DUNKIRK AND THE LITTLE SHIPS (SHIRE)

In May 1940, German troops advanced through Holland, Belgium and France with astonishing speed, forcing the British Expeditionary Force and the French army to retreat. The evacuation plan - Operation Dynamo - was put into effect with the expectation that only about 45,000 men might be rescued. However, a hasty assembly of a vast armada of disparate vessels was made. In this book, Philip Weir reveals the story of the Little Ships which evacuated 338,336 Allied troops from the north-east coast of France, exploring their general role and individual histories, including their preservation and participation in return runs every five years.