A special service of Remembrance to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the St Nazaire Raid during WWII took place on Sunday 17th March. A large contingent paraded from The Moor in Falmouth led by the band of the HMS Seahawk followed by local dignitaries, service personnel and veterans. A service was held before wreaths were laid at the St Nazaire Memorial on the Prince of Wales Pier.
Three students came over especially from St Nazaire and recited a poem led by their teacher while the mayor of St Nazaire also laid a wreath. The family of Falmouth war hero of the St Nazaire raid Johnny Johnson, who was with 5 Commandos in the 1942 raid, also laid a wreath. Johnny was taken prisoner but returned home after the war. Wreaths were also laid by the mayors of Falmouth, Helston and Penryn as well as Falmouth and Truro MP Cherilyn Mackrory.
Operation Chariot, the name given to the raid by Allied forces on the German occupied French port of St Nazaire and specifically its huge dry dock, was one of the most daring, courageous episodes of World War II.
More information on the memorial can be found here – Operation Chariot (St Nazaire) (warmemorialsonline.org.uk)
