On that eventful day one of the evacuees, Private Howard Phillips of the South Saskatchewan Regiment, was on board a British destroyer, the HMS Calpe, half a mile into the Channel. He was one of those forced to remain above deck as the ship was already filled to capacity with rescued men below. He was in an opportune location to see what was to follow. Mr. Phillips communicated to me the incidence of a giant squid surfacing after being struck by the fire from one of the dive bombers. He wrote, "At that time I was offshore of Pourville, France. There was a huge thrashing of water and a giant tentacle rose, writhing and splashing after obviously being hit. I can verify to about 25 feet being out of the water and at least 10 inches across, but of course [it was] hard to judge during the trauma of the time."
