D-DAY80

JUMP LINKS to sections on this page: Event Schedule | Village art & wartime memorabilia exhibition | Poems for Schools | Military Aircraft Display | Ringing for Peace | Night at The Local | International Tribute & Lights of Peace Procession | Vintage Dance Night | Airfield Games Day | REGISTER YOUR CAR | Family Picnic | Service of Commemoration | call-out for memorabilia | Links, info & references

LATEST NEWS…

We want to say a very big thank you to everyone who helped us bring together such a special programme to commemorate the 80^th Anniversary of D-Day, it was an unforgettable five days of events that far outstripped anything else in the area and we’ve had so many comments of thanks and appreciation from people who came to Keevil to take part. Needless to say, this could not have been done without an incredible team of supporters who helped promote, set-up, and keep things rolling in a hundred ways – we couldn’t have done it without you.

In addition to monies raised towards costs and for St Leonards, we collected just over £70 for SSAFA, the Soldiers’, Sailors’ & Airmen’s Families Association charity that supports all military personnel both serving and retired. So thank you from them too.

There were many beautiful, humbling moments of reconnection with our history and one another, from the fellow whose grandfather flew an SAS mission from Keevil who came to the exhibition and walked the perimeter airstrip in memory, to the stories of villagers families who’d played a part, the moving books of poems and pictures created by the children of Keevil School, and the amazing works by our talented Art Group.

So we’re going to create a commemorative KEEVIL DD80 book of photographs taken at the events as well as material from the exhibition – and we’d love to hear of any stories you have as a result of our DD80 happenings – email Sarah callymosh@yahoo.co.uk. We aim to be ready by the end of the summer or early autumn, well in time for your Christmas lists!

Thanks again everyone… from Sarah and Geoff

Schedule of commemorative events in Keevil village

Wednesday 3-6.30pm	MILITARY AIRCRAFT DISPLAYS	Keevil Airfield
Thursday, Friday & Saturday 11am – 4pm	VILLAGE ART & WARTIME HISTORY DISPLAY	St Leonards Church
Thursday 11am	POETRY FOR SCHOOLS (part of national commemoration)	Keevil School
Thursday 6:30pm	CHURCH BELLS RING FOR PEACE (part of national commemoration)	St Leonards & St Marys
Thursday 7-11pm	‘THE LOCAL’ 1940s-style pub evening with singalong of wartime favs and spud’n’beans supper	Village Hall
Thursday 9:15pm	INTERNATIONAL TRIBUTE & LIGHT OF PEACE PROCESSION (part of national commemoration)	Starting from the Village Hall
Friday 7:30-11pm	Vintage DANCE NIGHT & Fish’n’Chip supper	Village Hall
Saturday 1030am-4pm	AIRFIELD RACE & GAMES DAY	Keevil Airfield
Saturday 2-5pm	WARTIME FAMILY PICNIC	Recreation Ground
Sunday 3.30pm	COMMEMORATION SERVICE with tea & cake	St Leonards

Wednesday 5th June

MILITARY AIRCRAFT DISPLAY on Keevil Airfield 3-7pm

Well, the Wildcat was called off on duty, and the Apache and Merlin were there at different times, but they were an absolute treat alongside the Watchkeeper RPAS, defence vehicles and a glider from Bannerdown Gliding Club… the aircrews were all excellent ambassadors, sharing their knowledge and passion with infinite patience and good humour! And the coffee at the Little Pink Door trailer was both excellent and very welcome, thanks Elodie & Silas!

DID YOU KNOW… The D-Day invasion was actually planned for 5th June, however, in true British fashion, the weather was too bad for the ships to set sail. It was therefore postponed until the day after.  See here for 10 really interesting facts about the Normandy invasion…

Daily Thursday 6th – Saturday 8th June

Keevil village art & wartime memorabilia exhibition 11am-4pm

The VILLAGE ART AND WARTIME HISTORY DISPLAY is open to all daily in the church from Thursday to Saturday 11am-4pm, there will be refreshments and cake available, and our brilliant team of flower arrangers will be decorating the church with red white and blue flowers. Some fabulous themed works are being created by our talented artists! Colin still has an open call for WARTIME MEMORABILIA for show alongside the Art Group exhibition, so if you have any wartime items – documents, photographs, clothing, hardware, models etc. that you would be willing to lend for a few days, contact Colin Dimbylow on 07783448783 or cdimbylow@btinternet.com

