Late return of R.S.F. from Dunkirk

I don't know the exact movements of my brother, Arthur Hardwick, during the fighting in France 1940. I was 12 at the time, staying with friends in Somerset with my youngest brother, Peter Hardwick, aged 6, and my mother, well away from our home town, Rayleigh in Essex. My other brother, Gerald Hardwick, was in the Royal Air Force up in Scotland.

Arthur was a Lance-Corporal (possibly a Corporal). I understand that he was in the B.E.F. 2nd Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers whilst in France. When he returned to England in 1940 he took a commission and was transferred to the 1st Battalion, with whom he was at the time of his death in October 1942.

I understand that the R.S.F escaped from France around 15th June (shortly after the Dunkirk evacuation) because they had been ordered to stand fast and defend a hill, enabling the troops to withdraw from Dunkirk. My mother travelled through the night back to Rayleigh to see Arthur for just a few hours, before he rejoined his regiment.

I would love to know how on earth he got back from France and who might have helped him.

Mrs. Myrtle Hiscock

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