The Entire Miracle At Dunkirk

By Matthew Clark

May 25, 1940 started out as another day, in a long list of days of humiliation for Englishman Albert Fredrick Arthur George. Albert was a modest man, his detractors claiming he had much to be modest about. Painfully shy, he had developed a dysfunctional stutter at a very early age. This very overt weakness had made him a target for bullies, particularly from his three surviving brothers (he had lost a younger brother when he, Albert, was in his teens). His older brother in particular spent hours brow beating him over the most trivial of issues, in what appeared to be a malignant display of personnel power.

Albert's life of pathetic obscurity took a dramatic turn during the year 1936 when his older brother Edward, who was slated to become the King of England, and sovereign head of the British Empire, announced he intended to marry a twice divorced American woman by the name of Wallis Simpson. While members of the British Parliament and the Church of England immediately declared their opposition to any such union between their monarch and a woman with such a romantic history, other opponents to Edward also made their hostility be known. Although not publicized their opposition was based on both Edward's, and Mrs. Simpson's, sympathy to Germany and Fascism. Many government officials were also uncomfortable with the couples intermittant dabbling in the occult. Furthermore in the past Wallis Simpson, while living in China with her American sailor husband, had supplied sensitive information to both German and Soviet intelligence agents. Finally there was strong evidence to suggest that Mrs. Simpson had also, while still in China, after leaving her husband, been employed as a prostitute in a Shanghai brothel house.

Therefore when Edward insisted on wedding the twice divorced American, Parliament forced the king to abdicate. With that action it became incumbant on the members of the House of Commons to choose a successor from one of Edwards brothers. One brother, while being a flashy fighter pilot, was also a cocaine addict. Anothere brother was a homosexual predator, using his royal position to coerce reluctant victims. Therefore pathetic, stuttering Albert was chosen to become King of England, and monarch of it's Empire, the largest Temporal Empire known to history.

Albert took the regal name of George VI, to show continuality with his father George V. Despite this admirable intention the first four years of George VI reign had been anything but a success. Britain stumbled from one failure to another. Finally on September 3, 1939 the British Parliament had declared war on the ultra aggressive nation of Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany was ruled by the ultimate bully, Adolf Hitler. It had been bullies like Hitler who had pushed George VI around during his whole life. In the first ten months of the war this trend continued. While German military forces stormed over their enemies in one victory after another, the British armed forces stumbled from defeat to defeat.

Now on May 25, 1940 the Germans were on the edge of achieving the greatest military victory any nation in history had accomplished against British armed forces. Over three hundred thousand British soldiers were trapped in the Channel port of Dunkirk, waiting to be anniliated by advancing German Panzer forces. Desperately the British admiralty sent every available ship to Dunkirk, hoping, if all went well, to evacuate a modest 30,000 troops. A seemingly pathetic call had been to made to all Britain's with any type of water craft to sail to Dunkirk to assist in the evacuation.

So George VI, modest Albert, stood before his subjects on May 25, 1940, as perhaps the weakest royal in the Island nation's history. He had no answers for them, no wise counsel. It was a humbling position for a man who had known so much humiliation throughout his life. Standing before his people the king asked them to follow the only course of action which he could think of that might have an effect on the field of battle. George VI declared that the following day, May 26, 1940, be a day of National prayer, whereupon Christian Britain(s) would go to church and call upon their God for deliverance from their enemies, and steadfastness in their march to military victory. Modest Albert admitted to his fallibilities, turning to God to give him the resolve to achieve triumph. He asked his countrymen and women to follow his example.

AND THEY DID!

May 26, 1940 saw Britain's pack the nation's churches. In England Church of England houses of worship were packed to the rafters. So too were the Presbyterians Kirks in Northern England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Roman Catholic mass attendance in all of the lands of Britain enjoyed overwhelming participation on that glorious May day.

As the first services were being conducted sailors in the English Channel noted that the usually turbulant seas quieted down, allowing for the ships crossing the Channel to Dunkirk to do so in relative tranquility (absence the German attacks). On the other hand darkened skies over France prevented Gerrman aircraft from being launched against British forces in the sizable numbers necessary to impede Anglo operations. Sunny skies over normally grey England permitted the Royal Air Force to send waves of Hawker Hurrican and Supermarine Spitfire aircraft against the hamstrung German Luftwaffe. In a foretaste of the very near future the Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) achieved local air superiority.

