British troops evacuated from Dunkirk during World War II, including a man from Cheshire, have been reunited 70 years after seeing the white cliffs of Dover looming into view.

Nine veterans of the celebrated rescue mission met at London's Imperial War Museum to share memories and celebrate the anniversary of the 1940 operation.

Among them was 90-year-old Sam Kershaw from Goostrey, who recalled sinking with exhaustion on to the French sand before a boat ferried him across the English Channel.

Mr Kershaw, who was then a private in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, said: "We were fighting in northern France when a German armoured column caught up with us and sprayed the whole unit with gunfire.

"We sheltered from the gunfire in a ditch and lost all our equipment. When we got away from the German column our officer said we had to make our way to Dunkirk, where we were going to be evacuated."

The journey to the beach took him and his fellow members of the 42nd East Lancashire Division 48 hours - part of it on foot.

He said: "When we got there I laid down on the sand, tired and starving, and went to sleep. We waited in some nearby sand hills all of the next day and when night fell we were taken in a rowing boat to HMS Halcyon. I fell asleep on deck and when I awoke I saw the white cliffs of Dover in front of me."

Described as a "miracle of deliverance" by wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the evacuation is seen as one of several events in 1940 that determined the eventual outcome of the war. The mission, dubbed Operation Dynamo, saw hosts of pleasure boats and other small craft join warships to rescue the stranded troops, who had been pushed back by Adolf Hitler's forces.

World War II historian Nick Hewitt, who also attended the anniversary reunion, said that at Dunkirk Britain "bought time" for the rest of the world. He said: "Without Dunkirk, Britain doesn't have an army and it's extremely questionable whether Britain could have fought the war. Without an army Britain can't take the war overseas and can't continue to fight."

To coincide with the anniversary, the museum is opening its Explore History centre where members of the public can access parts of its collection of digitised photos, film, sound recordings, documents and books.