2 Pounds Dunkirk I

Issued to mark the 80th anniversary of Operation Dynamo, the 1940 evacuation of Allied forces from the beaches of Dunkirk. Over nine days in late May and early June, roughly 338,000 British and French troops were lifted from the shoreline — many by civilian vessels requisitioned or volunteered under the "little ships" mobilization. The Isle of Man itself contributed to that effort: the steam packet vessel Mona's Isle made the crossing and was among the first ships to arrive, taking casualties from Luftwaffe strafing on the return run.