Saving the past

Commodore of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships on the postponed Dunkirk return

- STEFFAN MEYRIC HUGHES

After two or three years’ planning, it took “about three hours” to decide that this year – the 80th anniversary of Operation Dynamo – the little ships would not sail to Dunirk in May for their five-yearly commemorative return. “It was a very easy decision – easy, but horrible,” is how Simon Palmer, commodore of the Association of Dunkirk Litte Ships (ADLS) describes it. “The French were banning groups of 100 or over, and many of our members [boat owners] are in the vulnerable group. But it’s a postponement, not a cancellation. Subject to everyone agreeing, we’re going to go back in 2021 instead.”

The five-yearly Dunkirk return is a really big deal for owners of the surviving little ships. It is the biggest driving factor in restoring them, often from the brink, so that they may once again, and in company, make that short, fabled trip over the Channel. You only need see pages 78-82 in this magazine to see the amount of work that goes into getting the boats ready – never mind the event itself. And five years would be an awfully long time to wait for another bite at that cherry.