Fall of France and evacuation from the wreckage. May-early June 1940

Defence of the Port of Dunkirk

News was limited over the weekend of the 26th May. People in the village discussed the situation in France briefly, but there was no one with a taste for discussion at the White Hart. In fact, I heard one man tell another to 'put a sock in it'. People know there is no real news, and are tired of the speculation, I think. What's worse, what talk there is is mostly rumour based on fifth column' stories. German agents parachuted into the country to cause trouble mostly discussed as nuns. Ludicrous, but it did force me to consider an actual possible invasion for the first time.

The surrender of the Belgium King on the 28th caused considerable alarm, the local newspaper publishing a demand for a full review of 'home defence' in order to reassure the public. But there was equal space dedicated to the fate of the B.E.F. Thay were 'trapped' according to one headline, completely cut off from the main body of France, along with thousands of French troops, and all their heavy equipment. They were falling back on what ports we still controlled. Some believed that they could be lifted off by sea. Others thought that they may take a go at breaking out south, trying to smash through German lines and reconnect with the French south of the German thrust. Either way, the B.E.F. and other allied troops were at huge risk, and with them the bulk of our trained fighting strength.

Evacuation by sea

So, a naval withdraw began from the port town of Dunkirk. The army held a perimeter, trying to keep the Germans away from the beaches. The navy was getting some thousands off a day, the RAF battling back the Luftwaffe, The Daily Mirror's headline (31sy May) ran: Navy fights for B.E.F. - thousands home! But there were hundreds of thousands, and all the time, scanning newspapers, listening to the radio, we were wondering how long it would take for the Germans to advance.

The call for pleasure craft when it came, seemed ludicrous, but incredibly they answered the call, and were even useful, ferrying troops out to the larger warships, even more crucial after the flagship of the operation, HMW Keith, was sunk. By the 4th, it was all but over, morale high, but those from the B.E.F. that were now home scathing about the failure of the RAF to protect the beaches.

Ships close in at the beaches

Many are forgetting that the war was still being fought in France. Paris was bombed on the 3rd of June, 150,000 British troops left behind to be captured, the French still fighting but being pushed back. I was in a coffee shop in Norwich when three B.E.F. walked in. They were cheered, stood their coup of tea for free as if the war in France was done.

News Reel: Evacuation of the BEF

People got a bit less comfortable when they started on at the RAF. The radio had been full of stories of the aircraft fighting to keep the Germans back, but the men I talked to were quite clear - they camped on the beach for days. 'If the RAF boys were there, you'd have hardly noticed, but when the Germans were overhead, you bloody knew about it.

Home, but to what?

I asked if they had seen anything of the Belgian Army, think of my wife's uncle, and he shrugged, "Plucky bunch, give 'em that. There were a few that got out, not sure how many though."

But it wasn't the kind of talk people wanted. Our escape from France is an excuse to obscure disaster across Scandinavia, the low countries, and in France itself, the whole west lost in just a few short weeks. It is rumoured too that Italy is about to join the war. Churchill, however, did not sugar we pill. We stand, and we stand alone.

Radio Broadcast - Churchill. We shall never surrender.