CORNWALL’S Army Museum Bodmin Keep is remembering the 80th anniversary of the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Between the 26th May and 4th June 1940, members of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry were among the more than 300,000 soldiers rescued off the beaches of Northern France in a mission made possible by hundreds of small boats which came across the Channel.

During May 1940, the Germans had crossed the Belgian and Dutch frontiers, leading to Holland and Belgium surrendering. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in Europe, of which the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry were part, was forced back towards the coast and became trapped.

Over eight days, more than 330,000 Allied troops were rescued from the beaches in ’Operation Dynamo’, involving some 800 small vessels which came to their aid.

The British Expeditionary Force lost around 68,000 soldiers.

In the collection at Bodmin Keep Army Museum is a poignant reminder of this momentous event in the form of a Union Jack flag that was rescued from the Dunkirk beaches by an officer of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.

The museum’s collections manager, Verity Anthony, tells the story of the flag: ’On May 30 1940, the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (DCLI) arrived at the French coast weary and hungry and we know that they were welcomed by a much-needed substantial meal.

’They were then moved back four miles inland but on the 1st June, after coming under attack, they eventually made it back to Dunkirk, from where they were rescued.

’The soldiers and officers of the Battalion were split across numerous small boats and they must have been greatly relieved to be leaving the smoke and noise of Dunkirk. Few of them remembered the journey home to England as they were so exhausted and many of them slept all the way.

’It was one of these evacuated men, a Captain J Hodgkinson, who brought back the large union jack flag that we have in our collection. He was originally with the Dorset regiment but was posted to the DCLI in France in early 1940. He was slightly wounded in the last days of the evacuation but lived to a ripe old age, dying in London in 1986. We‘re so grateful to him for saving such a unique item that helps us to tell this story.’

You can find out more about the museum’s collections and download free resources for fun activities and home schooling by visiting their website - www.bodminkeep.org