Dunkirk Little Ships (Paperback)

Nigel Sharp

ISBN 10: 1445647508 / ISBN 13: 9781445647500

Published by Amberley Publishing, Chalford, 2015

About this Item

Paperback. In May 1940, following the rapid advance of German troops through Holland, Belgium and France, the British Expeditionary Force and French army retreated to Dunkirk. Operation Dynamo was instigated in an attempt to rescue as many of them as possible. With the harbour at Dunkirk severely damaged, much of the evacuation would have to take place from the beaches; only small, shallow-draught boats could do this. After appealing to boatyards, yacht clubs and yachtsmen throughout the South East of England, the Admiralty managed to round up around 700 small craft which, along with 200 military vessels, were able to rescue an astonishing 338,226 troops over nine days.In 1965, forty-three vessels which had taken part in the evacuation commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary by crossing from Ramsgate to Dunkirk, and the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships was formed soon afterwards. More than fifty years on, over 120 Little Ships are still in commission and it is thought that hundreds of others may still survive.This is their story. The story of how 700 small privatelyowned vessels helped to save 338,226 British and French soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781445647500

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dunkirk Little Ships (Paperback)
• Publisher: Amberley Publishing, Chalford
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1445647508
• ISBN 13: 9781445647500
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

In May 1940, following the rapid advance of German troops through Holland, Belgium and France, the British Expeditionary Force and French army retreated to Dunkirk. Operation Dynamo was instigated in an attempt to rescue as many of them as possible. With the harbour at Dunkirk severely damaged, much of the evacuation would have to take place from the beaches; only small, shallow-draught boats could do this. After appealing to boatyards, yacht clubs and yachtsmen throughout the south east of England, the Admiralty managed to round up around 700 small craft which, along with 200 military vessels, were able to rescue an astonishing 338,226 troops over nine days.In 1965, forty-three vessels which had taken part in the evacuation commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary by crossing from Ramsgate to Dunkirk, and the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships was formed soon afterwards. A further fifty years on, over 120 Little Ships are still in commission and it is thought that hundreds of others may still survive.This is their story.

About the Author

NIGEL SHARP spent 35 years in the boat building and repair industry, mostly in various project management-type positions. He had a change of course in 2010 when he became a freelance marine writer. Since then he has had many articles published as well as three books. He lives in Falmouth.