Missing The Boat: War Stories of Thomas Alan Dirkin

76 War Diaries from May 1940 The War Diaries in this section corroborate the mission to blow up bridges to slow German advance that my Dad was involved in directly. This mission led to my Dad being cut-off and his capture. In the 2017 movie the Darkest Hour, Winston Churchill discusses with members of his cabinet that the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), which were assembling at Dunkirk to retreat across the English Channel, had to be protected by the BEF garrison at Calias. For my dad, his mission was to go to the south and west of Calais and slow the German advance, at all costs. In the movie scene, the mission required of the Calias garrison and BEF personnel was viewed as “suicide.” The scene can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YpDd1nVthI The pathway of the main German Advance and my father’s position