Footsteps of WWII · Dunkirk & the Channel coast

Malo-les-Bains evacuation beach, Dunkirk

Landing beach · 27 May–4 Jun 1940

The story

The beaches running east from Malo-les-Bains towards Bray-Dunes and De Panne were where tens of thousands of British and French soldiers waited, often for days, under air attack. Small boats ferried men out to larger ships lying offshore, a slow process that led Captain William Tennant, the senior naval officer ashore, to send most troops to the harbour moles instead. In all 98,671 men were lifted from the beaches. At the western end of the promenade, the Digue des Alliés, the Allied memorial inaugurated in 1962 marks the annual commemoration of the battle and of Operation Dynamo.

What to look for

A wide, flat sandy beach backed by the promenade and rebuilt seaside villas. At its western end stands a block-like memorial, inscribed in French only, to the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the French and Allied armies, with British poppy wreaths on its anchor. From here you can walk to the root of the East Mole.

Plan your visit

Free, open access at all times. The memorial is at the western end of the Digue des Alliés, close to the Dunkirk 1940 Museum. Best combined with the museum and the East Mole on foot.

Nearby sites

• Dunkirk 1940 Museum (Bastion 32) · under 1 km
• East Mole (Jetée de l'Est), Dunkirk · under 1 km
• Dunkirk Memorial and Town Cemetery (CWGC) · 2 km
• Fort des Dunes, Leffrinckoucke · 4 km
• Zuydcoote and Bray-Dunes beach wrecks · 8 km
• La Plaine au Bois massacre memorial, Esquelbecq (Wormhout) · 19 km

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