Veterans

Dunkirk Veteran Given 'A Good Send-Off' At Catterick Following Funeral

Dozens of mourners attended the funeral of one of the last veterans to have survived the Dunkirk evacuation at a service that was described as a 'good send-off'.

More than 50 mourners gathered at Catterick Garrison Camp centre to pay their respects to former cavalryman David Evans, who has died aged 102, following a private family funeral at Darlington Crematorium.

His friend, WO1 (Retd) Graham Prince, paying tribute to Mr Evans, described him as "a quick-witted gentleman to the very end" and said the veteran was given a 'really good send-off'.

He added that the number of people who had gathered to pay their respects was "marvellous".

Mr Evans served as a cavalryman with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) before leaving service to go on to become the first National Park Enforcement Officer for the Yorkshire Dales National Park in the 1970s and 1980s.

Known among his friends as a nice man with a cheeky sense of humour who was always willing to help, Mr Evans was also, before his death, one of the very few remaining Dunkirk veterans.

He had survived for three days on the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940, as Operation Dynamo swung into action to evacuate Allied soldiers from the north of France during the Second World War.

Mr Evans eventually managed to find his route home, securing a place on a small fishing boat, one of the 850 private boats that formed a flotilla which rescued more than 336,000 British, French and other Allied soldiers who had been trapped at Dunkirk as the German army advanced.

Sleep-deprived and hungry, Mr Evans once told how he had fallen asleep almost as soon as he had boarded the boat and remained asleep for the entire trip across the English Channel, saying he remembers nothing of the crossing back to England.

LISTEN: Mr Evan's friend Graham Prince speaks to Chris Kaye, broadcaster for BFBS, the Forces Station, about his Dunkirk surviving, quick-witted friend and the 'marvellous' turnout for his funeral.

Library image of Mr Evans from the day he opened Catterick Garrison's First World War memorial in 2018

Following the funeral service, Mr Evans' family visited the Catterick Garrison Camp centre roundabout – the site of a First World War memorial that Mr Evans had unveiled in 2018 – to lay wreaths and listen to a piper from The Royal Dragoon Guards play 'Amazing Grace' before they headed to St Michael and All Angel's Church in Spennithorne for a Service Of Thanksgiving.

Veterans took on the role of standard bearers and stood alongside four members of the Light Dragoons, who were carrying swords and in dress uniform, at the slope, to pay their respects to the much-loved Dunkirk veteran and to show their appreciation for his Second World War service.

Mr Evans' friend, Mr Prince, had earlier made an appeal for standard-bearers while speaking with Chris Kaye, broadcaster for BFBS, the Forces Station, in July, saying:

"If any branch standards are available to parade at either or both these venues it would be magnificent and would be a fitting tribute to this soldier's final journey."

Mr David Evans Funeral Catterick Garrison Camp Centre Roundabout Piper Amazing Grace Credit BFBS Catterick

The appeal was then shared across social media platforms to get the message out as far and as wide as possible.

In total, five standard-bearers paid their respects – one each from the Royal Artillery, the Royal British Legion, the Light Dragoons, and two from 13th/18th Royal Hussars, for whom Mr Evans served as a cavalryman.

Many people commented on the appeal for standard-bearers article posted on social media, sharing their condolences for Mr Evans' family.

On the Forces News Facebook page Shaun Brennan said:

"I hope he gets the send-off he deserves. RIP sir, see you on the other side. Hussar Hussar."

Steve Powell wrote on the Veteran's Honoured Facebook Group "RIP Troop, Thank You for my freedom."

After the service, Albert Weidemann took to BFBS Catterick's Facebook page to congratulate all who had played their part in organising a "great send-off" and for "honouring and paying respect to a fallen Dunkirk Veteran", saying: