Sherwood Boys in France 1940

Michael Somerville


Region:
Anywhere
Notice Period:
Regular (more than one month's notice)
Fee:
Expensed
Category:
History
Updated:
1st July 2025

This talk focuses on the experiences of a single territorial battalion during the Dunkirk campaign. They did not go to France expecting to fight, they were part of a labour division - line of communication troops. But they ended up in the front line and were one of the last units to leave Dunkirk. The talk decribes how the battalion was raised and trained, how it fought, and the men who did not return. There are many books about the Dunkirk campaign - but none of them tell this story.

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About Michael Somerville

I am a military historian, and the author of Bull Run to Boer War: How the American Civil War Changed the British Army, published by Helion/Casemate, which is the book of my PhD thesis at the University of Buckingham. I have presented on the subject to a number of groups in the UK and the USA, including the National Army Museum. I have given podcast interviews and conducted an online forum on Reddit, as well as publishing in Military History Matters, Saul Davids’ Militaria, online at Military History Now. My next book will be the story of the 5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, my father’s battalion in the Second World War, which will be published by Fonthill in 2025. I have presented on this research to local history groups in the UK and also in Italy.


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