Dunkirk Memorial

Last updated
Dunkirk Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Dunkirk Memorial 1.JPG
One of the rows of screen walls making up the memorial
For the missing of the British Expeditionary Force
Unveiled29 June 1957
Location 51°01′49″N2°23′23″E / 51.0303°N 2.3897°E / 51.0303; 2.3897
Dunkirk, France
Designed by Philip Hepworth (architect)
John Hutton (glass engraver)
Commemorated4,505
English: Here beside the graves of their comrades are commemorated the soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force who fell in the campaign of 1939–1940 and have no known grave. [1]
French: Ici à côté des tombes de leurs camarades sont commémorés les soldats du corps expéditionnaire britannique morts au cours de la campagne 1939–1940 et qui n'ont pas de tombe connue. [2]
Statistics source: Cemetery details. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The Dunkirk Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial to the missing that commemorates 4,505 missing dead of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), most of whom fell prior to and during the Battle of Dunkirk in 1939 and 1940, in the fall of France during the Second World War.

Contents

Located in the town cemetery of Dunkirk, France, the design by Commission architect Philip Hepworth features memorial panels, a shrine in the form of a shelter, and an engraved glass pane by John Hutton. Those commemorated include soldiers lost on ships sunk during the evacuation, as well as a recipient of the Victoria Cross.

The memorial was completed some 17 years after the events it marks. It was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1957, in front of visiting dignitaries, and hundreds of veterans and relatives of those who died. Later commemorations held here include the 75th anniversary in 2015.

Background

The Battle of Dunkirk consisted of the defence of and evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk, resisting and evading capture by the invading German forces. The battle was part of the larger Battle of France campaign during the Second World War, with the British Army forces consisting of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The BEF dead are commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), with those whose died with no known grave being commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial. The period covered is that prior to and during the Battle of Dunkirk, from September 1939 to June 1940. [3] The memorial also commemorates those from that battle who died later in captivity and who have no known grave. [3]

Location and design

The memorial forms the entrance to one of the CWGC sections of Dunkirk Town Cemetery in Dunkirk, France. [3] Either side of the entrance gates are the inscription panels in English and French, surmounted by stone urns. [1] There are 4,505 names listed on the memorial, which takes the form of free-standing Portland stone screen walls in two rows either side of an avenue leading to a shrine which includes a glass pane (18 ft × 9 ft (5.5 m × 2.7 m)) engraved with scenes from the evacuation. [3] [4] Further screen walls are attached to the shrine, at the centre of which is a circular wooden seating area integrated with the cabinet containing the CWGC cemetery and memorial register.

The design for the memorial was produced by Philip Hepworth, the Principal Architect for France for the Imperial War Graves Commission (later the Commonwealth War Graves Commission), while the glass engraving was by New Zealand-born engraver John Hutton. [3] The horticultural design included a holly hedge, and English herbaceous and flowering border plants such as stocks, thymes, primroses, phlox, heathers, and violas. [5]

Unveiling and dedication

The memorial was unveiled on 29 June 1957 by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. [3] [6] The Queen Mother travelled to France on HMS Chieftain. Also attending the ceremony were the Duke of Gloucester (President of the Imperial War Graves Commission), Sir Gladwyn Jebb (the British Ambassador to France), General Jean Ganeval (representing René Coty the President of France), Mayor Paul Asseman (the Mayor of Dunkirk), Field-Marshal Sir Gerald Templer (the Chief of the Imperial General Staff), and representatives of Empire (later Commonwealth) nations. [5] [7] Some 1600 veterans and relatives of those commemorated were at the unveiling, part of a pilgrimage to the memorial unveiling that had been organised by the Royal British Legion. [8]

In her address to the crowd, the Queen Mother declared:

To-day we pay our tribute to the undying memory of all those brave men, soldiers, sailors, and airmen, who died in the hour of seeming defeat in order that in the fullness of time it could be turned to victory. Many of them rest in honoured graves, tended by skilled and reverent hands, others in the swaying fortunes of swift battle lay where they fell, and have no known resting place. They are commemorated in this beautiful setting amid the scent of English flowers in a comradeship of 4,700 gallant soldiers.

— Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, 29 June 1957 [5]

The memorial panels were veiled with Union Flags, with a roll of drums accompanying the unveiling of each panel. The "Last Post" was played, as well as "Lochaber No More" (played on bagpipes). [5] The religious service included a dedication of the memorial by the Chaplain-General to the Forces Victor Pike, prayers by the Principal Roman Catholic Chaplain, Monsignor Bernard Navin, and the singing of "Land of Hope and Glory". [5] The guards of honour were provided by the Grenadier Guards and the French 33rd Infantry Regiment. Naval tribute was paid with a gun salute from the ships offshore, and the Royal Air Force salute was given by a flypast from a Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft. [5]

Wreaths were laid at the memorial by the Queen Mother and other dignitaries, with a wreath also laid on behalf of Sir Winston Churchill. Hundreds of wreaths were then laid by the pilgrims, including one laid by Sir Ian Fraser, President of the Royal British Legion. On the return voyage by HMS Chieftain, the Queen Mother cast a wreath into the sea off the Dunkirk beaches. [7]

Casualties commemorated

Those named on the memorial include BEF servicemen who died on SS Abukir, a British steamship that was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea while evacuating Ostend on the last day of the Battle of Belgium. The missing military personnel lost when the RMS Lancastria was sunk are also commemorated on this memorial. [9] Among the individuals named on the memorial are Victoria Cross-recipient Lieutenant Christopher Furness, [10] and army chaplain Leslie Philip Riches. [11]

Later history

The 75th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation was marked at the Dunkirk Memorial on 22 May 2015, in a commemorative event organised by Dunkirk Town and attended by HRH Prince Michael of Kent. [12] Primary school children from the local area sang the French and British national anthems while dressed in the colours of the French tricolour flag. [13] The service at the memorial was led by Royal Navy chaplain Gordon Warren who said:

Whilst we thank God this weekend for those wartime miracles during the evacuation, let us never forget the precious souls who are commemorated here and who never came back. We will remember them.

— Royal Navy chaplain Gordon Warren, 23 May 2015 [14]

Architectural features

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth War Graves Commission</span> Commonwealth organisation responsible for war graves

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars. The commission is also responsible for commemorating Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War. The commission was founded by Sir Fabian Ware and constituted through Royal Charter in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission. The change to the present name took place in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menin Gate</span> World War I memorial in Ypres, Belgium

The Menin Gate, officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. The memorial is located at the eastern exit of the town and marks the starting point for one of the main roads that led Allied soldiers to the front line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower Hill Memorial</span> War memorial in Trinity Square Gardens, in London, England

The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant seafarers and fishermen who were killed as a result of enemy action and have no known grave. The first, the Mercantile Marine War Memorial, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1928; the second, the Merchant Seamen's Memorial, was designed by Sir Edward Maufe and unveiled in 1955. A third memorial, commemorating merchant seamen who were killed in the 1982 Falklands War, was added to the site in 2005.

RMS <i>Lancastria</i> 20th-century British liner

Lancastria was a British ocean liner requisitioned by the UK Government during the Second World War. She was sunk on 17 June 1940 during Operation Aerial. Having received an emergency order to evacuate British nationals and troops from France, the ship was loaded well in excess of its capacity of 1,300 passengers. Modern estimates suggest that between 4,000 and 7,000 people died during the sinking — the largest single-ship loss of life in British maritime history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiepval Memorial</span> Memorial in Somme, France

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial to 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. It is near the village of Thiepval, Picardy in France. A visitors' centre opened in 2004. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, Thiepval has been described as "the greatest executed British work of monumental architecture of the twentieth century".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brussels Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Brussels, Belgium

Brussels Cemetery is a cemetery belonging to the City of Brussels in Brussels, Belgium. Located in the neighbouring municipality of Evere, rather than in the City of Brussels proper, it is adjacent to Schaerbeek Cemetery and Evere Cemetery, but should not be confused with either.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kranji War Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Singapore

The Kranji War Cemetery is located in Kranji, Singapore, and is the final resting place for Allied soldiers who perished during the Battle of Singapore and the subsequent Japanese occupation of the island from 1942 to 1945 and in other parts of Southeast Asia during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Ferté-sous-Jouarre memorial</span>

The La Ferté-sous-Jouarre memorial is a World War I memorial in France, located on the south bank of the river Marne, on the outskirts of the commune of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, 66 kilometres east of Paris, in the department of Seine-et-Marne. Also known as the Memorial to the Missing of the Marne, it commemorates over 3,700 British and Irish soldiers with no known grave, who fell in battle in this area in August, September and early October 1914. The soldiers were part of the British Expeditionary Force, and are listed on the memorial by regiment, rank and then alphabetically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loos Memorial</span>

The Loos Memorial is a World War I memorial forming the sides and rear of Dud Corner Cemetery, located near the commune of Loos-en-Gohelle, in the Pas-de-Calais département of France. The memorial lists 20,610 names of British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave who were killed in the area during and after the Battle of Loos, which started on 25 September 1915. This memorial covers the same sector of the front as the Le Touret Memorial, with each memorial commemorating the dead either side of the date of the start of the Battle of Loos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayeux war cemetery</span> Military cemetery in Normandy

