Yesterday's Witness - One Man's Dunkirk
Duncan Nicol, a former navy stoker, remembers his role in the Dunkirk evacuation. He and fellow stoker Terence were assigned to the Elizabeth Green, a small pleasure craft with a rowing boat attached in which they rescued as many men as possible. Just when they thought they'd finished the job, they were ordered to return to Dunkirk and rescue the remaining French troops.
The tasks Nicol undertook left him feeling more remorseful than heroic. He was both witness to and responsible for some harsh actions taken in the "fog of war" that still haunt him. Terence, by contrast, seemed to have a happy-go-lucky attitude, risking punishment by insisting on a few days' worth of 'survivor's leave' and some pay for their efforts.
A document from the archives shows there was discontent among the audience about Duncan Nicol's voice and tone of delivery, which seemed to trivialise the event. According to another document, this was in part due to extreme nerves and trauma attributed to his experiences at Dunkirk.
