Dunkirk anniversary: 85 years on from historic rescue of Allied troops, little ships recreate Operation Dynamo | UK News

Eighty-five years on from the historic rescue of hundreds of thousands of Allied troops from France, a flotilla of little ships have recreated the biggest evacuation in military history.

Operation Dynamo, from 26 May to 4 June 1940, saw more than 338,000 British, French and Belgian troops, trapped by the invading German forces around Dunkirk, brought home by roughly 1,000 vessels in a desperate and near-miraculous rescue over more than a week of sailings.

It was one of the turning points of the Second World War, saving the Allied cause in Europe from total collapse, allowing them to regroup after the Nazi Blitzkrieg threatened to sweep Germany to a rapid and complete victory.

One of the soldiers saved in what came to be known as the Miracle of Dunkirk was Queen Camilla’s father, Major Bruce Shand, and she paid tribute to him on Saturday.

In a post on Instagram, the Queen pointed to the “eclectic collection of seafarers, ferry masters, barge hands, fishermen and children, with their little ships” that carried out the stunning rescue.

In his memoirs, she said, Major Shand wrote that he took shelter in a ship “‘commanded by a midshipman who looked about 12, assisted by a boatswain aged 80′”.

She said he and his comrades “would today be grateful beyond words for this lifeline”.

Scroll down for pictures of the boats that took part in the memorial sailing.