Category: The Fall of France

An exhaustive list of the ships and their actions along with some sailors' tales. A good reference book.

DIVINE, David. The Nine Days of Dunkirk. 308p., illus., index. London: Faber; New York: Norton, 1959.

Still the best account of the naval operation. In many respects a revised and updated version of the author's wartime book on the subject. Several background chapters are followed by a day-by-day account of the evacuation.

A battlefield guide with useful information on the evacuation.

Consists of pages from an S.O. book 136 kept by the A.E.S.O. Dover, Capt. J.W. Walker, during the evacuation, with a typewritten introduction by Bernie McDonald.

A general history which is enlivened by the author’s personal reminiscences of the campaign while attached to GHQ. The evacuation is briefly described.

A professional soldier gives full weight to the land fighting then has a good general account of the evacuation.

A major retelling of the story with a particular emphasis on the army forces who held up the German advance while the "miracle" took place. The role of the navy is given due measure.

Retells the story of the Fall of France based on the recollections of seven ordinary soldiers. Good accounts of their evacuation.

The author's first nine months of war with the Army. Includes the story of his evacuation from the beaches at Dunkirk. Reissued by Severn House in 1976.

The story of the last stand of the 51st Highland Division in France in 1940. A tragically small number were evacuated.

CARSE, Robert. Dunkirk 1940: A History. x, 214p., illus., index. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, [1970].

A full and atmospheric account of the evacuation, which pays some attention to the French and Belgian contributions. Quotes extensively from contemporary accounts.      

Unusual in giving a wholly French perspective of the events leading up to the evacuation. Rigorously honest in its interpretation.

Dozens of reminiscences and anecdotes, some naval and all of interest.

Dunkirk seen by the Poet Laureate. Instant and one-sided history of the nine days from May 26, with some poems included. The full, original, uncensored version was published in 2004 as The Twenty-Five Days, ISBN: 0434452378.

Without reaching any original conclusions, Lord has unearthed a great deal of new personal material, which provides a very readable history full of telling anecdotes. Interesting as an American view.

Snippets from the Imperial War Museum Sound Archives fill out a familiar tale.

An amateur historian attempts to make sense of the period.

The story of the London fire service at war, including the Massey Shaw at Dunkirk.

A slight and anecdotal account of the Fall of France.

An army memoir from a Captain in the Royal Engineers. It has interesting material on the evacuation from the Dunkirk beaches, the securing of the port of Taranto and the sinking of Abdiel.

BENNETT, G.H. Desperate Victories: From Dunkirk to the Battle of Britain: Military Despatches on Operations Against German Forces in Western Europe 1940.  286p., bibliog., illus., index. Stroud: Amberley, 2018. ISBN: 9781445668161.

An introduction by the author is followed by a personal account of life in 1940 by Roy Bennett. This is followed by the official account of the experiences of the BEF in 1939-40 as reported in official despatches printed in the London Gazette, namely: 35305 (Lord Gort’s two despatches on the land forces in 1939-40); 37573 (Alan Brooke’s Despatch on the BEF left in France after Dunkirk) and 37719 (Dowding’s Despatch covering the Battle of Britain).

KORDA, Michael. Alone. Britain, Churchill, and Dunkirk: Defeat into Victory. xiv, [2], 525p. bibliog., illus., index. New York: Liveright, 2017. ISBN: 9781631491320.

A prolific author mixes the story of his childhood as a child in London in 1939-40 with a competent professional history of the Fall of France and Dunkirk culminating in his evacuation to North America in the summer of 1940.

WEIR, Philip. Dunkirk and the Little Ships. 112p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Shire Publications, 2020.  ISBN: 9781784423759.

Gives a good account of the Fall of France and the evacuation. It then offers brief histories of the ships involved in the evacuation then focusses on the story of the Little Ships , exploring their general role and individual histories, including their preservation and participation in return runs every five years.

TAYLOR, Telford. The March of Conquest: The German Victories in Europe, 1940. xiv, 460p., bibliog., illus., index. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1958; London: Hulton, 1959.

An American account of Germany's war up to the Fall of France, largely from German sources. Reprinted by Nautical & Aviation Publishing in 1991 (ISBN: 9780933852945).                 

GOODEY, David & OSBORNE, Richard. Destroyer at War: The Fighting Life and Loss of HMS Havock from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean 1939-1942. Barnsley: Frontline, 2017. ISBN: 1526709007.

An excellent account of the war service of this hard worked destroyer with a dozen battle honours. She saw relentless and unremitting service and action from the Spanish Civil War until her sinking off Tunisia in 1942.

CRABB, Brian James. The Forgotten Tragedy: The Story of the Sinking of HMT Lancastria. Xii, 281pp, bibliog., illus., index. Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2002. ISBN: 1900289504.

A well researched and authoritative account of the tragic sinking.

