Beginning on May 26, 1940 Prime Minister Winston Churchill asked for help from owners of boats of all sizes and pleasure craft to rescue over 350,000 British and allied soldiers trapped on Dunkirk (Dunquerke) beach in France. Some boats were as small as 18' and it was the smaller boats that were needed to maneuver in the shallow beach area. For an unknown reason, possibly expecting surrender, Hitler had halted his offensive for a few days which made the evacuation possible. It was anticipated that approximately 25% of the armies would be saved. But although of 860 ships that participated 240 were sunk, with assistance from the British Navy and Royal Air Force, over 300,000 soldiers were removed from the Dunkirk beaches.
I remember learning a poem at school I believe it was called Dunkirk 1940, possibly by the Welsh poet, Idris Davies about the little ships and the brave British citizens who traveled across the channel to save the brave soldiers.
The Little Ships, the little ships
Rushed out across the sea
To save the luckless army
from death and slavery
The little ships . . .
Does anyone else remember the poem? I did some research but wasn't able to find it.
