§ Captain Pilkingtonasked the Secretary of State for War whether, since Lord Gort's Dispatches give the number of British and Allied troops evacuated from Dunkirk as 224,563 and 112,564, respectively, and the Air Ministry's Bomber Command and Masefield's "Nine Days 1021W Wonder" give 193,568 and 123,095, respectively, he will now issue the correct figures; and whether such figures will alter the answer given to the hon. and gallant Member for Widnes on 15th May last?
§ Captain MargessonThe figures quoted in Lord Gort's despatches for troops embarked at Dunkirk and the beaches are 224,585 British and 112,546 Allied troops. These were based on information supplied by the War Office. According to the latest figures at present available the number of troops evacuated from north of the Somme to the United Kingdom from 20th May to 4th June, 1940, when organised evacuation ceased, was 224,318 British and 112,107 Allied. These figures are slightly less than those quoted in Lord Gort's despatches, but my hon. and gallant Friend will appreciate that a detailed check of every individual was impracticable in the circumstances prevailing at the time. As regards the second part of the Question, the figure of 384,000 given to my hon. and gallant Friend on 15th May, 1941, referred to British troops evacuated from all parts of France, including the area south of the Somme.