Thursday 6th June

11am POEMS FOR SCHOOLS

Keevil School will join the national commemoration;

It is D-Day, the Sixth of June Nineteen-Forty-Four.
Operation Overlord commenced, leaving the world in awe.
The planning started in Nineteen-Forty-three.
Bringing Allies together, to make our World free.
Deception was used, codenamed Operation Bodyguard.
Making rubber tanks and wooden planes as a façade.
An American unit was formed for General Omar Bradley.
Then a web of lies was spread, by his Ghost Army.
Much more was done, to keep the Germans in the dark.
Before the Allies on foreign shores, could disembark.
Everything was Most Secret and kept Hush Hush.
As Allies gathered resources, for their big push.
The Allied Supreme Commander was General Dwight Eisenhower.
With General (Monty) Montgomery as Temporary Ground Commander.
Eleven Thousand Aircraft and Gliders with Paratroopers and Soldiers.
Were dropped behind enemy lines to secure the area.
More than Five-thousand ships, the biggest Armada ever seen.
Sailed from British shores and our fields of green.
Monty’s battle plan was written, on one sheet of paper.
Set for June the Fifth, the Day of their departure.
But bad weather, caused a Twenty-four-hour delay.
Then conditions changed, and they got underway.
British, American, Canadian and many other countries, were together thrown.
Going to fight a War, something many had never known.
Over One Hundred and Fifty-Thousand men of every creed.
Will perform acts of courage, that must succeed.
There were Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and the Merchant Navy.
Many Civilians who volunteered to fight against Nazi tyranny.
Over the English Channel and to Normandy, France will go.
To land on beaches called Sword, Gold, Utah, Omaha and Juno.
Were they afraid? Yes! they most certainly were.
But the world must be saved, that was their spur.
The German defences were called, the Atlantic Wall.
Hitler told Field-Marshall Rommel, he must, the Allies stall.
The Allies landed Twenty-Four-Thousand troops on D-Day.
Commencing at Six-Thirty, then things went into disarray.
Wind and rough seas helped landing craft, miss their mark.
Putting the plan in jeopardy from the start.
Fierce resistance was put up, by Germans guarding the beaches.
The time had come to fight, no further need for speeches.
Beaches were Mined, Barbed wire laid, metal tripods and many hazards.
Were set to kill, maim and make things awkward.
Over Ten-Thousand casualties, the Allies had that first day.
With over Four-Thousand dead, a heavy price to pay.
D-Day made Heroes, in that hell unknown.
Helping turn the Tide of War, as the Enemy were overthrown.
Roy Palmer – Chelsea Pensioner and Herald

RINGING FOR PEACE 6:30pm

As part of the national commemorations, we rang the bells at St Leonard’s Keevil and then St Mary’s Steeple Ashton – joining with church bells across the nation in RINGING FOR PEACE at 6.30pm and at other times throughout the day and evening in a poignant marking of the anniversary of the D-Day landings that began in Normandy villages after D-Day in June 1944.

Night at THE LOCAL from 7pm

Make sure you pop into THE LOCAL on Thursday evening, it’s open to all, no need to book – it’s going to be a truly special night, with singalongs of wartime favourites around the piano, plus lincensed bar, a jacket ‘n’ beans supper (free with your first bar purchase) before the reading of the International Tribute at 9.15pm and the Lights of Peace procession for those that want to join it. Feel free to come in 1940s dress if you feel like it! Oh, and a big thank you to the Three Daggers for supporting us with some lovely ale!

….. with International Tribute followed by the Lights of Peace procession at 9.15pm

At 9.15pm we will join the national commemorations and read the INTERNATIONAL TRIBUTE, following which the Keevil Singers will lead a short procession of Lights of Peace around parts of the village. You can join in with your torch or lamps, or stay in the ‘pub’, the choice is yours!

