On June 6 Brigadier Hugh Willing CBE, a retired army officer living in Staplecross, will give a talk at the Rye Community Centre about D-Day 1944 on its eightieth anniversary and the part that Rye played on that momentous day.
It was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare, 150,000 troops from Britain, USA and Canada storming the beaches of Normandy to defeat Nazi Germany. Many of those Canadian soldiers who took part had been billeted in this area of East Sussex for over a year, preparing for the invasion, and many of them would never return to their homeland. Rye Harbour and the Rother Estuary was also important as an anchorage for Royal Navy landing craft which were used as part of the D-Day deception plan to fool the German High Command into believing that the Allied invasion forces were destined for the Pas de Calais instead of Normandy.
This eightieth anniversary of D-Day is most likely the very last chance for some of those who took part to be involved in the commemorations, so it is important to celebrate with them. Although some young adults today find it unnecessary to commemorate such events, they should remember that the average age of those who took part was twenty-six, whilst the majority of those who were killed were in their late teens and early twenties, the same age as some of those who today think such commemorations should be confined to history. It is important that the next generation carries on the legacy of liberation and human endeavour passed down to us by those who gave their lives for our freedoms. This talk will be raising money for SSAFA, the armed forces charity, on behalf of Rye Golf Club’s charitable arm – the CRAFT Club, which stands for Can’t Remember A F***ing Thing, set up many years ago to raise money for three specific charities: RNLI, Save the Children and SSAFA.
For more on the local events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day click here
Brigadier Hugh Willing served for thirty-six years in the British Army in the Royal Green Jackets and 2nd Gurkha Rifles in many parts of the world. Since retiring to East Sussex in 2007 he has worked as a lecturer on cruise ships all over the world, giving talks on British Military and Colonial History including for the seventieth D-Day commemorations off the Normandy Beaches in 2014.
Image Credits: Amanda Walden , Wiling archives , Hugh Willing .
Hopefully the talk will be a great success.
I understand the £25:00 per ticket includes wine and canapés.
I think it’s a tad much @ £50:00 per couple in our present economy
It will restrict a great deal of our towns population.
The actual title of the craft club is “Can’t remember a flipping thing”