Category: Dunkirk

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.

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 battlefield guide with useful information on the evacuation.

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.

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.      

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.    

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.               

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.             

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.

TREVOR, Elleston. The Big Pick–Up. London: Heinemann, 1955.

A novel covering the evacuation from Dunkirk as seen by a small group of soldiers.

MCKAY, Sinclair. Dunkirk. From Disaster to Deliverance: Testimonies of the Last Survivors. xv, 336p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Aurum, 2014. ISBN: 9781781312933.

Uses veterans interviews and letters to conjure the background to and spirit of the spring and summer of 1940.

GAFFNEY, Patrick. Sons of the Seas: Royal Naval Stories and Tales of Foreign Seaports, from 1910-1966. iv, 205p., illus. Kibworth Beauchamp: Matador, 2016. ISBN: 9781784624347.

A rather curious book in which the author tries to describe the naval career of a father he never met thanks to the complicated domestic life of his parents. It covers his father’s service in World War I and his service in WW2 in paddle minesweepers and LSTs, the latter mainly in the Mediterranean. It then covers his brother’s war service in the FAA, while the second half of the book covers his own peacetime service in the RN. Poorly organised and edited, it does however give a real feeling for the impact of war on individuals and on family life and the strains this caused on relationships.

MASEFIELD, John. The Twenty Five Days. London: Heinemann, 1972. ISBN: 0434452378.

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 1972 as The Twenty-Five Days, ISBN: 0434452378.

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).

MACE, Martin. The Dunkirk Evacuation in 100 Objects. 242p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley, Frontline, 2018. ISBN: 9781526709905.

Employing a much used contemporary populist style, 100 objects have been selected, from the wreck of a French destroyer to a dug-up rifle and from small items to large memorials, the author sets out to tell the story of what came to be known as The Miracle of Dunkirk. The full-colour photographs of each of the 100 items are accompanied by detailed explanations of the object and the people and events which make them relevant. The Little Ships and destroyers are well represented.

GREHAN, John. Dunkirk: Nine Days that Saved an Army. A Day by Day Account of the Greatest Evacuation. xi, 330p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Frontline, 2018. ISBN: 1526724847.

A thoroughly researched and well written account based on official reports as well as personal recollections.

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

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).

HUGHES, William Henry. Master Mariner. 96p., bibliog., illus. Wrexham: Bridge Books, 2006. ISBN: 1844940306.

Born in 1886, he went to sea aged twelve. He saw service in both world wars on Irish Sea ferries and was on the RMS Scotia at Dunkirk, where he won a DSC. The book is based on his recorded recollections.

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.

GREAT BRITAIN. Admiralty. The Evacuation from Dunkirk: 'Operation Dynamo', 26 May-June 1940. xiv, 210p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Routledge, 2000. ISBN: 9780714651200.

 First produced in 1949 as the internally published Battle Summary No. 41, q.v., this is now published with a strong introduction by W.J.R. Gardner.

GREHAN, John & NICOLL, Alexander. Dunkirk Evacuation - Operation Dynamo: Nine Days that Saved an Army (Images of War). 168p., illus. Barnsley: Frontline, 2020. ISBN: 9781526770356.

An excellent set of images captures the essence of these few frenetic days.

JACOBSEN, Hans-Adolf. Dunkirk: German Operations in France 1940. xxx, 234p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Casemate, 2019. ISBN: 9781612006598.

Originally published in German in 1958, this is the first appearance of an English translation. Although much has been written and researched in the last sixty years this is a good solid account which is unusual in offering a German perspective.

LEVINE, Joshua. Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture. 255p., bibliog., illus., index. London: William Collins; New York: Harper Collins, 2017. ISBN: 9780008227876.

Originally published: as Forgotten Voices of Dunkirk in 2010. Although the same personal memories are used, they are completely reworked and the book is updated and an interview with the film director added. Republished in 2019 as Dunkirk & Operation Fortitude: Two Missions That Changed the Fate of World War II, published by William Collins (ISBN: 9780007978717.

MACE, Martin. The Royal Navy at Dunkirk: Commanding Officers’ Accounts of British Warships in Action During Operation Dynamo. ixx, [that is xix], 428 pages, illus.  Barnsley: Frontline, 2017. ISBN:  9781473886728.

The Admiralty issued an order requiring the Commanding Officers of those British warships involved in the evacuation to submit a report detailing their actions. These carefully organised accounts bring to life the chaos, professional skill, bravery and improvisation which made Operation Dynamo a success.

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).

IZZARD, Brian. Mastermind of Dunkirk and D-Day: The Vision of Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay. 288p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Casemate, 2020. ISBN: 9781612008387.

The first major biography of Ramsay for over sixty years. During World War II he was a pivotal figure from his planning of the Dunkirk evacuation through to his role in planning Operation Neptune as well as operations TORCH and HUSKY. His mysterious death in a plane crash in 1945 has led to his seminal role being overlooked. A good account.

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.

KERSHAW, Robert. Dünkirchen 1940: the German View of Dunkirk. 352p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Osprey, 2022. ISBN: 9781472854377.

A new commentary on what went wrong for the Germans at Dunkirk. An excellent account with a novel perspective.

BARKER, A. J. Dunkirk: The Great Escape. 240p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Dent, 1977. ISBN: 0460120204.

A good well researched and readable account which is well and profusely illustrated.

LYNCH, Tim. Dunkirk: The Real Story in Photographs. 96p., bibliog., illus. Stroud: History Press, 2017. ISBN: 9780750982733.

A good solid account with numerous pictures showing the various rescue craft.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Describes the naval side of the evacuation.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 slight and anecdotal account of the Fall of France.

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

An amateur historian attempts to make sense of the period.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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