The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France, located in Bayeux, Normandy. The cemetery contains 4,648 burials, mostly of the Invasion of Normandy. Opposite this cemetery stands the Bayeux Memorial which commemorates more than 1,800 casualties of the Commonwealth forces who died in Normandy and have no known grave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery</span>

Fromelles Military Cemetery is a First World War cemetery built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the outskirts of Fromelles in northern France, near the Belgian border. Constructed between 2009 and 2010, it was the first new Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery for more than 50 years, the last such cemeteries having been built after the Second World War. The cemetery contains the graves of 250 British and Australian soldiers who died on 19 July 1916 in the Battle of Fromelles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Naval Memorial</span>

The Plymouth Naval Memorial is a war memorial in Plymouth, Devon, England which is dedicated to British and Commonwealth sailors who were lost in World War I and World War II with no known grave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arras Flying Services Memorial</span> World War I memorial located in Pas-de-Calais, in France

The Arras Flying Services Memorial Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, Arras, France. The memorial commemorates nearly 1,000 airmen from forces of the Commonwealth who were killed on the Western Front during World War I and who have no known grave. The memorial was designed by Edwin Lutyens, sculpted by William Reid Dick and unveiled by Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, Marshal of the Royal Air Force on 31 July 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial tablets to the British Empire dead of the First World War</span> Memorials to fallen military people

Between 1923 and 1936, the Imperial War Graves Commission erected a series of memorial tablets in French and Belgian cathedrals to commemorate the British Empire dead of the First World War. The tablets were erected in towns in which British Army or Empire troops had been quartered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohima War Cemetery</span> CWGC cemetery in India

Kohima War Cemetery is a memorial dedicated to soldiers of the 2nd British Division of the Allied Forces who died in the Second World War at Kohima, the capital of the Indian state of Nagaland in April 1944. The soldiers died on the battleground of Garrison Hill in the tennis court area of the Deputy Commissioner's residence. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which maintains this cemetery among many others in the world, there are 1,420 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War at this cemetery, and a memorial to an additional 917 Hindu and Sikh soldiers who were cremated in accordance with their faith. The memorial was inaugurated by Field Marshal Sir William Slim, then Commander of the 14th Army in Burma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doiran Memorial</span>

The Doiran Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial that is both a battlefield memorial and a memorial to the missing. It honours the dead of the British Salonika Force as well as commemorating by name the 2171 missing dead of that force who fell in fighting on the Macedonian front during the First World War in the period 1915–1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delhi War Cemetery</span> CWGC cemetery in New Delhi, India

The Delhi War Cemetery, in the Delhi Cantonment, Delhi, India, is the site of the graves of 1,154 service personnel who served the British Empire during the First and Second World Wars. The cemetery was established in 1951 to ensure the permanent preservation of the remains of soldiers across various cemeteries in northern India.

St John’s Cemetery, Margate is a cemetery located in Margate, Kent in England. The cemetery dates back to 1856

References

  1. 1 2 Oddone, Patrick. Battle of Dunkirk Operation Dynamo. Office de Tourisme et des Congrès Dunkerque Dunes de Flandres. p. 5. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Balade au mémorial Britannique". Kids in Dunkirk. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dunkirk Memorial". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Dunkirk Memorial". The Times. No. 53748. London. 25 January 1957. p. 6.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Queen Mother Unveils Dunkirk Memorial". The Times. No. 53881. London. 1 July 1957. p. 8.
  6. ↑ "Unveiling of Dunkirk Memorial by HM Queen Mother, 1957". The National Archives. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  7. 1 2 Vickers, Hugo (2013). Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. Random House. p. 47. ISBN   9781448150724.
  8. ↑ Harding, Brian (1990). Keeping Faith. Pen and Sword. p. 269. ISBN   9780850528268.
  9. ↑ Hamilton, Alan (1 June 2000). "Churchill kept secret news of worst disaster". The Times.
  10. ↑ "Casualty details: Furness, The Hon. Christopher". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  11. ↑ "Casualty details: Riches, The Rev. Leslie Philip". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  12. ↑ "HRH Prince Michael Of Kent marks Dunkirk anniversary". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Gani, Aisha (22 May 2015). "Dunkirk veterans gather in France to commemorate WWII evacuation". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  14. ↑ "Dunkirk commemorations: Veterans remember WW2 rescue". BBC. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.