Friday 7th June

Vintage DANCE NIGHT from 7.30pm

Everyone is also welcome at our vintage DANCE NIGHT in the village hall on Friday 7th but you will need a ticket! With a Fish ‘n’ Chip supper and special guests the HUMMINGBIRDS, we’ll be getting In The Mood as we revisit the good old days of boogie woogie Bugle Boys of Company B, big band and swing, before stepping up the tempo with old favourites from the 50s and early 60s. Dust off those dancing shoes and get ready to enjoy a night of classic oldies that kept the dance halls and Locals full from 1940s wartime through to rock ‘n’ roll! Themed dress optional 😉 Here’s a little demo…

Tickets £15 each which includes your Fish & Chips, from Geoff West 01380 870425 or Sarah Dow callymosh@yahoo.co.uk. A Licensed Bar will be available. There may be pickled eggs!

Make sure you hang onto your ticket as it will ensure you get your supper 🙂

Saturday 8th June

VILLAGE GAMES DAY on KEEVIL AIRFIELD 10.30am – 4pm

 The AIRFIELD RACE & GAMES DAY was open to visitors from surrounding villages as well as Keevil residents, with free entry and a programme of races that included 5k & 10k runs, a duathlon and childrens bike races, as well as casual walking and cycling of the perimeter, with good coffee and refreshments were provided by the Little Pink Door trailer.

Here’s Paul’s write-up of the event…

After all the Keevil DD80 activities during D-Day week, Saturday 8th June finally dawned with an overcast sky and a fresh north-westerly breeze, but thankfully dry! The first event was the 5k & 10k run with 22 starters, with Mike Beard the first man home after one circuit of the perimeter track, closely followed by April Banfield who took gold for the ladies, and Paul Banfield pacing himself well for the two laps to win the 10k.

Next were the kids bike races up and down the  finishing straight but competitors were in short supply. Maybe they were shy but there were no entrants for the under 6’s “Downhill Dash”. Fortunately I had press-ganged my youngest two grandchildren so Josie Lenaerts won the 6 to 8 “Uphill Struggle” and her brother Wilf stormed the 9 to 11 “Up and Back” challenge. Gold medals all round! The youngsters’ competitions continued later in the afternoon on the Playing Field with old favourites Egg & Spoon and Sack races.

The final event on the airfield was the Duathlon. There were only six starters but they set off impressively for two laps on the bike followed by a 5k run. The ‘transition’ was interesting with bikes being fielded by willing hands and fast shoe changes. Paul Banfield triumphed again for his second gold of the day.

The most popular session of the programme was undoubtedly the 2 hour lunchtime slot for casual walkers and cyclists to experience the wide open space on our doorstep without worrying about being last! So many people made the comment “I wish we could do this more often”.

This was the second year of our Airfield Games Day and we are learning about numbers, facilities and car parking. The numbers were more than last year but somewhat less than we would have wished. However, everything worked well and everybody seemed to have a good time. We are confident that the MOD will look kindly on a similar, bigger event in 2025 and give us the opportunity to get on the Airfield again.

I would like to thank all those who helped put on this event, volunteering to be First Aiders and Marshals. Also to those who helped set up and clean up, particularly James Bouault who laboured tirelessly as well as completing at least a dozen circuits on his bike during the ‘casual’ slot!

Paul Lenaerts

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Wartime FAMILY PICNIC on the Recreation Ground from 2pm

You can take your picnic to the Banfield Recreation Ground at any time during the Games Day; from 2pm the Keevil WI team will be providing a FAMILY PICNIC of tea, coffee and jam sandwiches (it is ‘wartime’ after all) for Keevil villagers but everyone is free to bring their own picnic to enjoy…

There will be some traditional children’s races such as running, egg & spoon and sack races…

DOGS: ASSISTANCE DOGS ONLY on the Recreation Ground.

Sunday 9th June: SERVICE OF COMMEMORATION in church at 3.30pm

On Sunday there will be an afternoon SERVICE OF COMMEMORATION followed by tea and cake in St Leonard’s Church, where all are warmly welcome.

Except for the at the church (where donations and profits from refreshments will go to St Leonard’s), there will be collections at all our DD80 events for the SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen Families Association).  Any profits from Dance Night (unlikely but you never know!) and donations for car-parking will help to support costs of the other village events.

