Royal Navy Marks 85th Anniversary of the Dunkirk Evacuation
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Royal Navy warships have escorted a flotilla of the legendary \u2018Little Ships of Dunkirk\u2019 across the English Channel for the anniversary of the great World War Two evacuation.<\/p>\n
Eighty-five years ago \u2013 between 26 May and 4 June 1940 \u2013 about 850 private boats of all shapes and sizes sailed from UK shores through heavy enemy fire on a rescue mission to save allied troops stranded on the beaches and harbor at Dunkirk as the Nazis swept through France.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Re-enacting the heroic Operation Dynamo voyage – which saw more than 338,000 soldiers rescued to fight another day –\u00a0was a flotilla of 66 little ships which left Ramsgate Royal Harbor for a transit to\u00a0Dunkirk.<\/p>\n
These iconic ships were escorted to the French port by seven Royal Navy patrol vessels, as well as RNLI lifeboats, accompanied by scores of spectator craft.<\/p>\n
Making the commemorations even more poignant was the death of one of the last naval known veterans of Dunkirk \u2013 telegraphist Duncan McInnes, who died at the age of 105 last week in Australia, just days before the 85th anniversary.<\/p>\n
Duncan served on Admiralty S-class destroyer HMS Saladin<\/em>\u00a0during Operation Dynamo, and the little ships lowered their ensigns to half-mast on Monday to mark his passing.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will be the first time when we\u2019ve gone over when there are no veterans,\u201d said Ian Gilbert, Honorary Vice Admiral, Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. \u201cThe little ships are the veterans because the living link has now gone and we have to keep these boats alive to keep the memory alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Commemorative events started May 20, with seven P2000 patrol craft of the Royal Navy\u2019s Coastal Forces Squadron arriving in Ramsgate, joining the flotilla of little ships.\u00a0<\/p>\n Twenty-one personnel from Victory Squadron at HMS Collingwood were also involved, embarking in the little ships for the crossing.<\/p>\n Musicians of the Royal Marines Band from Portsmouth paraded in Ramsgate as His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, Commodore-in-Chief of the Maritime Reserves, took the salute and unveiled a statue that commemorates the events on Dunkirk.<\/p>\n “It is hugely important to continue to commemorate such events in our history and highlighting the role such little ships had to play in Operation Dynamo.\u00a0Coastal Forces Squadron is very proud to be a part of this event, particularly since it has been ten years since the last commemoration of this scale.\u00a0It will be quite a spectacle to see so many paying their respects across the Channel,”\u00a0Coastal Forces Squadron Commanding Officer\u00a0Commander Carla Higgins said.\u00a0<\/p>\n This article appears courtesy of the Royal Navy and may be found in its original form here<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \t
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