After our lunch at Le Grand Morien we jumped in the car and headed over the Operation Dynamo Museum.
Boon is a big history buff, so I knew he’d like it, surprisingly I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.
Housed in the railway arches and run by veterans, the museum will tell you everything you need to know about Operation Dynamo and a whole lot more.
The trick is to follow the numbered arrows around the museum; you start with a short video that goes through the basics of the evacuation. This alternates between a French and English language version.
After the film you continue going round, looking at a great collection of newspaper clippings, maps, recovered parts of aircraft (including a Hurricane and Lancaster Merlin engines), military equipment (ranging from guns to uniforms), propaganda, models of how the beach looked during the evacuation and a whole of host of other war memorabilia.
There was a really good split of what the evacuation meant for the different nationalities involved: British, French and German. It didn’t shy away from the strategic necessity, but political abandonment of the French Army by the BEF (British Expeditionary Force)
While necessary it shows the side of the Dunkirk evacuation that perhaps isn’t talked about as much in Britain.
Walking around was a rather emotional experience at times, thinking of all those poor soldiers who lost their lives isn’t fun, but I think it’s something that we should all do from time to time, to make sure we don’t forget.
Even if you’re not a ‘war buff’ I would recommend a visit. You can find out more about the museum here