Open Call for wartime memorabilia

As part of the D-Day commemorations in Keevil starting Thursday 6th June and through the weekend, we plan to set up a display in the Church. For part of this display we hope to exhibit wartime memorabilia treasured by villagers.

So, we are asking you to search your lofts, garages and cupboards for any wartime items you would be willing to lend to us for a few days. Ask your friends and family as well, please. This could be documents, photographs, clothing, hardware, models etc.

We know they are precious to you so any items we receive will be carefully catalogued and protected, and then displayed together with any supporting information you can supply.

Colin Dimbylow will be gathering this material. If you think you can help, please contact him on 07783448783 or cdimbylow@btinternet so we can get an idea of what you have and how we could display it. We would only need your actual items much nearer the June date.

Links, info and references

• • Book of Keevil Volume II pg 61-120 recounts an extraordinarily detailed history of Royal Air Force Keevil from 1942 onwards, with particular attention to it’s involvement in both D-Day and Arnhem operations. Current airfield information can be found here;

• • Book of Keevil Volume II from page 67 recounts the experiences of RAF Keevil Horsa Glider Pilot the late Bill Higgs, who flew on 5th June 1944 to get dug in before daybreak to protect Pegasus Bridge, where he fought on D-Day before getting on his folding bicycle and pedalling to the beach-head where he hitched a lift with the Royal Navy across the channel and back to Keevil – still with his bike!

• • See Book of Keevil Volume III from pg 53 for The Keevil War Book – probably one of our earliest Emergency Plan documents!

• • Book of Keevil Volume IV pgs 9-16 tells the story of the Keevil Home Guard, formed in May 1940;

• • Keevil WI was formed at the end of 1940 and the minutes tell us that “the jam committee” washed 500 jam jars and bottled 68 lbs. of jam in the Beach Arms – so bread and jam may be a theme of the picnic! More in Book of Keevil Volume I pg 86;

• • Pubs became known as ‘The local’ in WW2 – in his book The Local; A History of The English Pub, historian Paul Jennings says pubs played an important role in wartime life: “In contrast to the First World War, when drink and the pub were seen as harming the war effort and subject to major restrictions, in the Second World War the pub was viewed as important for maintaining morale. It is at this time that the phrase ‘The local’ came into general use.

• • A massive shout-out of thanks to talented village artist Randolph Vaughan, creator of our village sign artwork, who has adapted it into a DD80 logo for us, as well as created the beautiful artwork you can see in the masthead of this page – we are incredibly grateful to him and cannot wait to see what else our talented Art Group produce for the exhibition…

• • National programme of events and downloads here: https://www.d-day80beacons.co.uk/

• • More on churchbells Ringing Out for Peace in this PDF document and here.

How our plans for commemorating D-Day 80 started…

November 2023: Thank you to everyone who came to the COMMUNITY EVENING to talk about plans to commemorate the 80^th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings next June… it promises to be a special time in the village!

It was also good to hear from our new airfield owners Colonel Brendan Shaw MBE and Mark Goodwin of Army Air Corps, Middle Wallop – we’re very grateful for their enthusiastic contribution and openness to suggestions, and look forward to working with them to pull off some of the fabulous ideas.

The table above will change regularly as we get to grips with the detail, but if you’d like to be involved or have something to contribute, get in touch with Geoff geoff@keevilpc.com or 01380 870425 & 07778 144331, or Sarah sarah@keevilpc.com or 01380 871729 & 07870 909757

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COMMUNITY OPEN EVENING

Wednesday 15th November 2023 at 6.30pm in Keevil village hall (doors open from 6pm)

First and foremost, this is to bring villagers and village groups together to discuss and share plans for commemorative celebrations of D-DAY80 on 6th June 2024.

See www.d-day80beacons.co.uk for details of the national programme and innovative ways every member of our community can get involved. Representatives from the MOD’s new owners of Keevil Airfield will also be in attendance, so this promises to be an interesting and inclusive conversation!

There will be plenty of refreshments – all are welcome – if you’re part of the parish, come along, join the conversation and bring your ideas!

A rough idea of numbers would be helpful, so if you can, drop Sarah a message and let her know you’re coming: sarah@keevilpc.com or 07870 909757.