'Little Ships' Recreate Daring WWII Rescue

One of the most dramatic events of WWII has been commemorated by a flotilla of tiny vessels sailing from Ramsgate in Kent for Northern France to mark the 75th anniversary of what is known as the Dunkirk rescue.

The historic episode saw dozens of "little ships" press-ganged into action to rescue hundreds of thousands of troops who were stranded and facing death on the beaches of Northern France in 1940.

Allied forces were in disarray after being disastrously pushed back by the advancing German army.

The soldiers were trapped and isolated but as the German warplanes strafed the beaches the 'little ships' bravely entered the shallow waters after crossing the channel to carry out what was the largest military evacuation in history.

Sgt Edward Oates, 95, remembers the chaotic day back then when, as a 20-year-old, he was saved during the daring rescue as bombs fell on the beach.

"We kept trying to go out into the sea, it was a fairly shallow beach," he said.

"We kept trying to get on these little boats that kept coming in and out and half of them got sunk by too many people trying to get on them."

There are not many veterans still alive but a small number like Sgt Oates will make the journey to Dunkirk to take part in what is an act of remembrance.

The boats making the voyage have all been lovingly restored. Some still have the scars of war - bullet holes sealed up and made watertight but still visible on the hulls.

Spokesman for the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, Jason Carley, says the bravery of the people involved is hard to imagine.

"In 1940 they had engines that weren't very reliable, they had no radios or navigation equipment and they were being bombed and they still managed to rescue 338,000 soldiers," he said.

About 50 of the original boats made the journey back to Northern France.

The voyage is a way of commemorating a difficult hour in this country's past and an episode which gave rise to the expression epitomising British pluck - "the Dunkirk spirit".