Lepe: Beach repair restores access to D-Day embarkation area

Part of the foreshore between Lepe and Calshot was washed away during a ferocious storm in April, preventing people from reaching the former embarkation point.

Last month it looked as if the historic area would still be fenced off when the nationwide commemorations take place on Thursday.

But landowner the Cadland Estate, working with Fawley Quarry, has repaired the beach using thousands of tonnes of ballast.

The week-long operation enabled a ceremony to be held at a seafront memorial to members of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards who were killed in the landings and the subsequent Battle of Normandy.

D-Day veteran was joined at the memorial by Major Graeme Green, who read out the names of Cecil's fallen colleagues (Image: Newsquest)

The moving service was attended by D-Day veteran Cecil Newton, 100, who lives near Marlborough in Wiltshire, who was making his second visit to the area in less than three months.

Cecil sat beside the memorial as the names of his fallen comrades were read out by Major Graeme Green. 

READ MORE: D-Day veteran Cecil Newton returns to Hampshire beach from were he embarked on the liberation of Europe

One of the wreaths was laid by Cecil's grandson, Oscar Lozada, 29, who lives in London. The former trooper's son Paul and daughter Claire were also there.

The ceremony marked the 80th anniversary of the day Cecil and his fellow soldiers boarded their vessels ahead of the Channel crossing. Bad weather delayed their departure, forcing them to endure 24 hours of sea sickness in the Solent before setting off.

People attending the service were handed copies of a new book, D-Day 80, in which Cecil describes his experiences in Normandy and elsewhere.

Cecil Newton and his daughter Claire at the memorial to members of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards (Image: Newsquest)

His tank was one of several that engaged the enemy at Les Verrieres.

"It was an absolute massacre," he says. "There were so many tanks hit and so many people killed. Two infantry battalions were mowed down."

READ MORE: Normandy veteran from the New Forest given special treat

After reaching Germany he suffered a shrapnel wound to the leg after he and his crew came under attack.

Standing injured on top of the tank he was shot in the back three times by a German officer with a low calibre pistol, but managed to crawl into a nearby house.

"A person standing in one of the doorways had witnessed it all and took me to hospital. I was exceptionally lucky to survive."

D-Day events will take place in Southampton and across Hampshire over the next few days.

A family fun day featuring military vehicles, children's activities, and live music will be held at Lepe on Saturday, followed by a commemorative service on the clifftop the following day.