silhouette vinyl in shop window

A Kent seaside town has been adorned with military figures and silhouettes to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation.

Across Ramsgate, shop windows and harbour walkways have been decorated with such graphics in memory of the town’s historic connection to Operation Dynamo.

The graphics were produced just miles down the road in Broadstairs, as Fujifilm offered all the decorations free of charge.

Local volunteer, Steve Pankhurst, previously worked for the company and reached out for their expertise to help bring the celebrations together.

He said: “I knew we could rely on them to produce graphics befitting this important occasion.

“We have 19 shops and pubs displaying soldier silhouettes around the harbour area and High Street, as well as places like the Navy Club, Royal Thames Yacht Club and Ramsgate Railway Station. “Fujifilm has also produced a series of graphic panels for us, which we’ve displayed around the harbour and along the route of the Civic Parade.

“The panels show a visual representation, over five images, of the troops queuing on the beaches, getting into the boats, crossing the Channel, preparing to disembark and finally arriving home.

Graphic panels placed in Ramsgate Harbour

“This is a significant anniversary of a historic event of huge significance for our town and for the nation. We’re grateful to Fujifilm for helping us to present it in the best way possible.”

Adam Moore, product manager at Fujifilm WFIJS, said: “We were delighted to support this important local event, free of charge, with a range of striking wide format prints.

“In total, we produced 25 soldier silhouettes and 30 2440mm x 1220mm re-usable panels on aluminium composite for harder wearing.

Better known as the Dunkirk Evacuations, Operation Dynamo has a deep connection to Ramsgate where hundreds of ships set sailed to the shores of France in 1940 to bring home soldiers escaping Nazi advancements.

On May 20, the town’s harbour became the meeting point for more than 70 ‘little ships’ who took part in the original operation.