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Issue No.10

Issue No 10 Issue 10.   September 2000.
DUNKIRK, 1940 - 2000

This Newsletter has been scanned onto a CD-ROM,
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Issue 10.   September 2000
DUNKIRK, 1940 - 2000
On 4th June 2000, hundreds of elderly men with medals clinking, marched behind their regimental association standards through the packed, peaceful streets of Dunkirk.   This was the last 'official' visit to France by the Dunkirk Veterans of World War II to commemorate one of Britain's worst military defeats, yet most remarkable triumphs of spirit through the greatest of adversities.   Amongst the ranks of these proud county regiments were Green Howards from the four territorial battalions, - 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th - who survived the retreat to Dunkirk between 16th May and 3rd June 1940.   We are proud and honoured to tell their story in this special commemorative issue.
The Green Howards Dunkirk Diary,
The Countdown - 1939 & 1940 		   The historical events chronicled, - from just before the outbreak of the Second World War to the final evacuation from Dunkirk.
 
Dunkirk Diary : The Background    Thre Green Howards Battalions in France.   The German Blitzkrieg that almost trapped the British forces.   The German Wermacht forces opposing the British.   The Luftwaffe that dominated the battlefield.
 
Dunkirk Diary : 4th Battalion    The diary of the 4th Battalion the Green Howards, from October 1939 when they moved to Moreton-on-the-Marsh for training, until their evacuation from Dunkirk on 3 June 1940.
There are first hand accounts from Lieutenant-Colonel Norman Littleboy, Captain Bob Metcalfe, Second Lieutenant Peter Kirby, Segeant Richard Hall, Private Fred Walker, Private Walter Horsley, and Private Jack Stevens.   Amongst the photographs are those of Major (Captain) Bob Metcalfe and Private Jack Stevens.
 
Dunkirk Diary : 5th Battalion    An illustrated account of the 5th battalion at Dunkirk, taken from a series of articles written by Captain Sir "Ticker" Whittaker in the Scarborough Evening News in 1950, ten years after he had served as a second Lieutenant with the Green Howards during the retreat to Dunkirk.
Photographs include troops on board one of the ships, and Private George Wilson.   There is also a photograph of French children commemorating the sacrifices made by the Green Howards at Dunkirk.
 
Dunkirk Diary : 6th and 7th Battalions    An account of the part played by these two Battalions in the evacuation from Dunkirk.
There is a photograph of the Officers of the 6th Battalion on inspection at Middlesbrough in 1939.
 
Dunkirk Diary : Memories of Dunkirk    Personal recollections by Private George Hewling, Private Jack Goodfellow, Private John Richardson, Private Percy Redshaw, Private Jim Cansfield, and Private Jim Cockfield.
There is a photograph of Fred Parkinson, Len Sissons, and Jim Trevor in front of the Dunkirk Memorial.
 
Dunkirk Diary : Elspeth Thrift's Story    Elspeth was married to Captain Swift, who fought with the 7th Battalion Green Howards at Dunkirk.   She provides an account of what it was like to be a wife left at home at the time, and includes an extract from a letter written to her by her husband on his return from Dunkirk.
Captain Peter Swift was killed in March 1942, serving in the Western Desert of North Africa.
 
The Final Word    George Wilson of the 5th Battalion, and a member of the Dunkirk Veterans Association, provides a moving account of the visit by the Veterans to Sainghin en Weppes.   This town is where the 5th Battalion was billeted in 1940, and where the Dunkirk Veterans Association held their final parade on 4 June 2000.
 
The Bell VC Memorial    A special colour "supplement" in which the commemoration of the memorial to Donald Simpson Bell, VC, is described.
There are photographs of the memorial, the commemoration service.   There is also a photograph of Joanna Umpleby, Donald Bell's great-niece, wearing her great uncle's medals, - including the Victoria Cross.
 

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