| When | Sunday 09th June 2024 at 14:00 |
| Where | The Exchange, Sturminster Newton 1 Old Market Hill Sturminster Newton Dorset DT10 1QU |
| Event Type | Talks |
| Price | £8 |
| Booking | Preferred - Day tickets are also available for events on the 9th of June |
| Tickets | |
| Also available at 1855, Market Cross, Sturminster Newton |
This event is part of our DDay Commemoration day on 9th June.
Events can be booked individually or a special price day ticket is available via ticketsource.
James Porter will talk about the role of the Hampshire, Dorsetshire and Devonshire Regiments on D Day.
The talk begins with an introduction to 231 Malta Brigade, summarising its time in Malta during the Siege, as well as the Brigade’s successful participation in the Invasion of Sicily and then Italy. This is followed by a brief discussion of the background to the D-Day invasion of Normandy, including the overall military picture and the choice of date and location for the landings. The talk deals with the preliminary training undertaken by the Brigade, as well as the special equipment and vehicles with which it was equipped (such as DD tanks, AVREs and Flail tanks, etc). Next we look at the Brigade plan and how it fitted in to Operation Overlord as a whole, after which the amphibious assault is described. The talk then focuses on the Brigade’s experience on GOLD Beach on the morning of D-Day, followed by its advance into the village of Asnelles. In the afternoon the Brigade pressed inland with 1st Battalion DORSETS capturing 3 gun positions behind Arromanches, 1st Battalion HAMPSHIRES taking the hill west of GOLD Beach and the village of Le Hamel, and 2nd Battalion DEVONS capturing the village of Ryes. The evening of D-Day draws the talk to a close with a reckoning of the costs and gains of the day.
Christopher Jary, who lives in Frampton, has written or co-written thirteen books and edited three more. Among his twelve military books, D-Day Spearhead Brigade completes his trilogy about 231 Malta Brigade (comprising the 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment, the 1st Battalion Dorset Regiment and the 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment), who fought first on besieged Malta (1940-43) and then in Sicily and Italy; at 7.30am on 6th June 1944 they were the first British infantry to land on the Normandy beaches. James Porter helped research all three. Christopher’s books focus on the people, wherever possible allowing participants to tell their own stories.