Trivia: The character of umbrella wielding Major Harry Carlyle was inspired by real life Major Allison Digby Tatham-Warter, who said that he 'carried the umbrella because he could never remember the password, and it would be quite obvious to anyone that the bloody fool carrying the umbrella could only be an Englishman'. Unlike Carlyle in the film, Major Tatham-Warter survived the battle and was captured by the Germans. He escaped, and in the weeks that followed, aided by Dutch Resistance, helped hundreds of other soldiers in similar situations to be evacuated to safety.