Reeling Back the Past
Captain Crispin Swayne describes his work on major feature films as a historical and military adviser, and what he hopes to achieve.
On this occasion the art department has done an excellent job of matching our beach with photographs and accounts of the real evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940. The seafront has been completely re-constructed with authentic damaged buildings, signs and a ferris wheel – just as an old Royal Engineer neighbour of mine, who was there, remembers. Anti-aircraft gun emplacements line the promenade, a copy of the crimson-sailed Thames sailing barge Glenway lies stranded on the beach, and period vehicles and military equipment are strewn everywhere around a makeshift field hospital.
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