Students can study WW2 on a day tour by focusing on Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940 immortalised in the recent Christopher Nolan 'Dunkirk' film.
On this new tour, we examine the events of May-June 1940 recently depicted in Christopher Nolan’s Hollywood film, Dunkirk. Operation Dynamo witnessed the evacuation of over 300,000 Allied soldiers from Dunkirk using Royal Naval vessels, Merchant ships and the so-called ‘Little Ships’. It is an evocative battlefield to visit, which is why Nolan chose to film much of his epic actually on the places where the events of 1940 took place.
KS3 National Curriculum – The Second World War and the Holocaust
OCR GCSE Syllabus – War and British Society 1790-2010
EdExcel GCSE Syllabus – Warfare and British Society c.1250-present
EdExcel A-Level Syllabus – Themes in Breadth with Aspects of Depth – The Changing Nature of Warfare, 1859-1991
OCR A-Level Syllabus – British Period Study – Britain 1900-1951
OCR A-Level Syllabus – British Period Study – Britain 1930-1997 Churchill
Specialist Battlefield Guide. For larger groups we have two guides per booking.
Travel by coach from your school.
Tour pack of information and resources to use in the classroom.
Entrance to Dunkirk War Museum.
Channel crossings.
This is an itinerary that can be completed in a day trip from any location in South-East, within 2-3 hours of the Channel Tunnel. For schools outside of this area, we can tailor-make an itinerary across two or more days
After an early morning departure from the school, we travel to France via the Channel Tunnel.
We continue our journey with a drive into the Dunkirk area where we begin our tour at the Dunkirk War Museum, host to a superb array of items connected to the history of Dunkirk. We also have some object handling here to enable the students to touch artefacts connected to the period.
We move on to see the Dunkirk Mole, a jetty where larger ships could come in and evacuate soldiers. This was also the ‘sharp end’ for many women at Dunkirk, who arrived on hospital ships as nurses.
We then visit the Dunkirk Town Cemetery and Dunkirk Memorial to the Missing, where many of those who died in Operation Dynamo are commemorated. These include several ‘Teenage Tommies’ who were killed as young soldiers in 1940.
At nearby Chateau Coquelle we will have the opportunity to look at the role of the Medical Services in the Dunkirk story, before moving on to the Dunkirk Beaches at Bray Dunes where we will see the area where one of the iconic lines of men were lifted off the Dunkirk Beaches in 1940.
At low tide, it is possible to see the wreck of one of the ‘Little Ships’ here. We will then begin our return home via the Channel Tunnel, with arrival back at the school expected in the late evening.
Chateau Coquelle
Dunkirk Mole
Dunkirk War Cemetery & Memorial
Dunkirk Beaches at Bray Dunes
If you would like more information or would like to customise this tour to suit your needs, get in touch today.
Each of our tours are tailor made to suit your school’s specific requirements.
Our team of experienced specialist guides are both passionate and knowledgeable.
Our tours are carefully designed to meet the aims of the National Curriculum.
You can rest assured that your school trips are safe and financially secured.
