This year, it is 85 years since a flotilla of small ships set out to rescue troops from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk. More than 338.000 servicemen were evacuated in ‘Operation Dynamo’ as it was called. Ramsgate celebrates this event every five years. This is the start of our fifth year living in the town and therefore my first introduction to the commemoration of the event. Between 15th and 18th May ‘little’ ships appeared in Ramsgate harbour.
On 21st May the ships crossed to Dunkirk
Today Monday 26th May they were due to return but due to unsettled weather in the Channel that has not yet happened.
Meanwhile, various other events were held in the town to commemorate the anniversary, including a large-scale artwork in St George’s Church in the centre of Ramsgate. 3,000 small paper boats were made by volunteers, including local schoolchildren and members of the ‘Happy Mondays’ Club. This paper flotilla sailed on a sea of blue, green, white and grey fabric, as seen below.
Transparent fabrics effectively suggested reflected light on the water.
The paler fabrics gave a suggestion of waves breaking over the boats.
If you look carefully, you can see that some of the blue ‘fabric’ is actually a complete garment – one of the robes once worn by members of the choir at St George’s!
To give you some idea of the scale of this piece, this is the view from the back of the church, looking up the side aisle…
…and here is the view from front, looking back. It really did evoke the scale of the operation 85 years ago and also the sense of vulnerability of those small craft.
Just to the left of the end of the installation is the entrance to the Victory Chapel in the church (seen in the photograph two above), where there is a beautiful stained-glass window, placed as a memorial to ‘Operation Dynamo’. You can see the ‘little ships’ in both panes.
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Long before I came to live near the ocean, the sea and beach inspired my work. Here are a few fabric designs to prove the point:
Amanda Jane Textiles 