Missing The Boat: War Stories of Thomas Alan Dirkin

57 Historical Background and Context When I started to write down a series of war stories about my father’s experiences in World War II, I did not realize that he was one of a group of men who participated in two poorly documented, yet stunning, aspects of the Second World War. I think it will be important to the reader to understand the history to provide context to the stories. May 1940: Missing the Boat My father was involved in a rear-guard action in May 1940, when he was a member of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). War had been declared in September 1939, but hostilities did not begin until May 1940. My dad joined the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC). The RASC were focused on supplying the front line and coordinating transportation. The RASC was viewed as a “combatant force”. The military strategy, to eliminate the supply lines to the front, meant that my dad was in action as soon as the conflict started. In May and early June 1940, a superior German military rapidly advanced through France and Belgium, pushing the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) back to the French coast. There were approximately 400,000 British troops that needed to be brought back to England from Dunkirk. Had the majority of the BEF been captured, the war would probably have ended quickly in Germany’s favor. The rear guard had the critical task of slowing down the German advance, by blowing up bridges and creating as many obstacles as possible. In retreat, the RASC, was tasked with strategic disruption to the advancing enemy. Sean Longden stated in his book Dunkirk: The Men They Left Behind that “amid the chaos not every unit continued towards the coast. There were plenty among them who were given firm orders to stop and prepare defensive positions. If an entire army was going to escape from the beaches of France, they would need someone to hold