Tears for Dunkirk's doughty Scottish defenders

IT WAS considered a victory snatched from the jaws of defeat, but one that came at a considerable cost to thousands of Scots.

• Veterans' return to Dunkirk for the 70th anniversary of Operation Dynamo was an emotive one. Picture: PA

As events began yesterday to commemorate one of the defining moments of the Second World War, veterans from north of the Border recalled the part they played in Dunkirk, the great evacuation of British troops from northern France.

Former troops saved from the French beaches during Operation Dynamo gathered in Dover yesterday to board a ferry that crossed the English Channel alongside a flotilla of 50 "little ships" to mark the evacuation's 70th anniversary.

In Scotland, veterans set sail from Rosyth to Zeebrugge, before travelling on to Dunkirk. It is there that 338,000 troops were rescued between 27 May and 4 June, 1940, in what Winston Churchill described as the "miracle of deliverance".

Yet for many Scots troops, the freedom won by others came at a sacrifice, in particular those who served with the 51st Highland Division.

Fighting alongside the French army, the division became separated from the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and spent weeks fending off a ferocious attack by the Germans.

Despite putting up a fierce fight, the unit's isolation left its men outnumbered, exhausted and low on ammunition. With German panzer divisions led by Field Marshal Rommel relentless in their attack, about 8,000 Scots soldiers were taken prisoner of war at the northern town of St Valery-en-Caux.

Speaking to The Scotsman yesterday, Dr Tom Renouf from Musselburgh, secretary of the 51st Highland Division Veterans Association, recalled the unit's crucial role.

"The circumstances were such that we were left behind, cut off from the BEF," said the 85-year-old, who joined the army in 1943 and took part in the liberation of St Valery with the 5th Battalion Black Watch.

"Churchill wanted us to stay with the French to keep them in the war. We were pushed back and back, cut off from escape by Rommel."

Those who spent years in camps later spoke of enduring brutality from German guards who would shoot soldiers who attempted to reach out for food left on the roadside for them by French peasants. Given little sustenance, some men were forced to drink from cattle troughs.

"It was five years of continuous abuse and starvation," Dr Renouf added. "One veteran told me he could press in his belly button and feel his finger touching his spine."

As part of the 70th anniversary, Alasdair Allan, the SNP MSP, has submitted a motion calling for the actions of the 51st to be highlighted. "It is important they are remembered, both for the valour and sacrifice of the fallen in that engagement and for the terrible suffering endured by the 8,000 who spent the next five years as prisoners of war," he said.

For all that the division suffered, Dr Renouf stressed that there was no bitterness among the veterans, about ten of whom will return to St Valery for their own commemoration next month. "For the boys who fought at St Valery, it was the greatest time of their lives," he said.

"They showed immense courage against all the odds, and St Valery is inscribed in their hearts. The veterans have a tremendous sense of integrity, and have never complained or sought retribution. Some have even named their daughters Valerie."

Prime Minister David Cameron also paid tribute to the "heroism" of those who took part in the mission.

'I wouldn't know how many men we rescued'

A SCOTTISH Dunkirk veteran who helped save the lives of hundreds of marooned Allied Forces set off on an emotional journey back to the French town yesterday for this weekend's 70th anniversary celebrations.

Frederick Jenkins, 89, was on board one of the ships that helped rescue 338,000 troops from the beaches of northern France in May and June 1940.

The mine sweeping trawler that Frederick served on made two trips across the Channel from Dover to pick up stranded soldiers.

Now, 70 years on, the veteran from Stirling is travelling back to the town with his daughter Ruth to bring back old memories.

Sailing from Rosyth into Zeebrugge, Frederick was pleased to be arriving at the port almost exactly 70 years since he was last there.

He said: "We made two trips to Zeebrugge. On our second we swept the harbour at first light in order to enable blockships to be sunk at the canal entrance as the town was about to be captured.

"I'm hoping I will be able to stand on deck and see the harbour as we come in. That will be quite interesting. I've never been back since the war."

But it is his part in Operation Dynamo that takes him back to France to attend the anniversary celebrations: "I remember volunteering for our small boat crew, lowered to search for survivors from a bombed ship sunk during the night.

"We made two trips, on both occasions crammed to the gunwale with exhausted British and French troops. I wouldn't know how many men we rescued – I wouldn't even like to hazard a guess."

"The soldiers were just all over the place – on the deck and under the deck in the bowels. It was just a case of getting as many people on as we could.

"We weren't picking them up off the beach; we were getting them from the quay and taking them back to Dover. There were both British and French soldiers on board. We were quite fortunate we managed to escape bombing ourselves.

"When we arrived in Dunkirk the first time there were sunken ships all around the quay – the water was strewn with dead bodies and what have you."

The Dunkirk rescue mission came after the speed of the German army's advance through Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and France left nearly half a million British and French troops trapped there.

It was led by the Royal Navy, which drafted in ships and boats of every size. Dunkirk is seen as one of several events in 1940 that determined the outcome of the war.