Main content
Retreat
Episode 1 of 3
Docudrama about events at Dunkirk in 1940. The Allies are in retreat, but the Navy can only pick up a few soldiers and Churchill is advised to make peace to save the rest.
Docudrama following events at Dunkirk in May and June 1940.
The Allies in northern France are in retreat, but the Navy only expects to be able to pick up a few soldiers and Churchill is under pressure to make peace in order to save the rest. Alf Tombs's unit helps hold open a corridor to aid the retreat, successfully allowing thousands to escape over 48 hours; on the beaches Captain Tennant makes use of a flimsy pier to speed the evacuation. As the weather changes the pier and the beaches are bombed heavily.
Last on
Tue 1 Jun 201023:20
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Signalman Wilf Saunders | Michael Legge |
| Captain Bill Tennant | Adrian Rawlins |
| Vice Admiral Tom Philips | Geoffrey Kirkness |
| Private Robert Garside | Mark Bagnall |
| Private GDS Gould | Scott Moutter |
| Corporal Gill | Ben Abell |
| Winston Churchill | Simon Russell Beale |
| Anthony Eden | Jack Fortune |
| Neville Chamberlain | Christopher Good |
| Lord Halifax | Richard Durden |
| Clement Atlee | Richard Atlee |
| Sergeant Moore | Lee Ross |
| Captain James Lynn-Allen | Daniel Weyman |
| Signalman Clive Tonry | Richard Sutton |
| Captain M Denny | Nicholas Asbury |
| Vice Admiral B Ransay | Richard Bremmer |
| Commander J Clouston | William Hope |
| Narrator | Timothy Dalton |
| Director | Alex Holmes |
| Producer | Rob Warr |
Broadcast
- Tue 1 Jun 201023:20
