Dunkirk - a veteran remembers

The film Dunkirk is about to hit our cinemas. One of the stars is One Direction's Harry Styles. It's hoped that his casting will bring the dramatic story of the evacuation of more than 300,000 soldiers to a new audience.

• Watch the trailer of Dunkirk, the film, which remembers the sacrifice of so many:

One man who doesn't need reminding of the significance of Operation Dynamo - is 97-year-old Garth Wright. He was one of those rescued from the beaches of France.

Garth, who was brought up near Tavistock but now lives near Plymouth. has been sharing his memories with ITV News reporter Jeff Welch. The film can do much to portray the horror but he was actually there.

Garth Wright joined the Territorial Army along with four friends in 1939. When war broke out in September of that year they were part of the British Expeditionary force sent to France.

He told ITV News, "Every shovel full of earth you took up those days had some memento of the First World War, buttons, badges, bits of bone."

After what's known as the phoney war Garth and his regiment were forced to retreat towards Dunkirk where one of his friends Ken Stevens was killed.

When he got to the beach it was being attacked by enemy aircraft every thirty minutes. He says he'd given up hope of surviving.

After two days a call was put out for stretcher bearers. He volunteered, helping move the injured onto boats.

Garth went on to see action in Africa and Italy. Of the five friends that started the war only two survived. He says finding love helped him deal with the horrors he'd experienced.

Garth will celebrate his 98th birthday next month.

Memories fade with time but he will never forget his experience of Dunkirk while others will be learning about it for the first time when they head to the cinema this summer.