Peter Dawson was a British man from Weymouth, Dorset who, on 4 June 1940, accompanied his father Mark Dawson and friend George Mills to assist in the Dunkirk evacuation aboard their pleasure boat, the Moonstone. During the boat ride, the British civilians rescued the shell-shocked British Army soldier Adam Parks from his sinking transport ship, and Peter grew to distrust Parks as Parks attempted to prevent the boat from returning to Dunkirk to aid in the rescue efforts. Parks accidentally fatally injured Mills while attempting to wrest control of the boat's steering wheel from Captain Dawson, causing Peter to develop hateful feelings towards Parks. However, after the boat rescued several other British soldiers and Parks asked how Mills was doing, Peter lied and said that Mills was fine. Upon returning to England, Peter fulfilled Mills' wish to make the local newspapers by telling the Weymouth Herald of Mills' heroic actions, leading to the Herald writing an article of Mills' sacrifice.