On Thursday June 6,  towns across west Dorset will mark 80 years since the allied forces crossed the English Channel to storm the beaches of Normandy, a pivotal moment in the fight for freedom during the Second World War.

The D-Day commemorations are important for many families across the UK but particularly in Dorset, where troops left the shores of Weymouth and Portland with many of them never returning.

In Dorset many of the events on June 6 will be hosted in Weymouth and Portland, but there is still a schedule of events planned for towns in west Dorset.

Bridport 

A proclamation will be made in Bucky Doo Square in Bridport at 11am with the town crier.

There will also be two talks held the week after D-Day in Bridport.

Lyme Regis

Events in Lyme Regis will begin with a torchlight procession at 9pm. 

The torchlight procession will start from the Gin Shop on the Cobb at 9pm and proceed along the seafront to Cobb Gate and on to Gun Cliff where a beacon will be lit at around 9.15pm, representing the ‘light of peace’ that emerged from the darkness of war.

Beaminster 

Events in Beaminster will begin with a museum exhibition in the Town Hall from 3pm until 8pm.

At 6.30pm The Nation's Bells will ring out.

Then in the evening at 7pm there will be a parade, followed by a lighting of the Beacon and a service of commemoration.

Burton Bradstock

A D-Day commemoration will be hosted at The Beacon on Cliff Road in Burton Bradstock from 8.30pm.

A piper will play at 9pm and a beacon will be lit at 9.15pm.