The first National Day of Prayer was called for by King George VI on March 27th, 1940. The miracle
took place during the week following. Most people have heard how the English Channel was
absolutely calm all the days during which thousands of private boats and yachts, including my
father-in-law’s boat, went to and fro rescuing from the sands of Dunkirk 338,000 men of the British
Expeditionary Army, leaving only 12,000 sadly to become prisoners or killed.

The second Day of Prayer was on Sunday, August 11th, 1940. This was a national youth call to
prayer. The King had called all the young people to pray. I was walking past a large area of tennis
courts on the way to church. The tennis courts were deserted except for a perplexed young man
holding a tennis racket. He was completely alone.

The next national Day of Prayer was only a month later on September 8th, 1940. Calling for another
Day of Prayer so soon showed how desperate Parliament knew the situation to be.

The next National Day of Prayer was only six months later. It was called by
King and parliament for March 23rd, 1941. The guidance of God must have been evident, for we did
not know at the time that this was Hitler’s next date for invading Britain

The fifth National Day of Prayer was on September 3rd, 1942. It was the third anniversary of the
outbreak of war. The very next day at Palermo in the Mediterranean, the whole Italian fleet was
sunk. Very significantly, the next month in the North African desert, the Eighth Army under General
Montgomery saved Egypt (and therefore Israel) from being invaded by Hitler’s powerful tank
commander Rommel.

The sixth National Day of Prayer was held on September 3rd, 1943. It was a weekday, chosen at the
time because it was the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of war. Italy surrendered to the allies
that very night, and the dictator Mussolini was murdered.

. In the spring of 1944, the seventh and last Day of Prayer was called by the King.