Dave Dawson at Dunkirk
Encyclopedia
Dave Dawson at Dunkirk, published in 1941, is the first title in the Dave Dawson War Adventure Series
by author R. Sidney Bowen
.
where Dave is preparing for a tour of the Maginot Line
with his father, who is serving as an attache to the American
embassy. Germany
, however begins the invasion of France
and the Low Countries
, and Dave becomes separated from his French comrade when a column of refugees is attacked by Stuka dive bombers. Dave meets up with his new acquantance, Freddy Farmer, shortly after he becomes separated from his French comrade. Freddy, it is revealed has been studying abroad in France, and has volunteered to drive ambulances. Much of the story takes place in Belgium, where Dave and Freddy serve alongside Belgian, British, and French troops. After an abortive attempt to relay the details of the German order of battle to the Allied commander (the two witness a battle map during a temporary encarceration by the Germans) the protagonists are forced to flee the beaches of Dunkirk, and make their way to Britain, where a British general has promised them careers as RAF pilots.
Dave Dawson War Adventure Series
The Dave Dawson War Adventure series is a fifteen book series of boy's adventure stories pertaining to the European and Pacific theatres of World War II. Written between 1941 and 1945, by R. Sidney Bowen the books follow the adventures of American RAF pilot Dave Dawson, and his fellow flyer, Freddy...
by author R. Sidney Bowen
Robert Sidney Bowen
Robert Sidney Bowen, Jr. was a World War I aviator, newspaper journalist, magazine editor and author who was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died of cancer in Honolulu, Hawaii at the age of 76. He is best known for his boys' series books written during World War II, the Dave Dawson War...
.
Plot
The novel begins in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where Dave is preparing for a tour of the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
with his father, who is serving as an attache to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
embassy. Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, however begins the invasion of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, and Dave becomes separated from his French comrade when a column of refugees is attacked by Stuka dive bombers. Dave meets up with his new acquantance, Freddy Farmer, shortly after he becomes separated from his French comrade. Freddy, it is revealed has been studying abroad in France, and has volunteered to drive ambulances. Much of the story takes place in Belgium, where Dave and Freddy serve alongside Belgian, British, and French troops. After an abortive attempt to relay the details of the German order of battle to the Allied commander (the two witness a battle map during a temporary encarceration by the Germans) the protagonists are forced to flee the beaches of Dunkirk, and make their way to Britain, where a British general has promised them careers as RAF pilots.