Overview

• Over 70 restored Dunkirk Little Ships departed Ramsgate early on May 21, 2025, for their first large-scale commemorative crossing in ten years.
• The flotilla, escorted by Royal Navy patrol vessels and RNLI lifeboats, marks the 85th anniversary of the WWII evacuation that saved 338,000 Allied troops.
• During the crossing, the fleet was diverted to establish a one-nautical-mile exclusion zone around a migrant boat being escorted by French and UK authorities.
• Two migrants tragically died in the Channel overnight, prompting a rescue operation by the French navy and medical teams.
• This year’s voyage is the first without surviving Dunkirk veterans, with restored vessels like the White Wing serving as living memorials to the historic operation.