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My father always claimed that he was the last person to get out of France after Dunkirk.

Unfortunately he died in 1990 so there is no way of verifying his claim, but this is what he told me as a young lad:

His name was James Thomas. I have managed to get some details. He was a Gunner with 311 Battery, 73rd. H.A.A. Regiment R.A. No. 1463498.

When the Germans advanced into France he was instructed to destroy the guns so that they did not fall into enemy hands. To do this a shell was placed down the barrel and one up the breech. When the guns were fired the barrels split. He was doing this whilst everyone else was heading to Dunkirk and therefore was one of the last to leave the front line.

When all the guns were destroyed, he and a few remaining men found themselves cut-off from their retreat to Dunkirk. I believe they were stationed near to Reims at the time, which is some way south. Anyway, they grabbed a truck and set off across France to Brest, and always staying one step ahead of the advancing enemy. At Brest they managed to commandeer a boat to England.

The tale my father told me was this: It seems that just before the boat was due to sail, he and a few others set off around the docks to ‘collect a few souvenirs’. He grabbed a box from a stores but did not know what it was. The box was sealed and written in French, and he was unaware of the contents. But time was pressing he had no time to look inside.

When he reached the boat the gangway was already raised and he had to climb a ladder to get onboard. He says he was the last one to climb the ladder before the boat sailed, and everyone was up on deck shouting at him to get a move on.

As for his souvenir. Once on board he opened the box only to discover that it was full of tins of boot polish.

I have a postcard, postmarked Falmouth, dated 18 June 1940. It is from my father to my mother saying simply that he is back in England.

You’ve probably heard many similar claims, and maybe there were other escapes from other ports, and probably more daring and with far more bravery involved. But this is his own personal tale for what it is worth.

Neil Thomas (Son)

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