We shall film on the beaches

QUESTION During the release of the new Dunkirk film, reference was made to the 1958 film starring John Mills and Richard Attenborough. What other films have shown the evacuation from Dunkirk?

The Dunkirk evacuation has featured in at least eight films. The first is probably Mrs. Miniver (1942), which had scenes involving the ‘little ships’.

Reach For The Sky ( 1956), starring Kenneth More as RAF ace Douglas Bader, had some sequences depicting air battles over Dunkirk. French film Weekend At Dunkirk (1964) was similar to the John Mills picture, but made in colour.

Battle Of Britain ( 1969) originally contained many sequences showing British forces leaving Dunkirk, but most of these were cut. What remained was a shot of German vehicles entering Dunkirk and another depicting the beach cluttered with abandoned vehicles.

Italian film eagles Over London (1969) had sequences set on the Dunkirk beaches.

Atonement (2007) featured a spectacular recreation of the beach at Dunkirk, which was shot in North-east england. Dr Colin M. Barron (author of Planes On Film and Battles On Screen), Dunblane.

QUESTION In the late Fifties or early Sixties, I had a moped/ scooter. It was 50cc with pedals to assist the engine. Has anyone seen or heard of something similar?

FuRTheR to the earlier answer, Raleigh Bicycles manufactured mopeds under licence from Motobecane. I had a Raleigh Runabout model in the mid-Seventies. It cost £25 and marked my introduction to mechanised transport.

The engine was simplicity itself, and could be maintained with the contents of the average kitchen drawer. It could reach 30mph with a following tailwind and gave me freedom in my teenage years.

Trevor Collins, Grimsby, Lincs.