大象传媒

The undernoted "Memories of Dunkirk" concern my father-in-law Joseph Bradley, Lance Corporal 7683803, Corp. of Military Police. He wrote them down in about 1976 for our sons (his grandsons). It has been typed exactly as Joseph wrote it.

Joseph was 38 when war was declared but was part of the original conscript because of his job as an AA man. Nevertheless, after Dunkirk he served through to the end of the war initially in London as a Despatch Rider and finally in Liverpool.

MEMORIES OF 鈥淒UNKIRK鈥� BY JOSEPH BRADLEY, MILITARY POLICE ENTITLED: 鈥淲AR 1939 to 1940鈥�

I arrived in France 3rd September, 1939, up to May I moved over a lot of France because we had motorised trucks. Lights were all on. In May I was on leave and arrived home for 7 days.

On my return to France I was sent with a lot of men, to a Rest Camp until the Companies were formed.

About third week in May Germany started the War, we could not rejoin our units.

3 a.m. one morning we were told to move, only the Sergeant-Major knew where to. We were 30 miles north of Brussels. No petrol so we set fire to the trucks. Our walk to Dunkirk started. There was about 200 men in camp. A single line of us one side of road and another line opposite side.

If we heard any guns we hid under hedges. We had a long way to go, so slowly we walked. Any Military Camp or Canteen we saw, we went in. We often found tins of meat and potatoes that鈥檚 how we got food. After three and a half days of distant gunfire we arrived at LE PANNE*, a few miles from Dunkirk. LE PANNE shops and houses were on fire. We all felt tired out. A man in uniform tried to turn us off the road, French was spoken which I did not know. Our Sergeant Major knocked him down and we all walked over him. **

On the beaches were hundreds of soldiers we saw boats out at sea and lifeboats drifting in on the tide. Our Sergeant Major told us to wade in and get into the boats. A Sailor on shore waded in, joined us. I was given an oar he sculled behind. War ships were passing us with men aboard. In the distance we could see Dunkirk Pier. Guns were firing and smoke everywhere. But what was really going on we did not know. Arriving at the ship which was a small fishing trawler, the sides were only two foot off the water it was packed with soldiers. I was last out of the lifeboat but fell into the sea I swam to the side and was helped on board. Crossing the Channel we were bombed and bombed but all missed. We saw three planes dive into the sea. We were about 8 hours until we saw Dover.

A train fourteen coaches was waiting and every man had a seat, no standing allowed. Off we moved and about ten miles stopped at a Station, we were given tea and scones.

We arrived at Clapham Junction, three quarters of an hour there, I arrived at Pernew Downs(?), we had to Bath or Shower, it was a new Camp, large tents with beds. After a meal we were ordered into bed, the doctors checked us all head to foot, we had a week in bed under orders, another week walking the camp and I was sent to Frome, Somerset and met my unit which was reforming. So that was that.

Grand-dad

* Believed to be DU PANNE
** Verbally JB said that they believed the 鈥楿niform鈥� was sending them towards rather than away from the Germans.

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