It is fitting on the 77th anniversary on June 6th of the momentous events of D-Day and Operation Overlord that younger generations take time to remember those who went before them.
As he is still fresh in our minds shall we affectionately refer to the World War 2 Normandy Veterans as the “Captain Tom Generation”.
Poole is particularly important in this piece of history having been the 3rd largest embarkation point for the largest amphibious invasion ever.
Thousands of US troops embarked on hundreds of landing craft to leave the sanctuary of Poole Harbour and head mainly for the deadly Omaha Beach on the Normandy Coast.
The coxswains of the landing craft were mostly Royal Navy personnel.
SLt (SCC) Reece Oliver RNR, Commanding Officer of Poole Sea Cadets, said, “It is hard to imagine what today’s genteel waters of Poole Harbour, on which we regularly train our cadets, would have looked like back then.
One thing is sure is that on the water it would have been eerily quiet once they had left although another armada of aircraft would have been flying overhead from Tarrant Rushton, Hurn, Christchurch and many other airfields”.
“It shouldn’t be forgotten that many of the soldiers, sailors and aircrew involved would have been about the age of our older cadets”.
Bruce Grant-Braham, former Mayor of Poole and now a Trustee of Poole Sea Cadets, said, “Today the cadets, both girls and boys, are safely trained in the high quality skills and traditions of the Royal Navy, just like their predecessors. Having personally been a Sea Cadet in my youth I applaud the organisation which continues to be proud that it is steeped in maritime history”.
For more information on the Sea Cadets in Poole see, www.sea-cadets.org/poole