THE country will remember the 75th anniversary of the evacuation of Dunkirk next week, but today we salute two soldiers who were plucked to safety from the beaches.

Frank Nolan was a motor mechanic at J and S Leaver in Eanam, Blackburn, when he joined the Army in 1939, with fellow mechanic, Wilf Thomas.

Both were assigned to the Royal Army Ordinance Corps, looking after the medium-sized guns, which were towed by Bedford and Scammell lorries.

After being deployed to France they were caught up in the evacuation of Dunkirk, where they lost contact with each other, after being ordered to drain the oil from their trucks, drive them into the ditch at the side of the road and leave the engines running so they would seize up.

Wilf eventually got home several days later, but Frank was severely wounded by the diving Stukas – the family still has the blood-stained packet of Players Weights cigarettes that were in his tunic when he was hit.

Frank laid on a stretcher for three days – at one stage he had been given up for dead – part of that time in a field ambulance, which was itself hit by enemy fire.

On May 29, 1940, however, he was taken on board the former Channel ferry, the SS Paris and returned to Dover, and then on by train on to Litchfield Military Hospital.

He immediately wrote to his wife Elsie, telling her he was ‘pretty badly riddled’ but safe and advising her to think of the cost of visiting.

His brother Tom, who was later to see action in North Africa and Italy, was working at the farm at Langho Colony at the time and after a phone call there, cycled home with the news.

Frank spent 18 months in three different hospitals before using his mechanic knowledge again, for the Aeronautical Inspection Department, checking the repair of Lancaster and Wellington bombers.

His son Eric Nolan said: “This work took him all over the country and poor mum didn’t know where he was.

“What with my baby sister, to look after, a recently widowed and distraught mother-in-law and anxious sister-in-law – Tom had joined up – it shows that what the womenfolk of that time had to deal with is often underestimated. Their strength of character is there for all to see and admire.”

Classed as 30 per cent disabled from his wounds, Frank could not continue as a mechanic after the war, but he rejoined Leavers in 1945 and worked in the parts department until retirement in 1979.

Bygones has also heard from Lesley Stanley, of Darwen, who believes his 94-year-old father, Joe Kay, from Cornwall, is one of the very few remaining veterans of the evacuation.

Joe was just 19 and serving with the 1st/6th Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment, which was on the French/Belgian border when his battalion was ordered to leave its transport behind and make for Dunkirk, via Holland.

On arrival they were told to evacuate from Calais instead, which meant another 25-mile march – but as they neared the port, news came it had been taken by the Germans, so they turned round and marched back to Dunkirk once again.

Said Lesley: “By this time a lot of soldiers had already been rescued and when it came to his turn, his battalion had to walk to a pier, although there wasn’t much left of it.

“Three destroyers were detailed to pick them up, when two of them were blown up before his eyes; the one still remaining did manage to get into the pier, but had to keep moving, so that everyone had to literally jump aboard. I am very proud of my father.”