An emotional crowd proudly surrounded Poole’s historic lifeboat station museum to commemorate the contribution made by the town in 1940 to operation Dynamo – the rescuing of thousands of British Expeditionary Force troops from the bombed and blasted beaches of Dunkirk in Belgium.
At the exact time that the hastily gathered fleet set sail 85 years ago, bugler Kevin Steele of Poole Sea Cadets appropriately sounded the “Last Post”.
Flowers were then laid in Fisherman’s Dock in silent tribute to Poole’s seafarers of the time.
Within the RNLI Museum at the end of Poole Quay the then Poole Lifeboat “Thomas Kirk Wright” is preserved to the present day. A Dunkirk “Little Ship” herself she was prominent in the mass evacuation from Belgium, making several return voyages, and carrying hundreds of escaping soldiers.
On a fine sunny evening the crowd of onlookers, which included the crews of both of today’s Poole lifeboats, was welcomed by the new Mayor of Poole, Councillor Mark Howell, before the Reverend Canon Lucy Hall led prayers and hymns. Poole Borough Band played on the dockside before thanks were given by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, Admiral Sir George Zambellas.