The evacuation from Dunkirk on the French coast was hailed in Britain as an extraordinary achievement and the ‘little ships of Dunkirk’ swiftly entered the mythology of wartime brave deeds.
British soldiers wade out to a waiting destroyer off Dunkirk during the evacuation.
Troops evacuated from Dunkirk on a destroyer about to berth at Dover, 31 May 1940.
Troops evacuated from Dunkirk enjoying tea and other refreshments at Addison Road station in London, 31 May 1940.
Some of the 'little ships' used during the evacuation of Dunkirk being towed back along the River Thames past Tower Bridge, 9 June 1940.
German forces moved into Dunkirk hours after the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. Here German officers inspect a memorial on the sea front at Dunkirk.
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British forces arrive in Kuwait, February 2003. Members of 69 Gurkha Field Squadron 36 Engineer Regiment, The Queens Gurkha Engineers based in Maidstone, assisting in the construction of the tented hospital of 33 Field Hospital Royal Army Medical Corps, abandon their work to run for cover after scrambling to put on their gas masks during a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons alert.
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