About

We Will Remember Them

Commemorate & Educate

Since 2011, D-Day Dorset has been working hard to commemorate the period during WWII when the US military were encamped in Dorset. Through WWII themed public events, educational visits and commemorative services across the county, as well as the founding of a visitor centre and the dedication of a permanent memorial, D-Day Dorset has been steadfast in its commitment to remembering this era of British and US history.

Broadmayne D5

In 2011, we created an annual living history event to commemorate the US Army D-Day marshalling camp D5. Broadmayne Park and West Knighton marshalling area D5 had the capacity to hold 3000 personnel and 220 vehicles. At this time very little was known about the camp so it became our goal to research and share any information we discovered. The Broadmayne D5 living history event became the perfect platform to do this.

Over the years the event grew, incorporating the base values of education, commemoration and community. With the backing of the Heritage Lottery scheme, we were able to grow the event to a full weekend of 1940s era entertainment while also raising funds for local charities. Working with a local production company, we also produced two short educational videos for schools to use.

Last run in 2016, the Broadmayne D5 event has now been absorbed into the larger Armour & Embarkation event.

Armour & Embarkation

In 2015, we invited the Armour and Embarkation WWII armoured vehicle event to join us at Broadmayne D5. A&E accepted the offer and in 2016 the combined Broadmayne D5 and Armour & Embarkation living history event took place.

Armour & Embarkation brings together a convoy of original WWII vehicles that travels Dorset's rural country lanes following the routes taken by the embarkation convoys of 80+ years ago. Over the weekend of the event, the convoy visits local schools, villages, towns and museums, making stops to allow the public to look at these iconic machines close up. Vehicle owners are always happy to chat and answer questions. Held every 2 years, Armour & Embarkation is one of the largest events of its type in Europe and promotes the values of education, commemoration and community.

In 2021, D-Day Dorset joined the A&E organising team. Together, we continue our work toward making this event both informative and enjoyable for participants and public alike.

The next Armour & Embarkation event is planned for June 2026.

The D-Day Centre

In 2014 we began considering a number of sites as a base for a permanent visitor attraction in Dorset that would showcase the important role played by the county during the build up to D-Day. In 2015 D-Day Dorset designed plans for a visitor attraction that would be based in Castletown, Portland where US forces embarked for Normandy.

Work started in 2016 to convert a disused warehouse into a visitor attraction, and in early 2017 the Castletown D-Day Centre opened to the public. Offering the visitor an immersive experience, it tells the story of embarkation from the perspective of a busy wartime dockyard. Visitors are encouraged to climb in/onto vehicles, pick up weapons, try on wartime uniforms and kit. This hands on approach to learning about our wartime history was an instant success and within weeks the D-Day Centre was ranked No1 local visitor attraction on Tripadvisor.

In 2020, D-Day Dorset stepped away from the D-Day Centre in order to focus on other projects.

Castletown at War

Working to enhance the immersive visitor experience at the D-Day Centre, D-Day Dorset created the Castletown at War living history event. Working in cooperation with English Heritage and the staff of Portland Castle, this event created an opportunity for living history groups and reenactors representing both Allied and Axis forces to set up authentic military camps that visitors could then explore.

Taking place over a weekend, the event was held twice yearly and proved very popular. It gave visitors the unique opportunity to move freely between both visitor attractions.

Well received by locals and visitors alike, Castletown at War was great success. The event continues to be held although in a different format.

D5 Memorial

In 2019, as part of the plans to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Allied invasion of northern France, D-Day Dorset acquired permission to create a memorial in the village of Broadmayne. Sited within the boundaries of the former military camp, the memorial was to represent the US Army personnel that that were based in the villages of Broadmayne and West Knighton during the D-Day period. A monolith was created from concrete remnants of the D5 camp with a plaque dedicated to men of the US 1st Infantry Division, US 2nd Ranger Battalion and the 29 Infantry Division who left Marshalling Area D5 to storm the Normandy beaches on the 6th June 1944.

A service of dedication was held on 6th June 2019, attended by members of the local and wider communities along with local dignitaries. The memorial is maintained by D-Day Dorset with wreaths laid annually on the 6th of June and also on Remembrance Sunday.

Media

D-Day Dorset is often approached to assist authors and film production teams with information about the US Army's presence in Dorset.

We have been lucky enough to work with main stream television channels, film production companies and online content creators. We have also worked with local radio stations, with recorded interviews and live outside broadcasts.

Working closely with Bright Button Productions, we have created a total of 9 short documentaries that together tell Dorset's D-Day story. These documentaries offer the perspective of both the US soldiers based in the county, and the local communities with whom they shared their last peaceful months before going off to war.

2 films were produced for use by schools and can be found online (search Broadmayne D5 videos), while the other 7 were produced specifically for the D-Day Centre and can be viewed there by visitors.

Airborne

Airborne All The Way!

On the night of the 5th/6th of June 1944 the skies over Dorset reverberated with the sound of hundreds of aircraft engines. These aircraft carried the men and equipment of the entire US Airborne forces. The aircraft carrying the men of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions took off from their airfields and headed for a rally point where all aircraft would gather prior to crossing the English Channel. The rally point, code named 'Flatbush' was Portland Bill, the southerly tip of the Isle of Portland, Dorset.

Since 2016, D-Dorset has been involved with commemorative military parachuting displays that take place annually in France and the Netherlands. As part of the Round Canopy Parachuting Team (International) and utilising the WWII era C47/Dakota aircraft that were used in the original airborne landing, we have jumped onto many of the actual drop zones used in 1944.

We have been extremely fortunate to have taken part in some historic cross channel operations, where our aircraft took off from original D-Day airfields in the UK to then drop parachutists onto the Normandy drop zones. One such jump was filmed for UK televisions Channel 4, 'Guy Martin's D-Day Landing'.

Combining these experiences with research into the US Airborne Divisions based in the UK during WWII, D-Dorset has gained an unique insight into the role of the US Parachute Infantry Regiments during the D-Day period.

Learn more