Dunkirk evacuation speeds up

30th May 1940: Many more men are rescued from the beaches and the harbour as Operation Dynamo continues

Thousands of men were strafed and bombed as they waited on the beaches. Soldiers from the British Expeditionary Force fire at low-flying German aircraft during the Dunkirk evacuation

After the severe trials of the 29th May, when many ships fell victim to bombing and torpedo attacks off Dunkirk, better progress was made on the 30th. More of the ‘little ships’ had now arrived. This enabled the transfer of men from the beaches to larger ships offshore. Nevertheless, many men found themselves wading out to sea, waiting up to their necks in the cold water to get on a boat. The very calm weather persisted - any amount of surf would have completely disrupted the operation. Almost 60,000 men got away on this day.

The greatest challenge at Dunkirk was transferring men to the larger ships that could not come close inshore.

Members of Royal Ulster Rifles waiting on improvised pier of lorries to evacuate Dunkirk during low tide..

The evacuation had already lifted many more men than had been expected - and it appeared that the perimeter would hold for a few days yet.

Douglas Chisholm wasa Dispatch Rider with the Royal Corps of Signals.

Douglas Chisholm¹ was a despatch rider with the Royal Corps of Signals. He had spent the days leading up to the evacuation reconnoitring routes through the narrow country lanes for convoys of troops:

The sound of gunfire was gradually coming nearer and we seemed to be increasingly inactive, then one day the Major said we had finished our job, we were to destroy the wireless sets and vehicles and make our own way to the beach at Dunkirk. I didn't fancy walking what seemed quite a way to the smoke cloud, so I rode to the outskirts of the town, then drained the oil out of the engine, set the throttle to high rev's, kick-started the engine, and set fire to the petrol tank and walked away.

It was evening by the time I got onto the beach, there were groups in trenches dug in the sand, others seemed to be wandering around aimlessly. Some were wading out to sea hoping to get on one of the small boats that came in as close as possible. I took off my boots and hung them round my neck and got to the water's edge, realised it was low tide and decided to wait until the tide was right in, then I wouldn't have so far to wade in order to get on a boat.