The Dunkirk Memorial is a

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

memorial to the missing that commemorates 4,505 missing dead of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), most of whom fell prior to and during the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on ...

in 1939 and 1940, in the fall of France during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Located in the town cemetery of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Philip Hepworth Philip Dalton Hepworth (12 March 1888 – 21 February 1963) was a British architect. He studied in both the UK and France, at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and the École des Beaux-Arts, and returned to work as an archite ...

features memorial panels, a shrine in the form of a shelter, and an

engraved glass Engraved glass is a type of decorated glass that involves shallowly engraving the surface of a glass object, either by holding it against a rotating wheel, or manipulating a "diamond point" in the style of an engraving burin. It is a subgroup of ...

pane by John Hutton. Those commemorated include soldiers lost on ships sunk during the evacuation, as well as a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. The memorial was completed some 17 years after the events it marks. It was unveiled by

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

in 1957, in front of visiting dignitaries, and hundreds of veterans and relatives of those who died. Later commemorations held here include the 75th anniversary in 2015.

Background

The

consisted of the defence of and evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk, resisting and evading capture by the invading German forces. The battle was part of the larger

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

campaign during the

, with the British Army forces consisting of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The BEF dead are commemorated by the

(CWGC), with those whose died with no known grave being commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial. The period covered is that prior to and during the

, from September 1939 to June 1940. The memorial also commemorates those from that battle who died later in captivity and who have no known grave.

Location and design

The memorial forms the entrance to one of the CWGC sections of Dunkirk Town Cemetery in

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. Either side of the entrance gates are the inscription panels in English and French, surmounted by stone urns. There are 4,505 names listed on the memorial, which takes the form of free-standing

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

screen walls in two rows either side of an avenue leading to a shrine which includes a glass pane () engraved with scenes from the evacuation. Further screen walls are attached to the shrine, at the centre of which is a circular wooden seating area integrated with the cabinet containing the CWGC cemetery and memorial register. The design for the memorial was produced by

Philip Hepworth Philip Dalton Hepworth (12 March 1888 – 21 February 1963) was a British architect. He studied in both the UK and France, at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and the École des Beaux-Arts, and returned to work as an archite ...

, the Principal Architect for France for the Imperial War Graves Commission (later the Commonwealth War Graves Commission), while the glass engraving was by New Zealand-born engraver John Hutton. The horticultural design included a

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

hedge, and English herbaceous and flowering border plants such as

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenou ...

s, primroses,

phlox ''Phlox'' (; Greek φλόξ "flame"; plural "phlox" or "phloxes", Greek φλόγες ''phlóges'') is a genus of 67 species of perennial and annual plants in the family Polemoniaceae. They are found mostly in North America (one in Siberia) in di ...

, heathers, and

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

Unveiling and dedication

The memorial was unveiled on 29 June 1957 by

. The Queen Mother travelled to France on HMS ''Chieftain''. Also attending the ceremony were the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curren ...

(President of the Imperial War Graves Commission), Sir

Gladwyn Jebb Hubert Miles Gladwyn Jebb, 1st Baron Gladwyn (25 April 1900 – 24 October 1996) was a prominent British civil servant, diplomat and politician who served as the acting secretary-general of the United Nations between 1945 and 1946. Early ...

(the British Ambassador to France), General Jean Ganeval (representing

René Coty Jules Gustave René Coty (; 20 March 188222 November 1962) was President of France from 1954 to 1959. He was the second and last president of the Fourth French Republic. Early life and politics René Coty was born in Le Havre and studied at th ...

the President of France), Mayor Paul Asseman (the Mayor of Dunkirk), Field-Marshal Sir

Gerald Templer Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part in the crushing of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. As Chief of the Imperia ...

(the Chief of the Imperial General Staff), and representatives of Empire (later Commonwealth) nations. Some 1600 veterans and relatives of those commemorated were at the unveiling, part of a pilgrimage to the memorial unveiling that had been organised by the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

. In her address to the crowd, the Queen Mother declared: The memorial panels were veiled with

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

s, with a roll of drums accompanying the unveiling of each panel. The "

Last Post The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infantry and Australian infantry regiments, or a D or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Horse Artillery and R ...

" was played, as well as "Lochaber No More" (played on bagpipes). The religious service included a dedication of the memorial by the Chaplain-General to the Forces Victor Pike, prayers by the Principal Roman Catholic Chaplain, Monsignor Bernard Navin, and the singing of "

Land of Hope and Glory "Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar written in 1901 and lyrics by A. C. Benson later added in 1902. Composition The music to which the words of the refrain 'Land of Hope and Glory, &c' below ar ...

". The guards of honour were provided by the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

and the French 33rd Infantry Regiment. Naval tribute was paid with a gun salute from the ships offshore, and the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

salute was given by a flypast from a

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

fighter aircraft. Wreaths were laid at the memorial by the Queen Mother and other dignitaries, with a wreath also laid on behalf of Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. Hundreds of wreaths were then laid by the pilgrims, including one laid by Sir Ian Fraser, President of the Royal British Legion. On the return voyage by HMS ''Chieftain'', the Queen Mother cast a wreath into the sea off the Dunkirk beaches.

Casualties commemorated

Those named on the memorial include BEF servicemen who died on SS ''Abukir'', a British steamship that was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea while evacuating Ostend on the last day of the

Battle of Belgium The invasion of Belgium or Belgian campaign (10–28 May 1940), often referred to within Belgium as the 18 Days' Campaign (french: Campagne des 18 jours, nl, Achttiendaagse Veldtocht), formed part of the greater Battle of France, an Military o ...

. The missing military personnel lost when the RMS ''Lancastria'' was sunk are also commemorated on this memorial. Among the individuals named on the memorial are

-recipient Lieutenant Christopher Furness, and army chaplain Leslie Philip Riches.

Later history

The 75th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation was marked at the Dunkirk Memorial on 22 May 2015, in a commemorative event organised by Dunkirk Town and attended by HRH

Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were first ...

. Primary school children from the local area sang the French and British national anthems while dressed in the colours of the French tricolour flag. The service at the memorial was led by Royal Navy chaplain Gordon Warren who said:

Architectural features

File:Dunkirk Memorial 2.JPG, Entrance gates, memorial avenue and shrine File:Dunkirk Town Cem. 11.JPG, War graves adjacent to the memorial File:Dunkirk Town Cem.13.JPG, Shrine seating and

Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or ...

File:Dunkirk Town Cem. 16.JPG, Engraved glass memorial pane of the evacuation

References

External links

{{commons category, Dunkirk Memorial
Dunkirk Memorial unveiled in 1957
(British Movietone via YouTube)
Dunkirk Memorial unveiled in 1957
(British Pathé)

including 22 May 2015 event (JLB Photos)
Video of the 22 May 2015 commemorative ceremony
(JLB Photos via YouTube) Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials World War II memorials in France Buildings and structures completed in 1957 Buildings and structures in Dunkirk Dunkirk evacuation 20th-century architecture in France