Northampton man tells his great-uncle's Dunkirk survival story in series of online videos

The nephew of a Dunkirk survivor is putting together a series of online videos based on his great-uncle's interview about his experiences during the evacuation.

Nick Coe, 33, from Northampton, has released three parts of the series so far on YouTube which has coincided with the release of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ film in July.

Ernest Graham was the president of the Dunkirk Veterans’ Association in Portsmouth for over 15 years and in 1998 he was asked questions about the ‘Miracle of Dunkirk’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I always knew my great-uncle was a Dunkirk veteran but it’s only with the release of the movie that I came into information that he’d done an interview,” said Nick.

“It was never volunteered to us as kids so it was surprising to hear that he had them.”

He added: “Knowing that a family member was involved makes it even more compelling.”

Ernest and his wife Katherine lived in Daventry and owned a shop in Brook Street after World War Two ended from 1947 until 1968.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nick, who was an interest in history, recounted how Ernest had been put onto a train along with fellow evacuees which ended up stopping at Woodford Halse, a familiar sight for the serviceman given he had lived and worked in Daventry before enrolling.

The retelling of Ernest’s journey has been labour of love for Nick who spends hours putting the short videos together, combining the recording with archive images from the war

Once the series is complete Nick intends to donate it to the Imperial War Museum.

Watch Part 1 of Nick's project here.