Accordion

Accordion associated with the Second World War service of Sapper Alexander Graham King, Royal Engineers, 127 Bomb Disposal Company. Most notably this instrument was played by him on the beach at Dunkirk during the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from France in 1940. Though offered a place in the first wave of boats returning to England he refused to go, preferring instead to stand, in trilby hat, on the beach, and play while other troops were evacuated. This selfless act earned him the nickname 'Mad Hatter.' Having avoided capture he subsequently took his accordion along on his other tours of duty, to North Africa (1942) and Italy (1943-45).