Dover Castle

01/06/2026

1st June - Day Seven - 64,429 Troops Rescued

With the Little Ships now shuttling the troops backwards and forwards, the evacuation kept up its steam but with this greater number of boats came a much greater risk and in the space of a few hours, the enemy had caused almost as much damage to shipping as it had the whole previous 7 days.

It didn't help it was also a very clear day weather wise so it was much easier for German planes to target the ships. Ramsay was forced to carry on the evacuation only under the cover of darkness and the boats were banned from using their navigation lights.

Back in Dover, the ships after ship was arriving with troops stood shoulder to shoulder, and there was a military-like operation from the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS) and the railways to get the men fed and out of the area as quickly as possible.

On the harbourside and at train stations along the Southern railway line, the WVS set up feeding stations and handed out food, tea, ci******es and postcards for the men to let their families know they were safe. One lady in Kent was commended for arranging for 10,000 postcards to be sent on behalf of the returning men.

Over 60,000lb of bread was baked in ovens at Shorncliffe barracks and private contractors provided another 50,000lb to give the troops coming through. There was seemingly never-ending boiling kettles for tea, an initial problem of china cups being thrown and broken from the carriages when the men were finished was quickly rectified by the use of tin cans which were collected back up after the train had left.

On the Eastern Arm in Dover, one of the coastal gun batteries set up a makeshift bar, courtesy of a generous local publican and provided a free glass of beach for the returning troops.

It is said a solider spent, on average, only 15 minutes in Dover before were put onto special troops trains to transport them to camps further inland. Southern Railway organised 327 of these 'Dunkirk Specials' with a train leaving Dover Marine station every 20 minutes at its peak.

(Photo credit: Refreshments being served to evacuated troops aboard a train at Addison Road Station from the Imperial War Museum Archive, catalogued as object number H 1633)

01/06/2026

📣It’s day one of volunteers week and this week we would like to highlight the work of our amazing teams, starting with our wonderful Explainers.

🏅This team work across multiple locations on site, including the Great Tower, Fire Command Post and Saint Mary’s in Castro Church. Each shift they engage with the visitors to these spaces, passing on their knowledge and bringing the site’s story to life. Their passion and commitment is second to none and we are so grateful for the fantastic job that they do enhancing our visitors experience of the site.

Thank you Explainer Volunteers🌟!

31/05/2026

31st May - Day Six - 68,014 Troops Rescued

Today is the highest daily total of the whole operation and a day of Little Ships.

At dawn, full signal communication was established for the first time between Dunkirk and Dover. Although Ramsay had an underwater direct telephone line laid in the winter of 1939-40, this only went to the headquarters at La Panne.

There was a headquarters signal station at the shore end of the Mole but until 30th May when one Naval wireless set arrived (it wasn't usable until the morning due to a defective transmitter), there was no means of wireless transmission between any of the parties.

This meant any messages had to be sent via semaphore, megaphone, Aldis lamps to the beaches or dispatch riders when the distance was too great. Messages for transmission to Dover by wireless transmission (W/T) could be sent via a French station, though had its own translation issues, or if secrecy was needed, handed down the Mole for transmission by destroyers.

This direct communication link from the mole to V.A Dover was short lived however as the Naval wireless set broke down all together by 1st June, probably on the account of sand in the generator.

A more important arrival for the officers on the Mole and the beaches than the wireless set was the armada of Little Ships who had started to arrive in their droves on 31st.

They consisted of over 800 naval and requisitioned boats including small private ones, some of which were used with the owner's permission but also others were taken from boatyards with no time for the owners to be contacted.

Although some owners did sail their own vessels (this was mainly fishermen), the majority were crewed by Royal Navy officers, ratings, Merchant Seaman and experienced volunteers.

The Little Ships main jobs when arriving in Dunkirk were to ferry troops from the beaches and the makeshift piers out to the larger ships, though some did take troops back to England including one raft, which was spotted by the coastal artillery on Dover harbour, "which stay a large Frenchman, clutching a pig"

(Photo Credit: Imperial War Museums (IWM) – War Office Official Photograph by Lt. E. G. Malindine and Lt. L. A. Puttnam)

31/05/2026

Stories Behind Dunkirk: Interview with Richard Sheen

Back in 2017, English Heritage met and interviewed former Army Signalman and Operation Dynamo veteran Richard Sheen. He was billeted to Dover between 1939 and 1942 where he used radar to plot enemy aircraft crossing the Channel, and communicated their positions to anti-aircraft batteries along the coast.

In this interview he reveals what life was like in Dover’s Gun Control Room, his experiences of helping the rescued soldiers off the ships and why the Dunkirk evacuation was a turning point in the war effort.

In 2017 we met former Army Signalman and Operation Dynamo veteran Richard Sheen to discover the true story of the Dunkirk rescue that was masterminded from t...

30/05/2026

30th May - Day Five - 53,823 Troops Rescued

Due to the miscommunication over the harbour the night before, the evacuation from the beaches reaches its peak today with over 29,000 men landed this way.

During the morning, the sappers and troops of the First Division had built a long pier of lorries off Bray into the sea with plank decking (done at the suggestion of Cdr H. du. P. Richardson R.N who was in charge of a section of Bray beach). Though not strong enough for use by heavy craft like the destroyers, it was invaluable when the small boats started to arrive.

A similar pier, though this one using beached ships, was commenced on the morning at La Panne and was completed and in use by 14:00 the same day.

