POOLE Sea Cadets were asked to lead the parade commemorating the 80th Anniversary of D-Day by marching along the quay.
Joining the mayor and sheriff of Poole for the lighting of a commemorative flame, the cadets paused by the US Coastguard Memorial.
Poole Sea Cadets trustee Bruce Grant-Braham said: “Our cadets have varying educational experiences from a wide range of backgrounds, aged as they are up to 18 to 80 years ago that would have been the age they would have been called up.
“We hope in particular to familiarise them with what happened in Poole, the third largest embarkation port for Operation Overlord, which saw thousands of US troops depart Dorset to Omaha Beach in Normandy.”
Beginning with a flotilla passing at 8.30pm, the public gathered on the edge of the Quay to watch the boats pass by.
The BCP area played a significant role in the D-Day landings which began the campaign to liberate Europe from Nazi control.
Allied forces made camp in the UK before leaving from the south coast to cross the channel on June 6, 1944, in a combined naval, air and land assault.
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