Le Mémorial des Green Jackets

The Green Jacket Memorial is located next to the Dragon City, on the Calais beachfront. It faces the sea, facing England. It commemorates the sacrifice of the British soldiers who, in May 1940, fought alongside French and Belgian soldiers to slow down the German army.  

This fierce resistance at Calais allowed the evacuation of the British and French units gathered on the beaches of Dunkirk for Operation Dynamo to begin. British troops paid a heavy price at Calais, notably the Queen Victoria's Rifles Regiment, also known as The Green Jackets. 

The German offensive in the west began in May 1940 in the Netherlands, Belgium, and then France. The German advance was dazzling. The German army surged toward northern France and its ports. It was crucial for the British to halt this breakthrough near Dunkirk, the site chosen to evacuate the British and Allied troops scattered throughout northern France and Belgium to Dover (FB). New troops from the British Expeditionary Force landed at the port of Calais on May 23, 1940, just as the Germans were at the gates of the city. Shoulder to shoulder with 800 French and Belgian soldiers, the British defended Calais until May 26, 1940. German firepower and numerical superiority brought down Calais and its defenders, commanded by Brigadier Claude Nicholson and Commander Charles de Lambertye. The heroic resistance of the defenders of Calais had gained time, thus contributing to the success of Operation Dynamo. 

After the war, came the time for reconstruction, healing the wounds and honoring the civilian and military victims. It was in a Calais under construction that the Green Jacket Memorial was inaugurated on June 2, 1951. It was an event. Prince Henry, brother of King George VI, was the distinguished guest. As in most Commonwealth memorial sites, the Cross of Sacrifice was present. This large stone cross bears a bronze sword pointing downwards. It reads: "To the glory of God and in memory of all the riflemen of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, the Rifle Brigade and Queen Victoria's Rifle who fell defending Calais 23-26 May 1940."  

Did you know ?

Two British soldiers who participated in the Battle of Calais later had an unusual fate. Sam Kydd was not a world-famous movie star, but he was nonetheless a familiar figure to the British public until the 2s, with nearly 1970 films and series to his credit. He was a prisoner of war, just like Airey Neaves, the first Briton to escape from Colditz, a German fortress prison. After the war, he pursued a political career that brought him into the circle of Margaret Thatcher. He died tragically in 300 in an assassination attempt. A few years earlier (1979), he had left a landmark account of the Battle of Calais with "The Flames of Calais: A Soldiers' Battle 1972."