Five veterans who had been on the Dunkirk Beach or in the vicinity fighting, met in the bar of the Queens Hotel, City Square, Leeds on 3 September 1953.
The association started to arrange pilgrimages to the beaches and towns from which troops had been evacuated including Dunkirk, De Panne, Bray Dunes and Calais.
These pilgrimages took place when large parts of the towns and villages were still exhibiting severe War damage and rebuilding had not fully started.
(Aitken was the author of Massacre on the road to Dunkirk, detailing the murder by an SS company of 45 officers and men at Wormhoudt in France.)
Royal patronage continued with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh taking the salute at the 40th anniversary parade in May 1980 in Folkestone.
Harold Robinson fostered links between veterans associations in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, promoting peace and comradeship between old soldiers.
He occupied varying additional posts including 20 yrs as Chairman of the Headingley Branch of the Royal British Legion, Leeds Poppy Appeal organiser for the RBL, Parade Marshall for Leeds City Remembrance Day Parade, Council member of SAFA, regional Council member of RBL, and was also a hospice visitor for veterans.
He spoke seven languages fluently and could 'get by' in several more, taught thousands of children and was married for 43 years to Eileen Robinson who died eight months after him.