THE LIEUTENANCY OF KENT
SALUTES DUNKIRK VETERANS

It was at Dover – then known as Hellfire Corner – that Operation Dynamo was mounted to bring back the British Expeditionary Force from the beaches around Dunkirk, many of them to Kentish ports – including Ramsgate .

Seventy years on, the Lieutenancy of Kent took part in events both sides of the Channel commemorating the evacuation.

The Lord Lieutenant, Allan Willett, went to Ramsgate to see the Dunkirk Little Ships before they sailed to take part in the commemorations. Sailing in one of them was the Vice Lord Lieutenant, Viscount De L'Isle, whose grandfather Lord Gort commanded the wartime British Expeditionary Force.

At Dover the following morning the Lord Lieutenant said bon voyage to Dunkirk veterans who were returning in a Norfolkline ferry, accompanied by a Deputy Lieutenant, Peter Blackwell, whose own father was rescued from the beaches.

Mr Willett told the veterans: “I salute the bravery and fortitude of veterans of what has been rightly called the miracle of Dunkirk, when ships of the Royal Navy and hundreds of civilian-manned little ships and boats brought back a third of a million men, to live to fight – and to win – another day.

“The Dunkirk evacuation and the Battle of Britain, which was fought mainly in Kentish skies and which kept Hitler at bay, made D Day and eventual victory possible – and saved Western civilisation. Our Nation must never forget these two climactic events.

“This is the beginning of a memorable day of commemoration and reunion with former comrades, a day for evoking memories of survival, heroism, devotion to duty – and of brothers in arms lost then – and since.”

The Rochester-berthed twin screw gentleman's cruiser Wendy Ken, which made two runs to rescue troops from Dunkirk, is owned by Ian and Doreen Pearson. Pictured before the Little Ships sailed from Ramsgate for the 70th anniversary crossing, from left, are Doreen Pearson, the Vice Lord Lieutenant Lord De L'Isle, Mrs Anne Willett, the Lord Lieutenant Allan Willett, Ian Pearson and John Tough, Commodore of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships.

Wishing Steve Norris, of Faversham, 'bon voyage' for the 70th anniversary crossing from Ramsgate to France in his sailing barge Greta, the oldest active Dunkirk Little Ship, were the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Lord De L'Isle, and the Lord Lieutenant, Allan Willett. Lord De L'Isle made the crossing himself in another of the Little Ships in memory of his grandfather Lord Gort who commanded the wartime British Expeditionary Force.

John Tough, Commodore of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships and the Lord Lieutenant Allan Willett with the Reverend Tom Heffer, Secretary General of the Mission to Seafarers.

The Lord Lieutenant, Allan Willett, overlooking the Little Ships at Ramsgate with Major General Charles Ramsay, son of the late Admiral Sir Bartram Ramsay, who masterminded the Dunkirk evacuation at Dover Castle.

The Band of the Parachute Regiment plays for the Dunkirk veterans on board the Norfolkline ferry at Dover.

The Band of the Parachute Regiment plays for the Dunkirk veterans on board the Norfolkline ferry at Dover.

The Lord Lieutenant, Allan Willett, waves farewell to Dunkirk veterans on board the Norfolkline ferry at Dover.