Military Model Scene

Title: Dunkirk to D-Day
Author: Philip Hamlyn Williams
Publisher: Pen & Sword
ISBN: 978-1-62679-430-7

A book that looks at the people who enabled the RAOC (Royal Army Ordnance Corps) to be able to cope with the challenges of supplying the raw materials needed to support not just one army, but several, during WW2. The British had armies in Europe, North Africa and the Far East and all needed huge quantities of ammunition, weapons, and so much more. A 213-page hard-cover book from Pen & Sword.
The heart of this book is a journal kept by Betty, the PA of General Leslie Williams, known more generally as Bill, and the father of the author. The detail in the journal along with diaries, press cuttings and photos give a detailed account of their story, as the two married after the war. The book begins with his upbringing in Victorian England, and his service in the British Army in WW1. He served as an Ordnance Officer for the 19th Division in France. Staying in the army he attended the first post-war Ordnance Officers Course in 1922, where he was joined by a number of people he already knew, and who then often recur in the rest of his story. It goes on to cover what happened in the Interwar Years and then mobilisation for WW2. With connections in the UK motor trade he was also responsible for setting up new depots around the UK and goes on to assist with depots in the Middle East and beyond. Having discovered what was needed he also went to the USA to talk with manufacturers there. It led to getting what was essentially the right volume of materials which he organised to get to where they were needed, at the right time. The story goes on to the details of NW Europe following D-Day, then back to the Middle East and Far East before seeing how the army dealt with the post-war disposal of surplus equipment before he finally settled into civilian life.
It is certainly an interesting story about the people who ensured we got the supply systems, or what we now call Logistics, right during WW2. Having read it and enjoyed it, the only thing I felt was just slightly odd was the title for the book, as it deals with so much more than just Dunkirk to D-Day. That's a minor query and only my opinion but the story is much wider than that.
Thanks to Pen & Sword for the review copy.

Robin