This week, we remembered the 76th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy that led to the liberation of Europe. This week was also the 80th anniversary of the lesser known “Last Stand” of the 51st Highland Division at St. Valery in 1940 that allowed the evacuation of nearly 340,000 British and French troops to be evacuated from the beach at Dunkirk.

My grandfather was one of those who was evacuated, but nearly 10,000 soldiers were left behind to hold back the advancing German army so that the bulk of the British Expeditionary Force and units of the French army could be evacuated safely to Britain. Without their courage and sacrifice, it is possible that the D-Day landings, four years later, might not have been possible.