One of the most significant events of the second world war will be marked in Dover when the town joins nationwide celebrations to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day this Thursday (6 June).
The town played a vital role in the events leading up to the re-taking of mainland Europe in 1944, with Operation Fortitude South staged here to fool the Nazis into thinking that Allied troops would be making the short journey across The Channel to invade the Pas de Calais.
In fact, the dummy tanks, replica landing craft and fake airfields, along with misleading radio traffic, was all designed to mislead the enemy while the real armada massed on the South Coast and headed for Normandy, where the invasion marked the start of the end of Nazi occupation.
The Dover Marina Hotel & Spa will be the ideal spot from which to join the celebrations, which will feature an evening of live musical entertainment organised by Dover Town Council on the Marina Curve from 6pm.
At 6.30pm the hotel will join other venues across the country by lighting a lantern and ringing its bell to mark the contribution made to the war effort by hundreds of animals including dogs, horses and homing pigeons.
The Dover Beacon lighting will take place at 9.15pm and will be livestreamed to the Marina Curve, while the hotel will be serving a special ‘Hellfire Corner’ cocktail through the evening.
