After Dunkirk

[ElRow]

Hi all
Can someone tell me what happened to the soldiers who returned to Ramsgate from Dunkirk. I know that there were trains waiting for them when they disembarked but where did they go in those trains? It would be nice to think that they were allowed home to recover.
Thank you
ElRow

[Viktoria]

I would think for the purposes of keeping track of the returned soldiers they would be mustered somewhere.
Those not accounted for ,their families would need to know.
I can’t think they would just be left to make their way home ,no money etc and long distances.Wounds needing attention etc.
It is an interesting question ,I suspect they were patched up and many would go back in the DDay landings!
Viktoria.

[Rena]

It's something I never thought to ask about - I just recall uniformed uncles appearing, then disappearing then reappearing again in my life.  There's an outline of the Demobilisation that was taken by the British Ministry of Defence ( Ministry of War) at the time:-

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demobilisation_of_the_British_Armed_Forces_after_the_Second_World_War

Hopefull somebody with specific knowledge will come along.

[ElRow]

Thanks both. During Lockdown I've been writing the stories of my parents' lives. My father survived Dunkirk so going systematically through it I wondered whether he'd have been allowed home. Thanks for those tips Viktoria. It is feasable that they would have to muster.
Eleri

[Viktoria]

You must be very proud of your Dad,anyone who knows about Dunkirk ,and any part of either war is proud of all who took part.
We owe them such a lot.
Best wishes with your research.

Viktoria.

[ElRow]

Thank you Viktoria. I am proud of him. He didn't want to talk about it though. Just like many many others.
Eleri

[philipsearching]

I don't know of any official records or first-hand accounts available online, although there are photographs online of soldiers resting in Queens College Cambridge, Victoria Park Leicester, and other places soon after the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Piecing together second-hand and third-hand stories (with no original sources cited) it seems that the policy for returning soldiers was:
Get them away from the coast (to temporary sites until permanent camps were organised).
Get the wounded and sick treated.
Get them fed.
Restore morale, discipline, and fitness.
Re-supply weapons, uniforms, vehicles and equipment.
Training, training, and more training.

I am sure that the immediate concern would have been to re-organise the soldiers into effective fighting regiments to be ready to repel an invasion.  I doubt if sending them on leave was a priority!

[ElRow]

Thank you so much Philip. This makes so much sense. The attitude of the Army should have been obvious to me. I have various documents from his war years and the very first leave recorded was Jan 1941. So that is a good seven months after Dunkirk!
Thank you very much for your help.
Eleri

[Skoosh]

Had an uncle in the Seaforths who got away at Dunkirk. The Highland Brigade were less fortunate & were still fighting, trapped at St Valery until they ran out of ammo & surrendered to Rommel. No ships for them but the long walk into POW camps!

https://51hd.co.uk/history/valery_1940

Skoosh.