Veterans to mark Dunkirk rescue mission 'Operation Dynamo'

Dunkirk veterans James Baynes, (94, right), Arthur Taylor, (94), and Michael Bentall, (94, left), walk along a beach in Dunkirk. Credit: Gareth Fuller / PA Wire/PA Images

A service will take place today at the Allied Beach Memorial in Dunkirk to mark the historic mission to rescue thousands of troops during WWII.

Veterans of Operation Dynamo, the code name for the mass evacuation of British, French and Belgian troops, will gather near the beach at Dunkirk to remember the traumatic events of 1940.

The commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuations began on Thursday when around 50 "little ships", the small vessels responsible for saving so many men from the beaches, recreated their famous journey across the English Channel.

Later today the veterans will also be joined by servicemen and women for a parade of military vehicles and bands through the streets of the French port town.

'The Little Ships' left Ramsgate Harbour in Kent on Thursday to set sail for Dunkirk. Credit: Gareth Fuller / PA Wire/PA Images

The commemorations will continue on Sunday when a memorial plaque will be unveiled at the site of the MV Crested Eagle, a paddle steamer which was attacked and sank with 300 soldiers on board.

There will also be a commemorative service for the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships on the quayside in Dunkirk next to the little ships themselves.

'Operation Dynamo', which took place in late May and early June of 1940, evacuated between 300,000 and 400,000 British, French and Belgian troops from the beaches as they fled the relentless German advance towards the coast.

The daring rescue was an overwhelming success but there were also around 90,000 left dead, wounded or taken prisoner.