CELEBRATIONS to mark the 60th anniversary of

the Dunkirk evacuation brought back memories of a dramatic flight from advancing German forces for an Otley man.

Eric Connolly, now aged 81, of May Lea Drive, was stationed with his Royal Engineers field squadron in Northern France when Germany launched its push against the British Expeditionary Force in June 1940.

When they heard of the German Army rapidly advancing on the major channel ports, the company opted to split in two and make a dash for the coast.

Half of the soldiers went straight for the nearest channel ports, while Mr Connolly's half of the unit began a dash to the south towards Brittany.

In their haste, they had to abandon all their vehicles, which had run out of petrol, and, instead, commandeered huge trucks to transport them.

Their flight first took them east to Rennes.

Mr Connolly said: "We came across an abandoned Salvation Army shop stacked with sweets and cigarettes, most of which we liberated."

The men crammed their new supplies into their kit bags, then turned on a radio they found in the shop - and learned the scale of the evacuation taking place.

He said: "We switched on the radio to hear the

memorable words of Winston Churchill to the effect that all the British Expeditionary Force in France had been safely evacuated to England. This statement, as you may imagine, gave us food for thought."

In fact, many members of the party which headed for Dunkirk were not so lucky.

They boarded the ship Lancastria, which was attacked by a German bomber, and many of the men on board were killed.

"I was one of the lucky ones," said Mr Connolly.

Meanwhile, Mr Connolly and his colleagues headed for Brittany port St Malo, where they eventually found a vessel to carry them - a French trawler.

He said: "The captain was loathe to let us aboard, but was eventually persuaded by a gentle prod from our CO's revolver."

There was so little space on board the boat the troops had to abandon their kit bags in the docks, complete with their spare clothes, and commandeered chocolate and cigarettes.

"The last thing we saw as we sailed away was what seemed the entire population of St Malo helping themselves to our belongings," said Mr Connolly.

But his flight from France is not his only lasting memory of the war - he met his wife, Eve, when he was stationed in Jersey at the end of the war. A unit was sent to liberate the island in May 1945, and the German commander came out in a boat to sign an armistice.

Mr Connolly and other soldiers helped repair and bring food into the island. One day they met two young women.

"We just got on chatting, and it went from there," said Mr Connolly.

After the war, he worked on the railways and later for the Health Service.