Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge Town Council had a busy day of events on Thursday 6th June to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy on the 6th June 1944.
It all started with a sunny morning at 8am with Town Councillors, local residents and a large group of students from the Loire region in France attending to the official proclamation reading by the Town Crier, at the flag pole at the junction of Pier Street and Old Station Road.
This was followed by a raising of the flag at 9am in Highbridge outside the Community Centre, attended by the Deputy Mayor and in Burnham-on-Sea the raising of the flag at the flag pole attended by the Mayor and residents.
The Princess Community Choir performed to a full audience on Thursday afternoon during The Princess Theatre’s D-Day Anniversary Concert.
The audience were treated to renditions of 1940s war-time classics such as “White Cliffs of Dover”, “Lambeth Walk” and “Wish Me Luck (as you wave me goodbye)”, while choir member Tim Champ gave a comedic solo performance of “Why Don’t Women Like Me?”. There were plenty of sing-a-long opportunities for the audience members who sang with full voices. Catering for the event was provided by Cabaret café bar that opened earlier that week.
This event was the first of The Princess Theatre’s monthly Seniors Events for the over 65s in our community that have been made possible by the generous grant awarded by The HPC Community Fund that the theatre received in March of this year.
At just after 8pm near the jetty in Burnham-on-Sea, the crowds were entertained with a variety of wartime tunes performed by the brilliant Burnham & Highbridge Town Band.
Finally, at 9.15pm along with many other parishes around the country, a commemorative beacon was lit against the setting sun whilst Mayor Sharon Perry read The International Tribute to those attending the event. The light from the flames of the beacons lit around the country represented the light of peace that emerged from the darkness of war. 