Above all the hyper bully Adolf Hitler appeared to be consumed with a schoolgirl timidity, as he continually restricted his Panzer forces from attacking the British and French troops defending Dunkirk. These orders brought despair and criticism from the dictator's generals, yet Hitler would not budge.

Whereas on May 25, 1940 the Imperial General Staff, the British nation's foremost military body, had hoped to evacuate 30,000 troops from Dunkirk, by June 4, 1940, when the German army finally started to enter the port of Dunkirk, over 300,000 British soldiers had returned to Albion. The British army had survived to fight another day, or in this case another five years.

For the rest of the conflict the British people seemed to possess a resolve which brought admiration from their allies, while dumbfounding their enemies. As the British Empire was being ripped asunder, and the homeland relentlessly bombarded, the nation's principle slogan became, "Keep calm, and carry on!" At wars end British armies occuppied vast sections of Germany and Italy, while her Royal Navy ships sailed triumphantly into Tokyo Bay under the victorious allied banner. Logically the transcontinental nations of the United States, and Soviet Union, with their vast populations and immense natural resources, easily outproduced German industry, yet Britain, despite having 20 million fewer citizens than the Germans, also outproduced Nazi German industry. It was a marginal difference to be sure, still it was an impressive achievement given the odds against the Island nation.

From a Christian point of view what occurred during WWII Britain was that a once mighty people, repeatedly defeated on the field of battle, humbled themselves before their traditional Christian God (the one true God), asked for his deliverance, and were rewarded by the Lord for their faithfulness by becoming a mighty people once again.

During these contemporary times the United Kingdom is a pale imitation compared to the era of their noble ancestors. Less than 12% of British Christians in the U.K. attend Sunday worship. Their present monarch appears to be a great admirer of pagan and Moslem religion(s) There is even some evidence that he is a covert member of one, or both, of these movements. His oldest son, who is heir to the throne, also seems to suffer from the same condition as his father.

Nevertheless the point here is why is the true scope of the miracle at Dunkirk not made known to Christians worldwide? When historians refer to the "Miracle at Dunkirk: most readers/listeners ponder on the small craft and their operators heading across the English channel to face the German guns. That truly is part of the Miracle, and those brave sailors are to be honoured, yet the Miracle in it's whole is God rewarding his flock for their faithfulness. That, in a nutshell, is "The Miracle at Dunkirk."

Why do Christians, particularly Christian leaders, not teach their faithful about this powerful historical episode? Why is so obvious an example of the Lord's divine will, ignored by the Churches hierarchy?

The author is not a mind reader so he cannot give a definitive answer. Nevertheless a disturbing thought does come to mind. That idea is that a signifigant amount of Christian clergy want the contemporary church to fail! Either because they hope repeated failure will result in the Book of Revelation prophecies being fulfilled, or some nonsensical self loathing, many clergy, at least many I have met, appear to view the demise of the Church on earth as an inevitable outcome.

In regards to the Book of Revelation prophecies it should be pointed out that those prophecies are God's work. It is pure hubris for any human being to attempt to do God's work. Life is a gift from God which no man or woman should insult by trying to bring about it's end, particularly as a species wide event. As for those who self loath for being Christian, they should immediately give up their clerical duties and seek the mental health assistance they so obviously need.

As Christians we should aspire to follow the gospel, produce more than we consume in our lives, achieving this notably through a superior work ethic, treat others with respect, protect the individual freedoms of ourselves and our loved ones, while always standing our ground morally, particularly in defense of our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Doing this on a lifetime basis for fallible human beings is a formidable task. To keep that lifetime resolve we need to look to the past, and take assurance from our ancestors when they achieved success by turning to our Christian God. Those lessons must never be forgotten. They are nuggets of Gold in a world of Fiat money. The "Miracle of Dunkirk" must be retold and made relevant once again. All Christians must do the telling, with the Christian congregation demanding their clergy leaders lead the way in those lesson's!