Battlefields - Dunkirk

21st & 22nd June 2025

2025 marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War, with Victory in Europe (VE) Day on 8 May 1945. Chelsea & Fulham HOG arranged a trip to Dunkirk, the 85th anniversary of Operation Dynamo, the miraculous evacuation of 338,000 British and French troops from the beaches of Dunkirk. The story of the evacuation is well known, the story of those defending to make this evacuation possible less so. Our ambition was to tell a little of their story, of the sacrifice, the guts, determination of those brave souls covering the retreat to Dunkirk, fighting to the last round, the last man, the selfless act to make the evacuation of others possible.

The route was planned, the maps and history books poured over, hotels booked, sunshine ordered. We met bright and early at the Eurotunnel to be greeted by blue skies and not even a hint of rain. Traditionally we arrive in France and head straight on the motorways to get to our destination.

Our plan was to explore the quieter rural roads of Northern France, roughly follow the line of the Dunkirk defenders all set to the wonderful soundtrack of our Harleys. We followed stunning Opal Coast, the road swept gently up and down, meandered left and right with a beautiful vista around every corner, bathed in brilliant sunshine it looked stunning.

Quick coffee stop we then turned in land to be greeted by more rolling hills, more flowing sweeping bends, absolutely no potholes. The French countryside looked stunning bathed in brilliant sunshine, to our delight we were greeted with empty roads, mile after mile.

The ordered sunshine was now heating up to 35 degrees, so I was glad we were moving along nicely. After lunch we had arranged a visit to La Coupole, WW2 Rocket Factory, not only was it well worth the visit but it was also at a very cool 19 degrees inside which was welcomed by everyone to escape the heat when stationary. We all found the place fascinating, so much so that some of us were still there at closing time. A short hop to our overnight accommodation in the beautiful town of Saint Omer followed.

In gratitude at C&F visiting Saint Omer they kindly laid on a music festival in our honour. After a fabulous meal at a pre booked local restaurant, we headed out to enjoy the festival, a great night out followed as we enjoyed the vibe and a beer or two.

As part of this tour, we arranged to lay a wreath at the site of the Wormhout massacre in which 100 British captured soldiers were massacred at the hands of the German SS.

Our last man, Chris Dodds, gave a simply stunning account of what happened at this site and the build up to it. Chris was able to mix in and relay his own personal account of being shelled during his time in service to give it some context. I have no other words that will do this enough justice, you simply had to be there. This was followed by a wreath laying ceremony carried out by RCs Ray Campbell and Rob Warr. There was clearly a lot of dust in the atmosphere because at this point there was not a dry eye in the house, my own included. A period of quiet reflection followed as we continued to explore the site of this dreadful massacre.

All to soon the trip was coming to an end and it was time to head back to the Eurotunnel.

A few thank you’s to finish off if I may. A big thank you to all those who joined us on the trip, I hope you enjoyed it as much as myself and Chris. To John Warr for allowing me and Chris to run with our idea. Well done and thank you to all our members who helped the ride flow. We were joined by young Freddie Luckhurst, great to be able to share this story with the next generation as well as being good company.

A particular thanks to Chris Dodd for last man duties, the research and the very moving delivery of events that happened at Wormhout, those of us present will never forget. Turabi for boundless enthusiasm and great pictures capturing the trip perfectly. Ray Campbell and Rob Warr supporting myself and the ride with their Road Captain duties and laying the wreath, what a great team!

John Moran - C&F H.O.G. Road Captain

 

Photographs courtesy of Turabi Ay - C&F Photographer

The next C&F Rideout is Chriss Dodds, rank has its privileges, July 13th, 2025. Its going to be a treat.

Link to the story of the Wormhout Massacre.