Thursday June 6 marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Allied landings on the Normandy beaches in Northern France. It was a key part of the victory against Germany in World War 2.
Local plans have been announced to mark the occasion, with events in both Rye and Winchelsea, along with a talk which will commemorate the area’s contribution to the largest seaborne invasion in history.
At lunchtime on Thursday June 6, D-Day will be remembered outside Rye town hall in The Buttermarket. The Ryebellion drummers will perform before the event starts at 1.15pm with readings, music and a minute’s silence to honour those who fought and died. Town crier Paul Goring will give the official cry, however instead of his usual bell he will be using an ARP warden’s bell from 1939.
On Thursday evening, there’s an illustrated talk by Brigadier Hugh Willing titled “The assault on Normandy – Rye’s part in the plan”. It starts at 6pm in Rye Community Centre on Conduit Hill. Tickets cost £25 to include wine and canapes. For tickets and more details email jawilling@gmail.com
Later on Thursday, an evening of events is planned in Winchelsea starting at the New Hall at 7.15pm hosted by the town’s Millennium Artefacts Society. Photographs and documents will be on display marking the history of the military based locally and “Winchelsea at War”. Story boards will cover the visits of Montgomery and Eisenhower who were briefly stationed at Greyfriars, as well as the stories of the contribution local people made to the Allied landings. The evening will finish with the lighting of the Winchelsea Beacon at 9.15pm.
Next week in Rye News, we’ll have more on the impact D-Day had on Rye, together with a report from a visit to Normandy.
