AS the film Dunkirk deservedly gathers plaudits for its moving portrayal of soldiers under fire, here is the real thing.

Weary soldiers in their tin helmets finally getting on board a boat for home from Dunkirk.

The War Department did not specify which ship the men were or on which day of the evacuation it was taken before passing it on to The Herald for publication.

They might have sent it as the soldier at the front seems in a jocular mood as he chats to the officer. Others behind him just look utterly fed up.

The picture is worth a study though. Have a gander at the soldier on the right in the raincoat. He ap;pears to have a sword with him - presumably the spoils of war picked up from the battlefield somewhere. He seems to be eyeing up the officer, trying to assess whether he is going to get any grief for bringing it on board. Perhaps that’s his mate in front trying to soften the officer up.

It was at the end of May, 1940, that the British Expeditionary Force had retreated under the German onslaught to Dunkrik near the French/Belgian border and it was feared they would be trapped.

In the end over 300,000 were rescued, helped by a flotilla of civilian craft which could take soldiers off the beaches.

I would recommend the film - breathtaking and memorable. Didn’t see anyone with a sword though.