DUNKIRK 97
the so- called “ Little Ships of Dunkirk,” the 700 private boats that helped rescue
the BEF, were skippered by their civilian owners. A few were, but most were turned
over to the Admiralty and manned by Royal Navy crews. Nolan’s use of fictional
or composite characters also met with criticism, especially in the case of Kenneth
Branagh’s character, Commander Bolton, who seems to have been modeled on at
least two Royal Navy officers: Captain ( later Admiral) William “Bill” Tennant
(1890–1963) and James Campbell Clouston (1900–1940), pier- master of “the mole.”
Clouston or ga nized and regulated the flow of men along the mole into the waiting
ships for five days and nights. He was killed the last night of the evacuation. Clous-
ton’s son Dane, 78, got in touch with the film’s producers in January 2017 to ask
if his late father could be credited, but was told it was not pos si ble to honor every
hero. Dane Clouston told the Daily Mail: “I was quite upset he is not referred to by
his proper name” (Adams, 2017).