HOPE

I’m writing this from Hastings and last night, an episode of Foyles War (which was filmed and based in Hastings) was shown. This episode was set at a time when the British nation faced great peril during World War 2. The Nazis had been sweeping through Europe, with countries surrendering left, right and centre to their cruel rule. The British Expeditionary Forces were in retreat and were being pushed back to the sea. We had suffered a terrible defeat and our nation was in dire straits, helpless in the face of a seemingly all-conquering enemy that stood just a few miles away, across the English Channel. It was an utterly hopeless situation.

Foyles War last night featured a few of the right-wing aristocracy who were so sure that defeat was inevitable that they were actively being subversive. A maid who had been influenced by them, after being caught cutting telephone wires, as an explanation said, “we ain’t got a hope”.

That made me sit up! Later in the drama, Dunkirk was featured and I thought again about what is called, “the miracle of Dunkirk”.

Before anyone starts having a go at me, I believe that war is always evil, though sometimes it is the lesser of two evils. What is certain, is that war brings out the very worst, but often, the very best of human nature, unselfishness and heroism. When material means have been exhausted and there is no hope, then people can be ready to turn to God. They say there are no atheists in foxholes.

Britain stood alone and defeated at the end of May 1940. During both World Wars, at times of great danger and utter hopelessness, National Days of Prayer were called. I wrote about the call to prayer at the beginning of the First World War, which resulted in the phenomena which was called,[url] “the Angels of Mons”[/url]

Plans to evacuate our troops were hastily brought together. Churchill predicted that 30,000 men could be lifted off, whilst Admiral Ramsay hoped for 45,000. It was accepted that the thousands left behind, if they were lucky enough to survive, would become German prisoners of war. It was clear that the British army would then be so depleted that surrender would have been the only option. Here is an account from one of the men on the retreat:

We had to march the final few miles to Dunkirk and as we got closer and closer we could see columns of fire and dirty black smoke coming from the town. Traveling all night had made us tired and hungry. Our officer led us down to the beach through some sand dunes where further down we got a first glimpse of the horror of Dunkirk and the true meaning of the word "RETREAT"
"TRAPPED" would have been a better word to describe the sight which met our eyes. We stood stock still in astonishment at the picture before us. There were lines of men waiting for evacuation by boat. Desperation filled our minds, fear and hopelessness left us speechless. We must all have been thinking that we didn't stand a chance and all appeared numb with apprehension. [url]BBC History[/url]

In those days, there was not the rejection of spirituality and religion that there is now, and millions of people here and in America joined in this prayer. Churches and other holy places were open all day and there was a steady stream of visitors praying for deliverance. On the eve of the operation, a national day of prayer was declared with King George VI attending a special service in Westminster Abbey.

Millions of people were praying, including Christian Scientists. I looked to see if anything was written about it and here are a couple of excerpts. (We all study the same Bible Lesson Sermon during the week, which is read aloud on Sundays. Interestingly, the subject that week was on the topic of overcoming hypnotic evil.)

“On Sunday, May 26, 1940, the English-speaking world was at prayer for the deliverance of the allied armies from Dunkirk. Two days later, unprecedented storms broke over Flanders, allowing the tens of thousands of troops to reach the coast under the storm's protecting covering. After that there followed, for days, a heretofore rarely known quiet on the usually turbulent waters, so calm, so secure, that countless small craft, formerly barred from the angry waves, were enabled to cross the water between England and Dunkirk, in their repeated trips to succor the besieged.” (From the June 28, 1941 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel)

“Have we not all marveled at the timeliness of certain sermons, worked out months in advance,…to meet specific local, national, or international problems? An outstanding example was during the evacuation of the Allied troops at Dunkirk in World War II…Dark indeed seemed the prospect of delivery, but the intelligent, loving prayers of the people demonstrated the ever-present Christ (Matt. 14:27 ), "It is I; be not afraid," resulting in an unusual calm of the waters of the English Channel and a haze over the coast preventing the enemy from using their Air Force to the fullest.” (July 7th 1956 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel)

(The story of Jesus walking over the turbulent sea was in the Bible Lesson-Sermon that week. If you don’t know it, you can read it here.) [url]Matthew 14:22 - 33: [/url]

“Those of us to whom the possibility of defeat was a new problem, well remember the Lesson-Sermon at the time of Dunkirk, which included the verse (Isa. 51:10 ). "Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?" How this truth was demonstrated the world knows and history will record.” (From the June 16, 1945 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel)

Here’s that Bible verse from the New Living Translation:
Are you not the same today, the one who dried up the sea, making a path of escape through the depths so that your people could cross over?

Something truly wonderful happened following that day of prayer. Storms helped more men get to the coast. The Germans mysteriously stopped their tanks 18 miles from the town (on Hitler’s orders!) and turned back, which gave the Allies an extra 48 hours to get to the coast and be evacuated; heavy clouds and mist prevented the Luftwaffe from seeing their targets, the Eastern Mole (the pier from which most of the troops were evacuated) survived constant bombardment; but the most unusual thing of all was that the English Channel was like a mill pond during the evacuation and thus all the little boats were able to get across to pick up the stranded troops. Yes, there were many casualties, but with all the factors above, plus the incredible determination of the Royal Navy, 342,000 British and 123,000 French troops (far more than the estimate of 30-45,000) were rescued and went on to fight again and overcome the evils of Nazism. The determination of the British people not to give in to hopelessness at the time of Dunkirk, inspired the Americans too and helped to bring them into assisting us in the war.

Churchill hailed Dunkirk as a “miracle” but also warned relieved Britons that, “wars are not won by evacuations ”. The UK had suffered a terrible defeat and almost all of its heavy equipment, tanks, artillery, and motorized transport had been left behind. Churchill then gave one of his most famous speeches to the House of Commons in which he vowed that: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!”

The phrase “Dunkirk spirit” has since become part of the language used to toast people who pull together in a time of adversity. People who never give in to hopelessness.

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