MATSON, Dennis. The Lancastria: Looking Back. A Survivor’s Story. [vi], 34p., illus. [n.p., 2019]. ISBN: 9781793136398.

He was a Private in the R.A.S.C. and this describes his experience of the sinking and later wartime career.

CLARK, Anthony. Uncle George and RMS Lancastria. 46p., illus. [n.p., author,2020]. ISBN: 9781542973434.

George Clark was a member of the Pioneer Corps who died on Lancastria. This rather bitter memoir records a nephews attempt to reconstruct what happened to an uncle he never met some seventy years after the event.

BRANN, Christian. The Little Ships of Dunkirk. 240p., illus., index. Cirencester: Collectors’ Books, 1989. ISBN: 0946604029.

A fiftieth anniversary tribute to over 100 surviving boats recorded by the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. Illustrated in colour it records war service and subsequent careers. Reprinted in 1995 for the 55th Anniversary in a pack accompanied by a leaflet describing activity in the period 1990-1995 plus a reprinted newspaper from 1940 (ISBN: 0946604096).

BUCKTON, Henry. Retreat: Dunkirk and the Evacuation of Western Europe. 256p., bibliog., illus., index. Stroud: Amberley, 2017. ISBN: 9781445664828.

Covers all of the evacuations from Dunkirk to Bordeaux. A routine retelling.

A well illustrated day-by-day account covering the week of May 27 to June 1. It aims at a broad view which gives the feel of the period, rather than a detailed history.

BLAXLAND, Gregory. Destination Dunkirk: The Story of Gort’s Army. xii, 436p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Kimber, 1973. ISBN: 0718302036.

A full description of the land fighting of the BEF based on the recently released public records. Dunkirk looms large and the navy’s role is noticed although not the main theme of the book. Reprinted by Pen & Sword in 2018, ISBN: 9781526737434.

GREHAN, John & MACE, Martin. The BEF in France 1939-1940: Manning the Front Through to the Dunkirk Evacuation. xxiv, 194p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2014. ISBN: 1783462116.

With an introduction and commentary this gives the official account of the experiences of the BEF in 1939-40 as reported in official despatches printed in the London Gazette, namely: 35305 (Lord Gort’s two despatches on the land forces in 1939-40); 38017 (Admiral Ramsey’s report of Operation Dynamo); 37573 (Alan Brooke’s Despatch on the BEF left in France after Dunkirk).

JACKSON, Robert. Dunkirk: The British Evacuation. 192p. London: Arthur Barker; New York: St. Martin's, 1976. ISBN: 0213165988.

A conventional retelling. Republished by Rigel in 2004 (ISBN: 189880009X).

WINSER, John de S. Coasters Go to War: Military Sailings to the Continent, 1939-1945. 144p., illus., index. Preston: Ships in Focus, 2009. ISBN: 9781901703566.

The book details the convoys, cargoes and challenges faced by almost 500 coasters of ten nationalities which supplied the Army in France and Norway in 1939-40 and again in Northern Europe from D-Day onwards.

GRAINGER, John D. Traditional Enemies: Britain’s War With Vichy France 1940-1942. 272p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2013. ISBN:  1781591547.

A modern account of the various actions between the two states.

STENSON, Patrick. Lights: The Odyssey of C. H. Lightoller. xx, 325p., illus., index. London: Bodley Head; New York: Norton, 1984. ISBN: 0370305930.

Lightoller was senior surviving officer of the Titanic and this is his biography. Aged 66 he took his small boat to Dunkirk and this story is told. US title: The Odyssey of C. H. Lightoller. Reprinted by Halsgrove in 1998 as Titanic Voyager: The Odyssey of C. H. Lightoller. ISBN: 1874448817.

SHAW, Frank, & SHAW, Joan. We Remember Dunkirk. 232p., illus. Hinckley: [author], 1990. ISBN: 187277900X.

Over 100 brief accounts of memorable and not so memorable personal experiences recalled after 50 years. Well-illustrated.  Reprinted by Ebury Press in 2013, ISBN: 9780091941543.             

MILLAR, J. B. The Story of Medway Queen: A Paddle Steamer that Went to War. 44p., illus. East Horsley: Paddle Steamer Preservation Society, [1975]. ISBN: 9780950211817.

Requisitioned as a minesweeper, Medway Queen served with great gallantry at Dunkirk. This pamphlet gives her history and tells of the efforts to have her preserved.               

GELB, Norman. Dunkirk: The Complete Story of the First Step in the Defeat of Hitler. 352p., bibliog., illus., index. New York: Morrow, 1989; London: Joseph, 1990. ISBN: 0718132033.

A competent general overview of the evacuation.    

A trenchant account of a lesser known campaign of 1940. Although really army history, it has some naval interest.

Focuses on the land campaign.