Today also marks the first time Rear Admiral Dover, a position appointed by the Admiralty the day before to R.A W.F Wake-Walker "for the command of sea-going ships and vessels off the Belgium coast", sees the beaches. He arrives in Dunkirk and on the morning of 30th, catches his first glimpse:

"They were black with troops, who were orderly and under proper control and the numbers steadily increasing as more men filed down from the dunes and "at the back of our minds all the time was the question of how long the defence line could hold and the weather remain fair""

This question was also in the minds of the Commander-Chief of the B.E.F and Vice Admiral Dover. During the morning representatives of the Commander-in Chief had attended a conference with Ramsay where the plan for the withdrawal of the last of the troops was explained.

It gave daylight on Saturday, 1st June as the latest reasonable date up to which the B.E.F. might be expected to hold the eastern perimeter with an available force of about 4,000. By that date and time, V.A Dover planned to have enough boats that he could specially reserve for this critical operation, with the plan being to lift of the rearguard of 4000, between 01:30 and 03:00 on 1st June.

Sadly for the remaining men, as the days followed and the Military plan changed, this was found to be impossible and made up part of approximately 40,000 men who were left behind.

(Photo Credit: From a collection in the Imperial War Museums Archive, catalogued as object number HU 1860, found on the Nevington War Museum website)

29/05/2026

29th May - Day Four - 47,310 Troops Rescued

Although the amount of troops arriving back in Britain is dramatically increasing, communication, or lack of and dire losses to shipping is what dominates Day Four of Operation Dynamo.

At around 19:00 VA Dover receives word, via a message from La Panne where the closest telephone line is to Dunkirk, that the harbour was blocked via damaged ships and all evacuation must therefore be effected from the beaches.

This is incorrect but without a direct line to Tenant, and working off corrupt messages from S.N.O Dunkirk earlier in the day stating there was "continuous bombing" and incorrect reports from returning vessels, Ramsay directs all ships approaching Dunkirk to remain off the eastern beach and collect troops from the shore.

This meant that throughout the night of 29th to 30th, only 5 small boats were able to enter the harbour and it is thought that an opportunity to rescue around an extra 10,000 troops was lost.

It was also a day of severe damage and heavy losses to the ships transporting the men, with over 35 sunk or seriously damaged including 10 destroyers. This prompted the Admiralty to withdraw the 7 remaining which, if this decision had remained, would have severely hampered the evacuation.

As it was, the destroyers, once back in action would bring off more troops, 96,000, than any other type of ship. Thankfully Ramsay was able to fight the case for their importance and all the destroyers withdrawn on 29th (bar 2 that were being repaired) were back in action by the 30th.

28/05/2026

28th May - Day Three - 17,804 Troops Rescued

Today is a day of hope and desperation for Ramsay.

Soldiers are continuing to arrive in their thousands at the beaches, hungry and thirsty after marching for days but salvation starts to arrive in the form of the first food, water and ammunition from England in the boats that are coming to ferry the men back.

These boats are being organised by hundreds of signals sent continuously throughout the day and night from the tunnels underneath the castle, it is a fever of activity and staff are working without breaks or sleep to get the messages in and out. At 6:30am Vice Admiral, Dover signals to S.N.O Dunkirk (Tenant):

Further destroyers and small craft are being sent now to Dunkirk

During the forenoon and afternoon of 28th May, the call went out for more and more destroyers and every available destroyer in the Western Approaches and Portsmouth Commands was to be sailed to Dover.

It is also the first day that the eastern breakwater, the Mole, is used and dramatically changes the speed of the evacuation. A thin stretch of wood and concrete around half a mile long and about 8ft wide was never meant to berth ships but it becomes invaluable to the operation with around 200,000, two thirds of the total, men evacuated from it

But whilst all this means near 18,000 troops can be evacuated by the end of the day, the war as a whole has taken a dire turn. At 4:00am Belgium surrenders and by 20:30 that evening, the Admiralty inform the Vice-Admiral, Dover that Ostend has been captured.

Now Dunkirk was the only port left in Allied hands and the initial 48 hours is nearly up.

28/05/2026

How well do you know Dover Castle?

This week’s Site I-Spy can easily be missed as you’ll be concentrating on the bigger picture, any ideas where this hatch might be? Bonus points for precision

28/05/2026

📣Following Monday's successful tour, our wonderful volunteers are offering another for visitors to site today! 🌟

➡Sign up at the visitor centre and join our guide from 12pm, to learn all about the history you can't immediately see.

27/05/2026

27th May - Day Two - 7669 Troops Rescued

The First Full Day

With the war changing so quickly and the evacuation of the BEF a last minute plan, communications with Dunkirk were limited so whilst the operation was being planned and managed from the tunnels at Dover, there needed to be someone in control of the evacuation from the beaches and Captain W. G. Tenant was the man to do it.

He leaves Dover at 13:55 on the destroyer Wolfhound with 12 officers, including Commander Clouston, and 160 ratings arriving at Dunkirk at 16:55 and realises very quickly how dire the situation is. At 19:58 (though not received until 20:55 due to delay in transmission) Tenant signaled to Dover:

"Please send every available ship to the beaches East of Dunkirk immediately. Evacuation tomorrow night is problematic"

Problematic was an understatement, Tenant had just been told that "we expect the German tanks on the beaches within 24 hours" The tunnels are already buzzing with "every brass hat in the country" and Ramsey responds to Tenant's request with his usual characteristic drive. Every effort is now concentrated on sending as many crafts as possible to beaches without delay.

Order followed order to various ships in rapid succession and the wording from Vice-Admiral Dover reflects the desperation felt that night:

"This is our last chance of saving them"