Object June 2009

CAPTAIN GOOD’S  DUNKIRK MAP

A battered road map carried by a Captain Michael Good, an Aylesbury GP and a Medical Officer throughout the Dunkirk Campaign 69 years ago in May/June 1940, has been given by his widow, Mrs Diana Good of Stone, Aylesbury, to the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust, and is on display as this month’s “Object of the Month” at The Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock. 

A member of the Territorial Army, Captain Good was mobilised in September 1939 as the Regimental Medical Officer of the 1st Buckinghamshire Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and later joined 143 Field Ambulance prior to going to France. 

During the battles leading to the evacuation operation from the port and beaches of Dunkirk, Captain Good’s unit treated and evacuated the wounded of the division as the British Expeditionary force fell back towards the coast. Not surprisingly, the map shows signs of wear around the area of Dunkirk.

His route back and forth across the battlefield is shown on an enlarged replica of a Christmas card (the original also on display) sent to family friends, later in the war. Captain Good would have had to refer to his map constantly to guide his unit from sheltered position to sheltered position and to direct the ambulances bringing in and taking away the wounded.