Today I return to
the theme "inspirations" always with a soldier of our beloved King
& Country. In this case we are dealing with one of the first issues of the
Fields of Battle series which dealt with the events of the 1940 French Campaign
and the Retreat of the B.E.F. from Dunkirk. This operation, called
"Dynamo" and successfully carried out by the British Forces thanks to
the help of the "Little Ships" manned by civilians, managed to evacuate
300,000 soldiers from the beaches of the French town. Andy Neilson back in 2005
chose to portray this prodigious retreat through the production of a series of
toy soldiers, including this one, a Navy officer who oversaw the landing
operations with megaphone and gun. Andy Neilson's library is very well stocked,
evidently, because he chooses a drawing (taken, judging by the style and other
illustrations) from an original photo, which however, although it portrays a
Royal Navy officer, refers to another period, 1941, Indeed, the
illustration reproduced in the book "The Armed Forces of WWII" by
Andrew Mollo (easily available in the second-hand market) makes a name:
Lieutenant Commander Kimmins, returning from a mission in Norway. Andy Neilson
has added a megaphone and a Webley pistol to his toy soldier, useful for
gaining respect from the probably unruly crowd of soldiers on the beach. It also included naval
pilot's "wings", a very special element.
The book i own is the Italian version, here is the translation:
“Lieutenant
Commander Kimmins, returning from a combined operation in Norway, wears his
naval service uniform under a leather vest and an army steel helmet. The model
37 equipment is made of cloth. The binoculars are marked with a large white
arrow to indicate that they are owned by the military administration. The white cord carries a switchblade knife attached to it. Above the chevrons on
the left wrist you can see the "wings" of a Naval Aviation pilot.”
Apparently this soldier has ever been retired, but it is
very rare, although not impossible to find.
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