Dunkirk Medal

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Dunkirk Medal – the Medaille Dunkerque 1940
Awarded by France
Type	Commemorative
Established	1 May 1960; 64 years ago (1960-05-01)
Awarded for	For service during the defence of the port of Dunkirk, 1940
Founder	Association nationale des anciens combattants de Flandres-Dunkerque 1940
Statistics
First induction	1960

The Dunkirk Medal (Medaille Dunkerque 1940) is an unofficial commemorative medal created by the town of Dunkirk to commemorate the defence of the town and surrounding area during May and June 1940. The allocation of the award was managed by nationale des anciens combattants de Flandres-Dunkerque 1940, the French National Association of Veterans of the Fortified Sector of Flanders and Dunkirk (and later administered by the now disbanded Dunkirk Veterans Association).

Initiated in 1960, the award was initially awarded to only French service personnel (with approximately 30,000 medals issued). In 1970 it was also awarded to any Allied member involved in Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied forces from the Dunkirk sector between 29 May and 3 June and those soldiers evacuated from the beaches. All British servicemen from the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Merchant Navy, and the civilian little ship volunteers were eligible to receive the award.^[1]