DUNKIRK: MAY 27TH, 1940
The former troops, accompanied by their families, will attend a ceremony at the French port to commemorate the historic rescue mission.
They will set sail from Dover following a departure ceremony attended by the Lord Lieutenant of Kent’s office, senior military, government officials, police and others.
The Parachute Regimental Band will perform on the dockside, together with a 200-voice choir from the Royal Choral Society, who will also accompany the veterans on the journey to Dunkirk.
On arrival in France, the Band will ceremoniously lead the disembarkation of old military vehicles, followed by the veterans.
Fifty of the original ”little ships” involved in the evacuation – many of which were private fishing or pleasure boats drafted in to help – will also set sail for Dunkirk.
They began leaving Ramsgate in Kent this morning and will be escorted by HMS Monmouth.
Aircraft from the Royal Navy Historic Flight are due to swoop over the group as they make the journey towards France.
In Dunkirk a silence will be held to commemorate the event and a bugle player will sound the Last Post.
Rose petals will be scattered and white doves released to symbolise peace.
The veterans will be joined by members of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Help for Heroes charity.
The Dunkirk evacuation, dubbed Operation Dynamo, saw 338,000 troops rescued from the beaches of northern France between May 27 and June 4, 1940.
It came after the speed of the German advance through the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France left nearly half a million British and French troops trapped there.
The rescue was led by the Royal Navy, which drafted in ships and boats of every size.
Described as a ”miracle of deliverance” by British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, it is seen as one of several events in 1940 that determined the eventual outcome of the war.
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