Bygone Buriton event will host a special exhibition
80 years ago hundreds of allied troops were camped in and around the parish in the build up to the D-Day Landings and Operation Overlord.
To mark this anniversary part of the annual ‘Bygone Buriton’ event will be devoted to a special exhibition explaining what local research has discovered about D-Day connections with the parish.
Research by Buriton Village Association reveals some fascinating local stories including some first-hand accounts of activities.
As well as recollections about Canadian troops camped around the village, accounts from people in the Buriton area at the time describes:
- parachuting into Normandy soon after midnight to capture Pegasus Bridge and other vital targets,
- landing on the beaches later on D-Day,
- follow-up operations including the Mulberry Harbours and
- an amusing account from someone ‘with an inside track’ who missed it all.
By bringing all these stories together, the exhibition will highlight the scale, complexity, secrecy and bravery of Operation Overlord ‘through local eyes’.
Copies of the special D-Day publication will also be available: see here.
However, the search to try to identify exactly which Canadian Units spent time in the parish continues – and anyone with any ideas or information about this is encouraged to contact Doug Jones (01730 231326 or email doug.pam@btinternet.com)
The ‘Bygone Buriton’ event will take place in Buriton Village Hall between 1pm and 4pm and will also include other displays, photographs and information about life in the parish in years gone by, including:
- hop growing and picking – activities which transformed the parish every year
- the Buriton and Butser chalk quarries and lime works – another local industry of yesteryear
- our local school – how things have changed over the last 150 years
- leisure activities – sports teams, early entertainments and the pheasant & rabbit shoots
- farming activities, including the days of sheep rearing on the Downs.
The event is free, and people are encouraged to bring any old photos, newspaper articles or other information related to Buriton. We are always looking to find out more about life in the parish in years gone by.
All are welcome and there is no admission charge.
