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What follows is a transcription of the account written by my late father, Lance-Corporal W. R. Walters, 2057828, Royal Engineers.

The account is written in pencil and sometimes indistinct, on three scraps of paper. It details his actions at La Panne and Dunkirk, which led to the award of the military medal.

Report of Duties at La Panne & Dunkirk
May 31st /June 1st 1940
Statement of……(Lance-Corporal W. R. Walters R.E.)

I had been waiting at La Panne beach with my unit and thousands of others to be taken off, meantime rendering all the first aid that I possibly could when after being in and out of the water until Dawn began to break, I decided to return to the house that our coy. had been sheltering in the previous night, whilst waiting to proceed to the beach. My intentions were to stay in the house until I saw what kind of onslaught the enemy planes would make when they came over with the dawn as I anticipated they would. In the meantime I could get into some dry clothes then return to the beach when an opportunity offered. On leaving the waters edge with this object in view I met Allen F.C. he seemed rather undecided as to the method of getting to a ship. After I told him my intentions he suggested if I would accompany him he would take the officers truck which we had….. (writing indistinct due to the fold and discolouration of the paper) …… by road to Dunkirk. I agreed. The house was about a mile and a half away from where we stood so we got into it only after a lot of ducking and dodging for in addition to shellfire we were worried by machine gun fire from two enemy planes who evidently also saw us run into the house for the planes flew barely .…(?).... feet off the ground. There is no doubt that the enemy thought that the house that we had been seen to run into afforded shelter for more than just two of us for the planes simply circled the house several times and poured in bullets from their machine guns. After a change of clothes and petrol was put into the truck we jumped into the seats and started on our journey. After having gone about 200 yards I turned my head on hearing an explosion only to find the house we had just left had been hit apparently by a bomb. We proceeded along the main road picking our way through wrecked and burning trucks but in spite of the fact that we got out of our truck to clear some obstacles we were obliged to turn back on several occasions and proceed along byways everything ……….(something indistinct)…….depended on driver Allen’s skill, coolness and sense of direction. He never faltered even though it meant on one occasion driving through two big fields which included having to jump a two foot ditch with the truck. We arrived at Dunkirk safely with six of the British wounded that we had picked up from the road and treated between La Panne and Dunkirk. Three of them we took off two ambulances that had been abandoned. After rendering all the assistance we could in the hospital at Dunkirk we went along to the shore and stone pier where we got on board a ship.

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