May 1940: 500,000 British and French troops are trapped in northern France by the Nazis. Their only escape is the sea, and an incredible armada of 800 craft known as the little ships. This is the story of a young girl and her father, who sail from Deal to Normandy to lend their help.

During 1940 the German army swept with devastating speed across the Low Countries and into northern France and drove Allied forces back into a small pocket around Dunkirk. Without a swift withdrawal across the English Channel, the latter faced certain death or capture. The evacuation plan – Operation Dynamo – initially calculated that 45,000 men might be rescued, but between 26 May and 4 June 338,226 men were in fact brought back to England. Naval historian Philip Weir shows how this was made possible by a vast armada of disparate vessels including destroyers, minesweepers, fishing vessels and, most famously of all, the privately owned 'Little Ships'. He explores the vessels' various roles within the evacuation, and their subsequent fates, including preservation and participation in commemorative return runs to the port, which now take place every five years.

The story of how 700 small privately–owned vessels helped to save 338,226 British and French soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940.

From bestselling author Margaret Mayhew, an emotional and gripping wartime saga, full of the tension and adventure of World War Two. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Donna Douglas and Rosie Clarke. READERS ARE LOVING THE LITTLE SHIP! "Brilliant. Very moving, funny and sad all at the same time" - 5 STARS "[The] characterisation is wonderful. The reader is able to put themselves right there as the book unfolds." - 5 STARS "Absolutely fantastic" - 5 STARS "A fantastic storyteller" - 5 STARS "I found it fascinating historical fiction at its best" - 5 STARS *************************************************************** CAN FRIENDSHIPS FORGED IN CHILDHOOD SURVIVE THE HORRORS OF WAR? In the summers leading up to the war, Matt, Guy, and their young cousin Lizzie meet up on the Essex coast and bum around in an old boat. Guy is the eldest, handsome, skilled at everything, a tad selfish. Matt is quieter and has a crippled right arm. Lizzie adores them both. These are idyllic days of sun, and sea, the golden era of the thirties. As the thirties progress, things take a darker turn. Lizzie's family take the daughter of a Viennese colleague of Lizzie's father into their home, a Jewish girl called Anna, who is miserable and homesick. Soon Otto joins the band of children - the son of a German diplomat, reared in the best traditions of the Hitler doctrine and destined for the army. As they grow up, their relationships become tense and highly involved. Resentment, love, confusion, hate all intermingle... Then the world explodes into war and they go their separate ways until they all meet again at Dunkirk...with very different aims and ambitions....

You are the owner-captain of a luxury fifty-foot trawler motoring across the bay with your family and a few friends one balmy summer evening. Off in the distance, beyond the bridge spanning the waterway, you can make out the lights and shape of a containership moving down the channel. Have you ever wondered what action you must take to keep clear of that fast-approaching ship? This book will tell you how to do so quickly. Conscientious skippers are wise to read this book and discover if a ship's radar will pick up a small boat at night. It is fascinating to learn what is taking place on the bridge or down in the engine room of one of these leviathans as it heads your way. Can it be stopped before it hits you? Learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones by reading this book written for the private boat owner/captain.

Before the war it was just a few of them who went sailing on the North Sea estuary in their little boat. Guy, who was so handsome and so good at everything; Matt, his younger brother, who was determined not to be a cripple; and Lizzie, their small shy cousin who adored them both. They were later joined by two more Anna, a young Jewish refugee from Vienna, and Otto, sent from Berlin to an English public school in order to spy for his Nazi father. As time passed, the tensions between them grew. Otto and Guy became fierce rivals at school and despite his ingrained hatred of her race, Otto found himself fascinated by the beautiful Anna who despised him for his beliefs as much as she mocked Guy's conceit. Matt struggled to overcome his secret terror of the sea, while Lizzie battled with her jealousy of Anna. But there was one perfect summer's day when they sailed together on the sunny blue water and, in unaccustomed amity, carved their initials on the port bow of the Rose of England. Then the war exploded all around them. It was May 1940 when their paths crossed again, on the desperate retreat from Dunkirk, when the little ship, against all the odds, sailed to the rescue.