The Fall of France as seen by Churchill's personal representative to the French government.

A review of the events of the summer from a British perspective. Of marginal naval interest.

The defence and evacuation of Calais in May 1940 by a participant. Reprinted by Cooper in 2003.

The grim struggle of the Calais garrison contributed to the successful evacuation at Dunkirk. The Navy’s role is outlined.

The padre of the 1st Searchlight Regt., RA describes his retreat to and evacuation from Calais.

Primarily a view of the French side of the battle and with no real detail on Dunkirk. Important background reading.

An excellent popular account with a good section on the army view of Dunkirk.

A French view, surprisingly uncritical of the British, of the battle and the evacuation. An abridgement of the original French edition, but still useful.

Fairly good instant history.

More than 3000 died when their troopship was bombed and sunk in the Loire estuary during the evacuation of France. Recreates the drama of a terrible event, much of it from survivors' tales.

The official history. Contains much information on the various evacuations in 1940. Reprinted with source annotations by the Imperial War Museum in 1996.

Redresses the balance between the RAF and the Royal Navy arguing for the importance of the latter.

Essentially a military work describing the battlefields. Calais was defended until it fell, without any prospect of evacuation.

Essentially a military work describing the battlefields, but with some limited information on arrivals and evacuations.

The book of a BBC television series which traces the events of the May-September 1940 period largely through the memories of two dozen representative military and civilian individuals. The limited naval content revolves around seamen on Keith and Resolution.

This is the first account, by a participant, of the operations by the Kent Fortress Royal Engineers, a small Territorial Army unit. These took place in May 1940 with the objective of destroying all the oil reserves stored in coastal port refineries from Holland to the Bay of Biscay. The book describes the trip over in destroyers, frequently under air attack, the chaotic conditions ahead of the advancing Germans, the difficulties faced in carrying out the tasks and the drama of getting back to England.

Based on the recollections of members of the Survivor's Association, this is a popular account of the sinking of the Lancastria by German bombers off St. Nazaire in June 1940, with heavy loss of life.

Provides a day-by-day view of the political events from May to July 1940. It does give a French view of British attempts to neutralise the French fleet after the armistice.

A fund-raising limited edition of 300 copies, consisting of a peroration by the historian, followed by a celebratory poem, both reprinted from the Daily Sketch of June 3 and 4, 1943.

A journalist takes a fresh and controversial look at what he considers really happened 40 years before.

A day-by-day account of his regiment’s short stay in France in April and May 1940 by a subaltern. He and his men were taken off the beaches in open boats and taken home on the steamer Duchess of Fife.

A hugely patriotic account of the defeat of the BEF in novel form. The last few pages give one view of the evacuation. Reprinted by Windrow & Greene in 1994, ISBN: 1859150950.

A story of the BEF’s defeat in France and the evacuation from Dunkirk. Man for man we were as good as the Germans, but our allies let us down, says the book. Reprinted by Windrow & Greene in 1994, ISBN: 185915090X.

Rev. Grossmith has decided views. He gives a swift telling of the defeats in 1940 and of the role of the National Day of Prayer on 26 May. He also tells of his difficulties in presenting his Christian views.

Describes the naval side of the evacuation.

A chronologically arranged and anecdotal history of the evacuation from May 26 to June 1, 1940.

A patriotic account, compiled largely from official sources, of the rescue of the BEF.

BUTLER, Ewan, & BRADFORD, J. Selby. Keep the Memory Green: The First of the Many: France 1939-40. 180p., illus. London: Hutchinson, [1950].

The authors were junior officers with the BEF and they tell its story and that of the RAF units in France, relying heavily on anecdote. The work of the little ships and the destroyers in the evacuation is described. Reprinted as The Story of Dunkirk in 1955

The slightly fictionalised account of the evacuation of British subjects from the Riviera, after the Fall of France, in the colliers Ashcrest and Fircrest.

A short account of what was achieved by each of their steamers.

A flattering day-by-day account of the "victory" at Dunkirk.

Contains a good account from the army side, of the author’s evacuation in an unnamed destroyer, which was torpedoed.

Makes extensive use of Imperial War Museum Archives and firsthand accounts to give a good workmanlike account of the chaos and blunders that lay behind the "miracle."

A good account of the shipping movements which took the BEF to France then brought it home, along with full lists of the ships involved and their fates.

A history of the defeat of the French Army in the battles of May-June 1940. Gives background on the French view of Dunkirk.

A compilation of 30 survivors' accounts, mainly taken from the archives of the H.M.T. Lancastria Association. She was bombed and sunk with the loss of several thousand lives.

Describes a hastily mounted operation at Whitsun 1940, which removed Dutch industrial diamonds from under the noses of the German invaders. Walpole carried them to the UK. Reprinted in 1974 as Operation Amsterdam (ISBN: 0583122337).