BELLS will chime, a beacon lit, wreaths laid and dignified silences held across Tavistock to honour all those who gave their lives during the D-Day landings.
Church bells all over the country will ring out at 6.30pm on Thursday, June 6, to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and the bells of St Eustachius’, Tavistock, will be amongst them.
Earlier at 11am, the Royal British Legion will hold a wreath laying ceremony, silence and service at Tavistock War Memorial.
Later, at 9pm, Tavistock Town Council will stage a ceremonial beacon lighting on Whitchurch Down to signify the gratitude of the town for the all those who took part in the largest ever land and and sea landings on the beaches of northern France.
The landings were critical in turning the tide of the war in Europe in favour of the Allies and Tavistock played an important role by hosting the US Army 29 Division on Whitchurch Down as wll as. US General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander fo the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe, who met his forces at their HQ at Abbotsfield Hall.
Anyone is invited to attend the two memorial events, while as many Tavistock bellringers as possible are being encouraged to join in the ringing. Church bells had an important role in World War II, though mostly by simply remaining silent. The sound of bells, rung in clamour, was to be the warning of imminent enemy invasion and would have struck fear into hearts rather than celebration.
Donna Baker, part of Tavistock Bellringers, said: “When the danger of invasion receded, Winston Churchill decreed they could be rung for Easter and great occasions. Although it is doubtful that many churches were able to scrape up a team, with so many men and women away at war, and most towers remained silent until peace was declared.
“Even then, towers must be cleaned of years’ of accumulated debris and the long unused bells made safe for ringing by competent ringers. “All this, as well as the courage and heroism displayed by so many, may be recalled by the sound of the bells ringing on this anniversary of the day that changed the course of World War II, and it is hoped that the townsfolk will listen out for this special event, and pause for a few moments to reflect on what happened.”
This year’s D-Day anniversary marks the last large-scale memorial event because of dwindling numbers of veterans. However, Richard Aldred, 99, of Callington, who served in D-Day aged 19, as a tank driver with the Fifth Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards has his portrait appearing on digital screens in central London and Portsmouth, in a tribute organised by charity Blind Veterans UK.
Richard landed on Sword Beach on D-Day and helped replace destroyed harbours. He remembers the cramped, unsanitary conditions inside his tank and the horrors of war: “You’ve got to get on with your friends because the whole tank smells of frightened human beings and petrol, hydraulic oil and gunpowder.”
