Gaffers Abroad: WWII Tour of England & France

  DUNKIRK AND THE  BLOCKHAUS AT EPERLECQUES May 5 (continued) A key landmark from the Dunkirk story that  we had to see  was the East Mole near the harbour, the pier from where nearly half of the soldiers who were evacuated in Operation Dynamo were rescued. Much of the E. Mole was damaged during the fighting in May and early June 1940, then the rest was destroyed later by the fearsome storms of the English Channel. It was rebuilt and stands today as a monument to the survivors and victims of the fighting in Dunkirk and Operation Dynamo.     A number of pillboxes and shelters to hide artillery built around Dunkirk Harbour still stand as well. Before moving inland we rode into the heart of the city to see some of the local buildings and to enjoy a quick lunch at Tout Chaud (loosely translated as "Hot Food"). The downtown part of Dunkirk, which became  a city of significance in the 1600's,  has been reconstructed quite well in the past 86 years ...

  DUNKIRK:  ZUYDCOOTE  AND BRAY DUNES May 5 Today would be the cornerstone of the entire trip. The guide we had chosen was Emmanuel Clermont, a native of the area who works for both  Dunkerque  Tourisme and Tours by Local. [ 5 stars!!! ] According to websites we researched, he was experienced and knowledgeable; and we had found already that he had been responsive to our queries and gone "above and beyond" in helping us plan and schedule the trip. He drove a comfortable company minivan and picked us up at our hotel punctually at 9:30. Our first stop, one that had been planned for months to be at low tide, would be at nearby (about 5 miles east) Zuydcoote and Bray Dunes to see the what remains of the HMS Crested Eagle , a paddle steamer passenger ship which was hit during Operation Dynamo by German bombers while trying to evacuate the ~600 men aboard her (and whose bell, you may recall from the photo in yesterday's entry, is displayed at the 1940 Operation Dynamo...

  FERRY 'CROSS THE CHANNEL May 4 Ferries in Dover Harbour After a quick breakfast the Dunkirk Jerks assembled in the motel lobby, suitcases and backpacks at the ready, and walked the roughly 1/4 mile to the rendezvous point for P&O Lines' "foot passengers" (their term for ferry passengers who are pedestrians rather than the majority, who were traveling with vehicles). To keep us from getting underfoot with the many vehicles loading on, P&O required us to arrive at least 90 minutes before departure so they could load us onto a shuttle bus, take us to security/passport control, and get us screened to ensure we weren't 21st Century Crusaders. Other than one of our crew's having left his cellphone in the shuttle station (which the kind bus "captain," who empathetically recognized the necessity of the cellphone for travelers in a foreign land, had us detour and retrieve ... 🙏 Bless you, kind sir! Undoubtedly not his first rodeo.), the check-in an...