Photographs: The Miracle of Dunkirk (1)

Inspired by The Miracle of Dunkirk, by Walter Lord

Painting on the back of the book jacket on The Miracle of Dunkirk

Painting "The Little Ships at Dunkirk: June 1940" by N. Wilkinson

Introduction:

After reading The Miracle of Dunkirk recently and viewing, with interest, a good handful of black and white photographs from the actual event, I set out to find more related photographs. Using the search engine at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in the United Kingdom, I soon had another good handful of B&Ws ready to share here. And at one point I stumbled upon a link to the art piece that adorns the book jacket that covers Walter Lord's significant book. 

Though some readers already easily breeze through the 11,000,000 million or more photographs archived at the IWM, I have provided a link or two that others may find useful. Happy hunting, I say.

Now, on to Dunkirk:

7 Photos from the Dunkirk Evacuations

With notes from IWM -

By the end of May 1940, Germany's rapid advance through north-west Europe had pushed the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), along with French and Belgian troops, back to the coast of the English Channel. Stranded on the beaches of the French port of Dunkirk, they faced certain capture, which would have meant the loss of Britain’s only trained troops and the collapse of the Allied cause. The Royal Navy hurriedly planned an emergency evacuation - Operation 'Dynamo' - to evacuate the troops and get them to Britain.

Over 338,000 soldiers, a third of them French, were rescued between 27 May and 4 June. The geography of the beach meant the Navy's large warships could either pick up soldiers from a sea wall that extended into deep water or send their boats onto the beach to collect them. To speed up the evacuation an appeal went out to owners of pleasure boats and other small craft for help. These became known as the ‘little ships’. The evacuation, hailed as miraculous by the press and public, was a big boost for British morale. But losses were still heavy and Churchill was cautious in his praise of the operation. He recognised that the great challenge was still to come.

Here are seven photographs from the evacuation of Dunkirk.

1. Waiting for rescue British troops line up on the beach

at Dunkirk to await evacuation. © IWM NYP68075 

2. Wading out to sea. British soldiers wade out to a waiting destroyer

off Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo. © IWM HU41240

3. The ‘little ships’ - Three of the armada of 'little ships' which brought

the men of the BEF from the shores in and around Dunkirk, to the

safety of British warships and other vessels. © IWM HU41241 

4. Returning Troops - British troops crowd the deck of a Royal

Navy destroyer at Dover, 31 May 1940. © IWM H1662

5. Arriving at Dover - A merchant sailor assists a wounded British soldier

up the gangplank from a destroyer, Dover, 31 May 1940. © IWM H1622

6. A much needed cup of tea - Evacuated troops enjoying tea and other refresh-

ments at Addison Road station, London, 31 May 1940. © IWM H1632

7. Temporary Safety - French troops evacuated from Dunkirk photographed

in a train at a railway station in the UK. HU104615 © IWM 

Here are a few more I found at London's IWM, under different 'Dunkirk' headings (there are several):

Aerial view of the beach at Dunkirk where some 300-400 men await evacuation.

Photo shows 700 yards of beach, about 4 miles east of the town. C1718 © IWM

Burning oil tanks at Dunkirk. C1721 © IWM

French and British troops on board ships berthing at Dover, 31 May 1940.

War Office official photographer (useful link) H1621 © IWM 

British troops on board a destroyer at Dover wait to leave the ship.

Puttnam, Len A. (Captain) Malindine, E G (Lieutenant) 

War Office official photographer H1628 © IWM

A British destroyer arrives at Dover carrying British troops from Dunkirk.

(Captain) A. Console, War Office official photographer. © IWM H1664

British troops disembark from a destroyer at Dover. 

(Captain) A. Console, War Office photogr. © IWM H1685

Facial portraits of four soldiers, wearing helmets, looking upwards.

By Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone, IWM ART LD 135H, © IWM

A head and shoulder portrait of two soldiers, one with his arm around the

other, laughing. E. J. I. Ardizzone. IWM ART LD 135C © IWM Art

The aforementioned painted that I fortunately stumbled upon:

The Little Ships at Dunkirk: June 1940 by Norman Wilkinson

Details concerning the image: A view over a sea filled with vessels of different sizes. Fires burn on the horizon filling the sky with clouds of thick grey smoke. There are several planes above, trails of thick smoke, and explosions on the water amongst the boats. IWM ART LD 6007, © IWM Art.

There are many photographs online concerning the evacuation of British and French troops in late May to early June 1940. So, I may add another set of authentic photos and art pieces, when time allows.

Please click here to read a brief description of W. Lord's good book.

Please click here to view Photographs: Armada to Sicily, July 1943 (3)

Unattributed Photos GH