ARCHIVE STORIES

Wartime Evacuation Stories

Remarkable log books and original wartime records from Operation Dynamo and the evacuations that followed it, presented with transcriptions, research notes and page images for careful reading.

These stories are research aids. Transcriptions may contain errors or preserve uncertain readings, so always compare them with the original page images.

2 June 1940

R. N. Irving’s La Panne and Dunkirk Launch Account

A vivid four-page account by Lt. R. N. Irving, R.N.R., describing small motor boats operating from Sheerness and Ramsgate to La Panne and Dunkirk, towing troops through surf, air attacks and shell fire.

Author: Lt. R. N. Irving, R.N.R.
Original pages: 4

R. N. Irving Commander Fletcher Commodore Stephens or Stevens Lord Gort Purbrick Silver Queen Triton Prince of Wales

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Vessels taken up for Operation Aerial from Devonport, The National Archives, MT 40/36, page 25.

15–25 June 1940

Operation Aerial: Evacuation from Western France

The evacuation that followed Dunkirk, carrying Allied troops and civilians from ports along the French Atlantic coast between 15 and 25 June 1940.

Original pages: 1

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Vessels taken up for Operation Cycle from Littlehampton and Newhaven, The National Archives, MT 40/36, page 26.

10–13 June 1940

Operation Cycle: Evacuation from Le Havre

The hurried evacuation of Allied troops from Le Havre and the Seine bridgehead between 10 and 13 June 1940.

Original pages: 1

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