22 August – Dunkerque

From the pamphlets, it appears the War Museum is located some distance away from where we are located (15 min south of Calais). I was positive there was something nearby in Dunkerque. I look on Google and sure enough, there is the Memorial Du Souvenir museum a 20-minute walk away. I write down directions, ignoring street signs and relying on direction and landmarks to guide us. It is 10:30 a.m. “If we aren’t there by 11:00, we are officially lost,” says Johanne. Off we go.

Twenty minutes later, we’re there.

The museum is situated in the remains of the massive fortification built in 1874 alongside the canal that leads into Dunkerque. We enter, pay our 4 euros each, and see a short film that describes the retreat of British, French and Belgium forces, and the subsequent evacuation that saved so many. The British also evacuated French forces, though not right away. Apparently, the British evacuated the French to avoid a rift in Anglo/French relations. In a bizarre twist of fate, the evacuated French return to unoccupied France a few days later and are either killed or captured as the Germans complete their occupation of France.

After the film, we tour the museum. It is full of WWII French, British, and German memorabilia. Citizens and professionals collected much material on the land and waters of Dunkerque and gave it to the museum.

Only those who were there know what it was really like, but the painting below gives some idea.

We leave the museum reflecting on whether it was fate or planning that brought the British to Dunkerque, an optimum location for the evacuation. We remember another of our friends, Ken Jones, told us his dad had been at Dunkerque. It must have been a terrible time for the people in England as news gradually reached them of the disaster and then waiting for information concerning their loved ones. Like Dieppe, but on a much larger scale.

We walk to the beach and are amazed at its size. We could only imagine what it must have been like in 1940 with hundreds of thousands of soldiers waiting to be evacuated.


We walk down the beach towards the Mole (long narrow pier) and then back. As all the restaurants will stop serving in another hour, we decide to go for lunch at the L’Iguane restaurant on the boardwalk.

After eating ray and mussels, we cut short our plans to do more sight-seeing and return to the hotel. Johanne locks herself in the washroom in the hotel lobby and can’t get out. I go back for her about 15 minutes later wondering where she is but she has just broken out. Flustered, she recounts her imprisonment in infinite detail. We go back to the room and Johanne checks out the ferry schedule from Dunkerque to Dover while I nap. I wake up to the equivalent of “Houston, we have a problem.” “The only ferries travelling from Dunkerque to Dover are car ferries. They don’t carry pedestrians,” Johanne says as I rub the sleep from my eyes. “The only ferry that did has now gone bankrupt.” Needless to say she has my full attention. I go to the lobby to see if they can help (perhaps Johanne read the schedules wrong?) but they can’t confirm whether pedestrians are allowed. Okay, what’s plan B? For travellers on foot in Dunkerque going to Dover, The Lonely Planet suggests going to the ferry terminal, getting friendly with someone who has room in their car, and offering to pay half their fare. I don’t think so! We call Avis and tell them we want to drop the car off in Calais (30 minutes away) where there are pedestrian ferries (according to Johanne). They tell me to arrange it with the Calais office. I call but they are closed. So tomorrow, we have another interesting day ahead. Johanne has already written down the Google instructions on how to get there. Right! Tune in tomorrow to see how Johanne and Mike overcome this latest obstacle in their journey.