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.
