“For a long time we waited, then a ship came up. We waded up to our waists and were hauled on board. In a few minutes I was in the wardroom of the destroyer HMS Winchelsea and had taken off my wet clothes. Suddenly there was a terrific explosion, as a bomb had fallen nearby. The captain headed to the quay to pick up more British troops.
It was evening before the ship left, and drove full speed back to England, I was in the middle of telling everyone the story of our retreat when I stopped short. Everyone in the cabin was fast asleep.”
There were about 350,000 British troops in France. The RAF worked hard to protect them from the air, and over 800 ships joined the rescue from Dunkirk. 316,663 troops were rescued and brought back to England, to fight another day.