Dunkirk - the forgotten heroes.

[hoggs11]

Wasn’t there a battalion or division at Dieppe who basically had to sacrifice themselves to keep the Germans distracted and allow the evacuation to take place?

Watched a good documentary on YouTube not long ago as well about “the greatest raid of all” the raid on St. Nazaire where British commandos blew up the dock gate so the Turpitz wouldn’t have a home on the Atlantic coast.

Amazing bravery.

Aye iv seen that brave lads. Clarkson I think presented it. He's a cock a lot of the time but his war stuffs very good.

 

[Tommasi]

My granda was there. Was at El Alamein and Normandy too. He used to talk to me about it when i was a bairn but me dad says growing up he never mentioned it at all. Really messed his head up losing so many of his mates.

Edit- for those in the know would it have been the 50th Northumbrian Infantry division he was in? Ticks all the boxes as he was in the TA before the war too I seem to remember.

 

[Jack Wolforskin]

I never thought that he fought anywhere - too busy sheltering in London stoking a hatred for the British!

Indeed.

 

[Billy Fish]

One of the Uncles was there in the territorial DLI iirc. Apparently came back a physical and emotional wreck and never went back in to service. Went back down the pit and stayed there.

 

[Horatio Pugwash]

One of the Uncles was there in the territorial DLI iirc. Apparently came back a physical and emotional wreck and never went back in to service. Went back down the pit and stayed there.

Saint Valery-en-Caux or Dunkirk?

 

[Billy Fish]

Saint Valery-en-Caux or Dunkirk?

Dunkirk as far as I know. Seem to remember him talk of him being put on a charge for ditching his rifle so he could swim to a boat but the stories were long ago and I was only a bairn.

 

[The Fitter]

My Dad who is 86, was telling me about some DLI lads who stayed back to let the others evacuate from Dunkirk. The story goes that their squad fought off the Germans for a couple of hours and were then captured, however the krauts soon found out that all the lads were coal miners, so they spent the rest of the war in a coal mine around Essen. One name particular I remember, a good mate of my Dad's uncle's who all came from Sunnybrow, was a short stocky blond guy called "wolfie" Jackson who was the bren gunner in the squad; his picture is in the local history book about coal mining in Crook & Willington, a breath of coal dust? Not sure if he was awarded a medal but he was a hero amongst his mates and all the locals when they returned home. The funny thing was that their accommodation & food in Essen was much better that they were used to back home!