day period 338,000 British and French troops were safely evacuated. Drawing on the wealth of material from the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive, Forgotten Voices of Dunkirk presents in the words of both rescued and rescuers an intimate and dramatic account of what Winston Churchill described as a "miracle of deliverance."