D-DAY 80th Anniversary Weekend

Operation Overlord – D-DAY 80^th Anniversary 6^TH June 1944 – 6^th June 2024.

This year sees the 80^th anniversary of D-Day, and in commemorative events across the county, Dorset will be paying homage to the incredible bravery of allied troops who left South Coast ports and airfields for France on 6^th June 1944.

On this momentous day, over 5,000 ships and landing craft carrying more than 150,000 troops descended on five Normandy beaches. The landings saw the start of a long and heavy campaign in North-West Europe which ultimately led the German command to accept that defeat was inevitable. Between 6th June 1944 and 7th May 1945, an incredible 517,816 troops and 144,093 vehicles embarked from Weymouth and Portland harbours alone. Many of the troops who embarked via Weymouth on D-Day were part of the US 1^st Division (the ‘Big Red One’) who were destined to land on Omaha Beach. A memorial dedicated to the American troops can be found on the Esplanade.

Discover more about D-Day:

The term D-Day is used by the armed forces to refer to the beginning of an operation, the ‘D’ stands for Day, meaning its actually short for Day-Day.

The D-Day invasion was actually planned for 5^th June. However, with cloud, strong winds and choppy seas, the weather was considered too bad for the ships to set sail.

An Associated Press report mistakenly announced that the invasion had begun on 4^th June 1944. A teletype operator in London was practicing her typing but didn’t realize that her teletype transmitter was connected – the news is then broadcast around the world, which Associated Press rushed to correct minutes later.

D-Day marked the beginning of the end of World War II: the Battle of Normandy lasted for twelve more weeks, and World War II would finally come to an end on 2^nd September 1945.

Below are just some of the events in Dorset that will allow us to remember the sacrifices made by so many. 

The Nothe Fort, Weymouth,  will be presenting a new exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Officially opening on 3rd June 2024 and running all year, this new feature will explore and commemorate the role of Nothe Fort and Weymouth’s residents in the preparations for the D-Day operations of 1944. Local residents have shared their memories of this pivotal point in WWII when Weymouth became a key location for the arrival and departure of Allied forces. The exhibition will provide a host of family-friendly displays carefully curated to share the story of Weymouth’s role in D-Day.
 

The Tank Museum, Bovington, will be running a host of family activities over half term – 25th May – 2nd June. Take part in family-friendly crafts, talks, and tours, alongside real examples of D-Day ‘Funny’ tanks. Tankfest, the world’s best display of historic moving armour, returns for three explosive days 28th – 30th June.

Dorchester: Thursday 6th June. The anniversary itself will be marked with a poignant proclamation read by the Town Crier at the iconic Town Pump, followed by a special reading of 'D-Day Heroes,' a poem dedicated to the brave soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy. As evening falls, all eyes will turn to Salisbury Field for a spectacular beacon lighting event. A children's choir will fill the air with gospel-inspired melodies. Serving US soldiers will share readings, and at 9:15pm, a beacon will be lit in unison with similar ceremonies across the nation, symbolising the enduring legacy of D-Day.

The Keep Military Museum in Dorchester will be hosting a very special 1940s-themed dance. The ‘D-Day Dance’ will take place on the evening of Saturday 25th May 2024 at The Army Reserve Centre, Dorchester, just next door to the museum. The evening will take you back in time to 1940s Dorchester with a live swing band, themed decoration and a bar.

Castletown D-Day Centre is open all year offering a unique chance for young and old to remember, or indeed learn for the first time, the important role played by the port of Portland during the allied invasion of northern France. There will be some special events planned here on the 6^th June.

Lyme Regis will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings in 1944 with a torchlight procession followed by the lighting of a beacon, taking place on 6^th June.

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