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Description
The original painting is in acrylics on panel and is 4ft x 2ft. It is one of my submissions for the "Reflections" Exhibition at St. Mary de Haura Church during the Adur Art Trail and Festival. It will be on display from the 30th May. As far as possible it uses my own reference photos from airshows and of "Steam Tug Challenge". If you have time , the text explaining the event is below.

Reflections of Dunkirk – “Challenge”

At the beginning of World War II, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was sent to help defend France, following Germany’s invasion of Poland. However, by May 1940 they had become trapped along the northern coast of France by German forces. The stricken troops withdrew to the area around Dunkirk’s fortified port, with its 4 mile long sandy beach, it was hoped the surrounding marshes would help keep German tanks at bay.

Between 27th May and 4th June 1940, more than 800 allied ships, including hundreds of commercial and pleasure craft, answered the call from Winston Churchill and evacuated over 338,000 men, including 140,000 French troops, turning what at first had appeared to be a military defeat into a "miracle of deliverance”. This was code-named Operation Dynamo.

An almost incredible period of calm weather enabled the fleet of “Little Ships” to get in close to the beaches of Dunkirk to rescue troops being pushed back into the English Channel by the tides of war. Bigger craft could not sail so close, due to the shallow waters, so the smaller craft ferried men to them. Some formed linked jetties to reach the men waiting in snaking lines; waist, chest and neck deep in the cold water, under constant fire from ground troops, artillery and open to aerial attack from Germany’s Luftwaffe.

Steam tug “Challenge” was one of those heroic craft used, first to berth the bigger ships in the harbour inside the “East Mole” harbour arm, and then, as the harbour rapidly became blocked with sunken vessels, to rescue some of the many troops who were fast running out of food and water.

Challenge was restored extensively at Shoreham Harbour, although you can still see evidence of the battle scars from Dunkirk she carries to this day, and is now moored in Southampton port. You can learn more about her history at www.stchallenge.org

Marcus Finch B.A. – May 2015

Description
The original painting is in acrylics on panel and is 4ft x 2ft. It is one of my submissions for the "Reflections" Exhibition at St. Mary de Haura Church during the Adur Art Trail and Festival. It will be on display from the 30th May. As far as possible it uses my own reference photos from airshows and of "Steam Tug Challenge". If you have time , the text explaining the event is below.

Reflections of Dunkirk – “Challenge”

At the beginning of World War II, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was sent to help defend France, following Germany’s invasion of Poland. However, by May 1940 they had become trapped along the northern coast of France by German forces. The stricken troops withdrew to the area around Dunkirk’s fortified port, with its 4 mile long sandy beach, it was hoped the surrounding marshes would help keep German tanks at bay.

Between 27th May and 4th June 1940, more than 800 allied ships, including hundreds of commercial and pleasure craft, answered the call from Winston Churchill and evacuated over 338,000 men, including 140,000 French troops, turning what at first had appeared to be a military defeat into a "miracle of deliverance”. This was code-named Operation Dynamo.

An almost incredible period of calm weather enabled the fleet of “Little Ships” to get in close to the beaches of Dunkirk to rescue troops being pushed back into the English Channel by the tides of war. Bigger craft could not sail so close, due to the shallow waters, so the smaller craft ferried men to them. Some formed linked jetties to reach the men waiting in snaking lines; waist, chest and neck deep in the cold water, under constant fire from ground troops, artillery and open to aerial attack from Germany’s Luftwaffe.

Steam tug “Challenge” was one of those heroic craft used, first to berth the bigger ships in the harbour inside the “East Mole” harbour arm, and then, as the harbour rapidly became blocked with sunken vessels, to rescue some of the many troops who were fast running out of food and water.

Challenge was restored extensively at Shoreham Harbour, although you can still see evidence of the battle scars from Dunkirk she carries to this day, and is now moored in Southampton port. You can learn more about her history at www.stchallenge.org

Marcus Finch B.A. – May 2015