Dunkirk.

[hitony]

Today is the 70th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuations, where hundreds of little boats set sail from the south coast of England to rescue troops trapped on the beaches of northern France. 345,000 troops were evacuated during 'Operation Dynamo' on a mixture of naval, merchant and private boats.

I feel humbled when I think of the bravery of not only the troops, but the fishermen of Brighton and the south coast who set out to Dunkirk that day. My grandad was one of those fisherman who took his boat, called the Estelle (which was one of the famous Brighton Skylarks), and I can remember the stories he used to tell of being machine gunned from the beach heads and shot at and dive bombed from the sky.

70 years is a whole lifetime away, but I believe it is important to remember these events. I'm proud of you grandad.

I so agree with you El, my Grandfather was a squadron Leader in the last world war, and I am so proud of him, he lived till he was 98, such a legend, as were all the brave men and women who fought for our freedom.

Like yourself, I feel so humbled when I think of the terrible times they all went through, and we think we have it rough!!

Let me know when your about (by PM) and Rose and I will come up and have a pint with you and your good family. (it will have to be a weekend)
All the best to the wife and kids by the way

 

[jakarta]

Jesus, that's so sad.

My grandpa was in a reserved occupation and worked in some sort of bletchley park like interceptors job for the duration of the war. Would never tell us anything because he was sworn under secrecy and to his dying day said he'd never been released from it. So we've been left guessing mainly. Bitterly regret not hassling him more to tell us.

Yes, bizarre I have such a close relative and don't know how the rest of his life turned out (not too well I would have thought) or where he is buried (he must be dead by now).

More War Stories..... My late Father-in-Law was a Signaller attached to the Guards Armoured Division and a D-Day veteran who ended up in Berlin in 1945. He had some tales to tell about our wonderful Russian 'Allies' and how they treated the surviving Berliners - no doubt in their eyes they deserved everything they got but in his opinion there was little to distinguish the Nazis and the Russians in the way they behaved.

Anyway, at one point he got into what remained of the Luftwaffe Headquarters and managed to 'liberate' some items from Hermann Goerings Office including some photos of his Wedding and also his personal phone off his desk (and yes the No.1 Listed number on the phone was a certain A.Hitler!)

When he got back home after demob to Liverpool with his booty he left them at his parents house. When he came home a few days later he found his Mum had decided to 'throw out all that Nazi Rubbish' So it ended up on a Liverpool Corporation Tip - would you care to speculate how much it would be worth today?

 

[portlock seagull]

Blimey Jackata! What a it of histoy that would have been to uncover in the attic!

 

[tedebear]

Back to the thread, my Grandfather on my Mums side was part of the BEF and came back via Dunkirk, after a short while he was shipped out to North Africa to the 8th Army and then went to Italy and fought there until 1945. He was an Artilleryman and was never wounded but he was also clearly damaged by his experiences - he walked out on his family a few months after being demobbed and was never seen again...

My grandfather on my Dads side was never the same either although he stayed at home and become a violent alcoholic. We stayed in the garden when we visited Nana until he died although we did get to see him sometimes on good days. He wasn't part of the 39th Battalion of Kokoda but the replacing 31st (I think) but I know he fought in Borneo and New Guinea, aparently he never ever could sleep when he came home, god knows what he saw. I know he beat my Dad but I still think my Dad is proud of what he did, even in spite of what he became after.

Anyhow Dunkirk amazes me, those little ships must have been the true meaning of a sight for sore eyes...

 

[Lord Bracknell]

There are a lot of family connections with Dunkirk that a being proclaimed here. Mine is my father who was there (as a member of the Royal Naval Auxiliary Sick Berth Reserve) and never, ever spoke about it, except to say that the sea was very calm.

He did, however, get mentioned in dispatches "for good service in the withdrawal of the Allied Armies from the beaches". I've never been able to find out exactly what he did, though.

 

[Buzzer]

So if any of you are interested, I will recount some of the stories I hear from this w/e and post them + some pictures on here sometime next week?

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I'd have liked to get some stories out of my maternal grandfather, but he brushed it off with 'bloody Germans'. He was a gunner in the White Cliffs of Dover, so I guess he was pretty safe. My other grandfather was a conscientious objector and grew vegetables for the home guard and what-have-you.

My great uncle (he was an architect) was the chap that designed the tunnel and forged passports for the 'Wooden Horse' camp escape in WWII. He didn't escape himself and died a decade after the war with cancer. I think they all decided not to cash in on their story, but it got told in the end.

 

[Dandyman]

All of those participating in the Second World War killed prisoners - including the British and Americans - ironically the SS reaped what they sowed with many Allied units refusing to take their surrender.

While it is an inconvenient truth, the Geneva Convention was disregarded by all parties on a regular basis and latterly the Eastern Front was particularly brutal with prisoners only being taken in order to extract information from them, usually by torture, followed by summary execution.

Back to the thread, my Grandfather on my Mums side was part of the BEF and came back via Dunkirk, after a short while he was shipped out to North Africa to the 8th Army and then went to Italy and fought there until 1945. He was an Artilleryman and was never wounded but he was also clearly damaged by his experiences - he walked out on his family a few months after being demobbed and was never seen again...

Sorry, but the Red Army held over 2.3 million German and over 1.0 million other Axis POWs so I'm afraid your statement about the Eastern Front, brutal as it was, does not add up.

Anyway back to the beaches...

 

[withdeanwombat]

My great uncle was one of the many never found during WW1.My grandfather was at the Somme annd survived,though he was too badly wounded to return to active duty.My other grandfather lost an arm and was also gassed in the first war.My father was an artilleryman,then a Commando going in amongst the first on D day.

Those members of my family who went to do their bit and came home never spoke of it,and though my Dad was later in Malaya in the fifties,and also in Cyprus where he was landmined,my impression was that the war was what caused my Dad most grief.

I am always amazed when I look at the medals awarded to my forbears.Oh,nothing like a VC,but campaign medals,wound badges etc.

Brave men and women the lot of them.Amazing,amazing generation.

 

[jakarta]

Sorry, but the Red Army held over 2.3 million German and over 1.0 million other Axis POWs so I'm afraid your statement about the Eastern Front, brutal as it was, does not add up.

Anyway back to the beaches...

What I meant was that on a day to day basis on the Eastern Front both sides would only capture opposing soldiers to get information and then would tend to dispose of them. Obviously as part of great sweeping battles such as Stalingrad prisoners were taken in their thousands. Many of those taken prisoner, especially by the Germans, of course subsequently died in captivity...