Dunkirk: The Men They Left Behind

‘Longden uncovers some remarkable and poignant individual stories in what is a moving and fascinating antidote to the Dunkirk legend. First class history.’

Tim Newark, author of
The Mafia at War
and
Camouflage

‘Meticulously researched and engagingly recounted, this new work adds considerably to our understanding of a largely forgotten episode in the epic of Dunkirk.’

Jamie Holland, author of
Italy’s Sorrow

‘Sean Longden is a rising name in military history, and is able to uncover the missing stories of the Second World War.’

‘As interesting as Saving Private Ryan.’

‘Gritty, emotional and shocking … It has changed my understanding of life for British POWs in the Second World War.’

‘His book cannot fail to elicit sympathy for their suffering and admiration for their sacrifice.’

‘A moving account . . . telling a part of history that time has forgotten.’

‘The grim story of what happened to the soldiers who fought on so valiantly.’

Paul Callan,
Daily Express

‘A compelling account … a fitting monument to these men who were left behind.’

Book of the month, warbooksoutnow.co.uk

‘A powerful indictment of the crimes perpetrated against men who had surrendered in good faith . . . Never again, after Mr Longden’s excellent work, shall we see the plight of the POWs as anything other than unremittingly monstrous.’

Andrew Roberts,
Daily Mail

‘Forget “The Great Escape”. Forget “The Colditz Story”. This is the real thing.’

Les Allan, founder of the National Ex-Prisoner of War Association

‘A meticulously-researched, utterly absorbing account of the human story behind the battle to crush Hider’s forces.’

‘The sex’n’drugs’n’rock’n’roll of soldiering.’

‘Not the usual war book and is all the more interesting to the general reader.’

‘A fascinating and surprising insight into what it was really like for the ordinary men of Montgomery’s 21st Army.’

To the Victor the Spoils

Hitler’s British Slaves

T-Force: The Race for Nazi War Secrets, 1945

Constable & Robinson Ltd

3 The Lanchesters

162 Fulham Palace Road

London W6 9ER

www.constablerobinson.com

First published in the UK by Constable,

an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2008

This paperback edition published by Constable,

an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2009

Copyright © Sean Longden, 2009

The right of Sean Longden to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84529 977 4

Printed and bound in the EU

Dedicated to all those who were left behind for ever.

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Maps

Prologue

Introduction: Victory or Defeat?

1 Missing the Boat

2 The Round Up

3 The Fight Goes On

4 The Death of a Division: The 51st Highland Division at St Valery

5 The Wounded

6 The First Men Home

7 The Long Way Home

8 The Journey East

9 The Journey Continues

10 The First Year

11 Five Years

12 Going Home

Epilogue

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index

A pre-war soldier of the Territorial Army displaying his kit, 1939. Courtesy of Norman Barnett.

The retreat through Belgium and France. Imperial War Museum F4495.

A British medical officer attending a wounded soldier at St Maxent, May 1940. Imperial War Museum 4640.

Solider destroying petrol store. Imperial War Museum F4756.

Soldiers of the 51st Highland Division defending the line of the River Bresle, 7 June 1940. Imperial War Museum F4745.

Burning houses on the waterfront at St-Valery-en-Caux. Imperial War Museum RML 358.

British and French prisoners of war being marched from the cliff tops to the west of St-Valery-en-Caux. Imperial War Museum RML 399.

A mixed group of British and French prisoners of war are marched into captivity by the victorious Germans. Imperial War Museum RML 141.

British POWs near Calais, June 1940. Imperial War Museum AP 7271.

Letter in French to Jim Charters’ parents. Courtesy of Jim Charters.

Official letter to Jim Charters’ parents. Courtesy of Jim Charters.

Forged identification card. Imperial War Museum SJO/ DOC2.

British evaders are picked up off the coast of North Africa by HMS
Kelvin.
Imperial War Museum 2430.

Repatriation of wounded soldiers. Imperial War Museum PL.13867.D.

Group shot at Stalag 21D, 1941. Courtesy of Eric Reeves.

British POWs photographed following their liberation by American troops, May 1945. Imperial War Museum AP 10772.F.

