Hi. Totally new to this forum, so apologies, but probably posting that has been discussed a thousand times. Anyway, I have my Grandads medal, certificate and records from Dunkirk and would like to know more about what he actually went through and how he got evacuated, either on a destroyer or one of the small boats of Dunkirk.. The thing was is that he would never discuss it, but being an excited 8yr old, that was what I was most interested in. Going to watch Dunkirk recently has ignited all the old questions and even though the film was not factually correct, I can't begin to imagine what he and all the other poor souls would have been going through. I think about him everyday and wished that I could have spent more time with him (he died when I was 13)and just tried to understand the sacrifices these young men made for our freedom. I do hope someone can help. I just want to gather as much information and try to view as many images just in the faint chance of seeing my hero and role model. Thank you. Rich. ps. His name is Harold Percy Caudle of the Gloucestershire Regiment. Also his medal diploma number 49943. Hope this helps.
My Grandfather was a pre-war regular and he never spoke about the fall of France either. No problem with the Middle East, Italy or the end of the War in Germany...To be honest, most of them were not particularly proud about a campaign that ended in withdrawal and it was only a few weeks in a war that lasted six years. It's very difficult to pin down exact details relating to 'Other Ranks' (or was he an officer ?) Do you have his service records from Glasgow ? They will give a date of return to the UK and if it ties in with the war diaries, then it is probably correct...some are a long way out though and show the date that the battalion came back together afterwards. Some battalion war diaries mention how the majority were evacuated. A large number were evacuated in good order. In general, they remained disciplined. Do you know if he was a regular (which would point towards the 2nd Battalion) or a Territorial (which would make the 5th Battalion more likely) ? If you can post copies of everything that you have, you may be surprised what can sometimes be deduced.
Richard, Once you know which Battalion and Regiment he was in you can start to look for information about them. Books, some written by someone who served with the unit, and museums will also add to you knowledge.
For service records from Glasgow the application forms are - Request records of deceased service personnel - GOV.UK TD
Small probability he was with 2nd Gloucesters as few made it back to the beaches and home after Cassell. More likely to have been 5th Gloucesters.
There was a Percy Wesley Caudle from Gloucestershire in the Canadian Army in WWI, KIA. Any relation? Percy Wesley Caudle | Great War Centenary Association
Found this entry, would this be be him? Casualty List No. 226 Dated 8 June 1940 Expeditionary Forces / France / Wounded The Gloucestershire Regiment 5179554 Caudle Pte H - 2 Bn. - Date not reported
Wow, he was in the 2nd Battalion. No wonder he didn't want to talk about it, some 80% of the unit was lost at Cassel.
It is quite possible, if he was wounded earlier that he was evacuated prior to Operation Dynamo. The service record is needed here !
