Event    From 26/5/1940  To 3/6/1940

Dunkirk Evacuation

Categories: Armed Forces

In May 1940, British, French and Belgian troops were cut off on the French coast by German forces and faced death or capture. A hastily assembled fleet of 850 'little ships', code-named 'Operation Dynamo', departed from Britain (many making several return voyages) and rescued over 338,000 British and French troops. The event inspired Winston Churchill's 'We shall fight them on the beaches' speech and gave rise to the phrase 'Dunkirk Spirit' and to the Brits' reputation for turning a defeat into a victory.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Dunkirk Evacuation

Commemorated ati

Charles Lightoller

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Dunkirk at Teddington Lock

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Hurlingham Yacht Club

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Other Subjects

Captain James Ferguson

Captain James Ferguson

Naval officer.  RN Lieut-Governor of Greenwich Hospital.

Person, Armed Forces, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
J. McClelland

J. McClelland

Resident of Hendon who served and died in WW2.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW2
1 memorial
Eugene Paul Bennett, VC

Eugene Paul Bennett, VC

Awarded the VC for his heroism on 5 November 1916, age 24, while serving in the Worcester Regiment. "He advanced at the head [of his men] and secured the objective, consolidating his position and a...

Person, Armed Forces

War served, WW1
1 memorial
cnihtengild

cnihtengild

A guild of knights, whose role may have been to defend London from attack from the east.  The book "London, 800-1216: The Shaping of a City  By Christopher Nugent Lawrence" has a go at explaining w...

Group, Armed Forces

1 memorial
Falklands War

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Died: 649 Argentinians, 255 British, 3 civilian Falkland Islanders. 

Event, Armed Forces, Tragedy, Argentina

6 memorials

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Peasants' Revolt

Peasants' Revolt

The revolt grew out of the increasing severity of the poll taxes imposed on the people of England. The Kentish rebels led by Wat Tyler met with those from Essex at Blackheath. It was here that the ...

Event, Other, Politics & Administration, Seriously Famous

2 memorials
H. Childs

H. Childs

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War dead, WW1
1 memorial
Inner London Education Authority

Inner London Education Authority

When LCC was replaced with the GLC the body responsible for education became ILEA.  Disliked by Thatcher, ILEA survived a number of attempts to abolish it but succumbed in 1990.  Thereafter the loc...

Group, Education, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Kate Hoy
1 memorial