D-Day 80th anniversary events on the Isle of Wight

Nationally, on June 5 and 6, there will be a series of major commemorations in the UK and France to honour the brave personnel who risked their lives.

• Scroll down to see what is happening on the Isle of Wight...
• Are you organising an event? Tell us, by emailing editor@iwcp.co.uk

The Red Arrows (Image: Ministry of Defence)

What was D-Day?

On June 6, 1944, over 150,000 Allied Troops landed on five beaches in Normandy, France, by sea and air.

In the build-up to the operation, boats were at anchor in the Solent in such large numbers, it appeared you could have walked to the mainland from the Isle of Wight.  Around 7,000 ships and landing craft took part, with the invasion force creating quite a spectacle on The Solent. 

Codenamed Operation Neptune, the Normandy landings made up the largest seaborne invasion in history and played a crucial role in liberating Western Europe from Nazi occupation.

The operation led to the liberation of Europe.

Two forces reinactment veterans from the Island (Image: Newport & Carisbrooke Community Council)

Arreton

• The White Lion pub are inviting all pensioners in the parish a free cream tea, between 10am and 11am. The pub will also be providing entertainment — a wartime-style singalong.

Culver Down

• Bembridge Parish Council will join the nationwide commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day by lighting the beacon on Culver Down. Brading Community Choir will sing a medley of songs, followed by an ecumenical service at 8.45pm and concluding with the beacon lighting at 9.15pm.

​​Newport

• Event organised by Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council, at Victoria Recreation Ground, between 10am and 4pm, on June 8, including music, vintage stalls and military vehicles. A parade from Drill Hall Road, at 10.30am, arriving about 20 minutes later for the the Lord Lieutenant to take a salute. Free transport via vintage Southern Vectis bus, ‘Old Girl’, from Church Litten. 

• The Apollo Theatre in Pyle Street will be screening a new 30-minute film about D-Day, entitled '80 Years On', made by Felicity Fair Thompson and filmed on the Isle of Wight, at 2pm on Thursday, June 6. See the film and meet the actors and contributors. Doors open at 1.15pm, admission £6.

• Medina Theatre will be hosting the D-Day Proms — a proms-style concert with 35-piece orchestra and vocalists — at 7.30pm on Saturday June 1. Expect all the traditional wartime favourites, punctuated by poignant moments, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, all concluding with a traditional 'Proms' finale.

Niton

• Niton Village Historical Group will stage a D-Day exhibition at the White Lion, Niton. Second World War artefacts, plus video and audio memories and information about what it was like to live in Niton during the war will be on show, on Saturday, June 1, between 10.30am and 4pm.

Northwood

• Northwood Parish Council is holding a free D-Day 80 event on Sunday, June 9 in Venner Avenue Park. The event will include a bouncy castle, bubble football, inflatable axe throwing, a magician and live music, including the children of Northwood school.

Ryde

• Hopefully, visible from Ryde, an RAF fly-past over Portsmouth, to include the Red Arrows, on June 5.

Sandown

• Sandown Conservative Club will host a morning of interesting history and conversation, at '80 Years On From the D-Day Landings: Preparations on the Home Front Along the South Coast and the Island. Bring along your old family memorabilia and discover what was being talked about in the Isle of Wight County Press at that time. The event will also include the screening of '80 Years On'. Runs from 10.30am to 1pm on Saturday, June 8, with admission £5, which includes refreshments and a prize draw in support of The Veteran, Ryde. 

Shanklin 

• Shanklin & District History Society will host an open day exhibition, on Saturday, May 25, from 10am to 3pm, at the Falcon Cross Hall, Shanklin. Entry is free. Displays of pictures and stories from the group's archive, including WW2 artefacts, old maps, and directories to help find out who lived in your house. Local history books and old postcards will also be on sale.

St Helens

• The Vine Inn will be showing D-Day events live on the pub's big screen throughout the day, concluding with a 1940s-inspired prize bingo from 7.30pm.

Ventnor 

• The Ventnor branch of the Royal British Legion will be holding its 1940s Blitz Party on Friday, June 7. It will feature dancing and a wartime singalong with popular female Island vocal Double Take, from 8pm until 10pm, followed by disc jockey Krazy Kev, who will be spinning hits from the war years. There will also be prizes up for grabs for the best three 1940s costumes. 

• Ventnor and District Local History Society will be launching a booklet and exhibition highlighting Ventnor’s (and the Isle of Wight’s) role in the D-Day invasion, which will include the experiences of the town's residents and military personnel. The free-to-enter exhibition, which opens at the Ventnor Heritage Centre, Spring Hill, on June 5, will feature unique photographs from the society’s collection as well as from archives from the UK, United States and Germany.

Wootton

• Wootton is commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day by lighting a lamp of peace at 9.15pm. National Fish and Chip Day at Terry’s Fish & Chip shop has been moved to June 6 in support of the commemorations.

Yarmouth

• A commemoration at Yarmouth community hall on June 6, including a coffee morning, from 10.30am to 1.30pm. In the evening, between 5pm and 8.30pm, there will be a talk. A march-through from Yarmouth Square to the Green, by Medina Marching Band. Lighting of the beacon, at 9.15pm.

• At the Community Hall of Yarmouth and District (CHOYD), Yarmouth Town Council will be publishing a book of Second World War memories to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The book, entitled Yarmouth: A Commemoration of D-Day 1944 Memories of WWII, is supported by grants from Yarmouth Town Trust, Isle of Wight National Landscape and the Delphie Lakeman Trust. 

Portsmouth

• Portsmouth will host a major national commemorative event, with thousands of members of the public joining D-Day veterans, Armed Forces personnel and VIP guests, on Southsea Common. There will be military musicians and a Royal Air Force flypast and it will be broadcast live on BBC 1. There will be a free shuttle bus from Portsmouth and Southsea Station.