Dartmouth to hold 80th Remembrance Parade

Dartmouth Town Council is "honoured" to be hosting the 80th annual Remembrance Day Service and parade in Dartmouth.

The parade includes town dignitaries, clubs, organisations and all service veterans which will wind its way from the Guildhall to the towns war memorial in Royal Avenue Gardens.

There will also be 300 cadets marching from the Britannia Royal Naval College down to the Quay, near the Royal Avenue Gardens where the service is being held.

It is the towns first Remembrance day Parade since the Covid pandemic.

Mayor Cllr David Wells said: "Because of this year’s poignant D-Day Anniversary and the role Dartmouth played during this significant moment in history, we have decided to mark the event by resurrecting the towns Remembrance Day Parade.

"We hope as many local veterans as possible will join us either in the march or at the wreath laying at the war memorial."

Devon was at the forefront of preparations for Operation Overlord, the allied landings on German-occupied beaches of Normandy which marked a turning point in the war.

Huge areas of the South Hams were evacuated so troops at Slapton could rehearse what they would do when their landing craft deposited them on the beaches of northern France. Operation Tiger – one of a series of practice exercises for the Allied invasion of Europe – began six exercises for the Allied invasion of Europe – began six weeks before tens of thousands of troops landed on Normandy beaches.

Tragically, the exercise resulted in the deaths of more than 700 American servicemen, whose vessels were attacked by German E-boats as they were sailing from Lyne Bay to Slapton Sands. The exercise’s failures remained a secret for decades due to the secrecy surrounding the plans for D-Day.

Two days before the D-Day landings, Dartmouth residents were told to stay indoors as tanks rolled through the town and troops gathered at the harbour front, where ships and landing craft waited to take them to Normandy. Within 24 hours, 485 ships had left the harbour. At dawn on 6 June, the Allied invasion of France began.

Taking part in Dartmouth’s 80th Parade will be town councillors and service veterans along with representatives from the Royal British Legion, RoyalNaval Association, Britannia Royal Naval College including it’s Captain Andrew Bray, Old Dartmothians and Devon and Cornwall Police, along with other youth and civilian organisations.

The parade will gather at the Guildhall at 10.15am for a 10.30am start where it will make it’s way to the war memorial for wreath laying and a remembrance service led by Rev Dr Andrew Langley and BRNC’s padre, the Rev Keith Robus.

Members of the public wishing to pay their respects should gather in Royal Avenue Gardens at 10.30am before the service begins, orders of service will be distributed.