The idea for
Dunkirk: The Men They Left Behind
emerged during the research for my previous book,
Hitler’s British Slaves.
In conversation with former POWs, I realized that so much of the story about what had happened in 1940 had never been revealed to the public. Les Allan, one of the interviewees for my earlier book, stressed that he thought the story should be told and offered much help and advice with this project. He supplied me with the names of numerous other veterans who agreed to be interviewed for this book. My thanks go to the following: Eric Reeves, Bill Holmes, Fred Coster, Fred Goddard, Fred Gilbert, David Mowatt, Jim Reed, Jim Pearce, Dick Taylor, Jim Charters, Ernie Grainger, Graham King, Bob Davies, Cyril Holness, Norman Barnett and Major Peter Wagstaff Sadly Fred Gilbert, Cyril Holness and Bob Davies passed away between their interviews and the publication of this book.

Two other veteran POWs, Gordon ‘Nobby’ Barber and Ken Willats, whom I interviewed for my previous book, again helped by revealing the details of their experiences of capture in France in 1940.

Other veterans helped out with background on the situation in 1940, including Ken Dampier, Ron Burch, Sid Seal, Tony Hibbert and Noel Matthews. My thanks also go to Sylvie Norman, who telephoned from Canada to talk about the experiences of her husband Frank. Kerry McQueeney of the Croydon
Guardian
put me in touch with Cyril Holness and Norman Barnett – my thanks to her. I must also thank Fred Kennington, who kindly sent me a copy of his book
No Cheese After Dinner
and helped me make contacts among veterans of the 51st Highland Division, including Mrs Arnott who kindly sent me a copy of her late husband Tommy’s memoirs
A Long Walk to the Garden.

In addition, my thanks go to staff at the National Archives who have constantly provided the files I need, when I need them. My thanks also go to the staff and trustees of the Imperial War Museum, in particular those in the Department of Documents whose help was, as ever, invaluable. I must thank the copyright holders for the following collections held at the Imperial War Museum for allowing me to reproduce quotations from their memoirs. Thanks to Jean Bolton for permission to quote from the papers of her brother, Walter Kite. Also to Margaret Foster for allowing me to quote her late husband Fred’s poem in the introduction to this book. To Michael Watt for granting permission to quote his father Hugh Watt. To David Evans for allowing me to quote from the memoirs of his late father R. P. Evans. To Richard Wilson for permission to quote his late father. To Lorraine and Jeannette for granting permission to quote from the memoirs of their late father, William Simpson. To Betty Barclay for permission to quote her late husband, R. L. Barclay. To Frank Sweeney for permission to include his father’s memoris of the sinking of the
Lancastria.
To Carolyn Christie for granting permission to quote from the memoirs of her late grandfather, John Christie. To Peter Trew for permission to quote from the memoirs of his late uncle, Harold Houthakker. To Cynthia Jones for permission to quote from the memoirs of her late father, E. Vernon Mathias. To the family of Bill Bampton for permission to quote from his memoirs. To Mrs Shorrock for granting permission for me to quote from the memoirs of her late husband Leslie. To Joan, who granted permission to quote from the papers of her late uncle, W. Hewitt. In the case of the papers of C. Raybould, V. Tattan and Major G. S. Lowden, I was unable to trace the copyright holders. Anyone having information should contact the Department of Documents at the Imperial War Museum.

I must also give thanks to my agent Andrew Lownie, my editor Leo Hollis, Geoff and Victoria at Arris for giving me my first break as a writer and to Beth and Bethan at MGA for their hard work on my earlier books. Finally, I must thank my wife Claire for all the advice she has offered and – in particular – her proofreading skills.

‘Is anyone there? Is anyone there?’
¹
With these words General Harold Alexander signalled the end of the drama of Dunkirk. Searching along the quayside within the port and patrolling the waters beside the beach, the general held firmly on to his megaphone, calling out for any stragglers still waiting for evacuation. It was 2 a.m. on the morning of 3 June 1940. For six long, arduous days the beleaguered British Expeditionary Force (BEF) had been slowly but surely evacuated from the harbour and beaches of Dunkirk. For some, the story had seemed miraculous – somehow, with the enemy just miles away and their planes dominating the skies above the beaches, 338,226 soldiers had been embarked on ships and sent home to Britain. With their evacuation completed it was time for Operation Dynamo to end. As the last of the Royal Navy destroyers slipped safely away into the waters of the English Channel, there was nothing to do but draw the proceedings to a close.

When Alexander had allowed himself a final search of the perimeter, calling out to any who might yet remain on shore and receiving no reply, he returned to the harbour and boarded a waiting destroyer. Satisfied that the evacuation was complete, the order to set sail was given and the ship cast off, zig-zagging its way across the night waters towards Dover. As his ship tied up alongside the quay next morning, and the general disembarked to make his way to the War Office, the story of Dunkirk came to an end. Now it was time for the legend to grow.