Association of Dunkirk Little Ships 85th Anniversary of Operation Dynamo - Return to Dunkirk
by Mick Gentry 21 Apr 09:33 BST
21-26 May 2025
Association of Dunkirk Little Ships Anniversary of Operation Dynamo © Mick Gentry
The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships (ADLS) are sailing as a fleet from Ramsgate to Dunkirk over the late May Bank Holiday weekend May 21-26, 2025.
There will be 74 Dunkirk Little Ships in the fleet, a large number never having been previously seen in the modern era.
The voyage marks the 85th anniversary of Operation Dynamo, the rescue of more than 338,000 British and Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk in late May and early June of 1940.
- 85th return of Dunkirk Little Ships
- Channel crossing of 74 Little Ships from Ramsgate to Dunkirk
- May 21 - 26, 2025
This will be the first time the Little Ships have made the crossing since 2015. The ADLS arranges a voyage every five years but in 2020 the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.
The 2025 crossing will be escorted by the Royal Navy and the RNLI, with a spectator fleet of modern craft present in Ramsgate and Dunkirk. Commemorative events will be held in Dunkirk.
The Little Ships are planning on sailing from Ramsgate Royal Harbour on 21 May 2025, arriving 10 hours later in Dunkirk, weather and sea conditions permitting.
They will assemble in Ramsgate before the initial sailing date and will likely be berthed in the inner marina.
The Little Ships have been widely commemorated by Hollywood. First, in Dunkirk (1958), directed by Leslie Norman, and most recently in Dunkirk (2017), directed by Christopher Nolan, in which a number of the original Little Ships and their owner/crews made a guest appearance in several sequences.
Find out more at www.adls.org.uk