Dave Dawson at Dunkirk

Dave Dawson at Dunkirk, published in 1941, is the first title in the Dave Dawson War Adventure Series by author R. Sidney Bowen.

Plot

The novel begins in Paris where Dave is preparing for a tour of the Maginot Line with his father, who is serving as an attache to the American embassy. Germany, however begins the invasion of France and the Low Countries, and Dave becomes separated from his French comrade when a column of refugees is attacked by Stuka dive bombers. Dave meets up with his new acquantance, Freddy Farmer, shortly after he becomes separated from his French comrade. Freddy, it is revealed has been studying abroad in France, and has volunteered to drive ambulances. Much of the story takes place in Belgium, where Dave and Freddy serve alongside Belgian, British, and French troops. After an abortive attempt to relay the details of the German order of battle to the Allied commander (the two witness a battle map during a temporary encarceration by the Germans) the protagonists are forced to flee the beaches of Dunkirk, and make their way to Britain, where a British general has promised them careers as RAF pilots.