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Message 1 - DUNKIRK : Royal Engineers

Posted on: 02 September 2005 by RayRob1

"From Fiery Beaches To A Quiet Life" -

Dunkirk Survivor Turns 100

Tom Lancaster made it off the beaches of Dunkirk and on Monday 05 September 2005 ,he reaches another milestone when he turns 100.
The alilng Rannerdale War Veterans Home resident will celebrate the day quietly.
Sixty-five years ago he was part of the British Expeditionary Force that was forced out of France by the fury of the German onslaught.
Mr. Lancaster will mark his 100th birthday with his niece and mates at the Upper Riccarton home.
He has been at the home since 1993 and his memory is fading.
Rannerdale's general manager ,Steve Shamy ,said an afternoon tea would be put on to mark the occasion.
" Given what he's been through with Dunkirk and all the trauma of the Second World War and to have reached 100 , he's defied all the odds really ," Mr Shamy said.
Two years ago , when Mr lancaster was interviewed by the "Christchurch Star" newspaper , he could still remember everything about the war.

Originally in the Border Regiment he was transferred into the Royal Engineers , and he believed a lot of the men would not have got off the beaches at Dunkirk if it hadn't been for the work of the engineers.
" They were making tank traps . Tanks couldn't get by them . There was a good chance that nobody would get off but the worst part of the war for me was the bombing . You had no way of stopping it . You had no protection against it," he said.

Originally from Cumberland in England , Mr lancaster had been in the army as a reserve before the war , and his service took him to North Africa and Italy.

After the war he came to New Zealand in the 1950's and worked for Williamsons driving diggers.

The above newspaper article appears on the front page of the "Christchurch Star" , Christchurch , New Zealand , Friday September 2 2005.

The story is by reporter Bryan Hunt . A photograph of Tom Lancaster accompanies the text.
www.christchurchstar.co.nz