D-Day at Deal


It's not much of a monument to one of the most momentous events in British history*
It's not much of a monument to one of the most momentous events in British history

Deal is a charming sea-side town in Kent - rows of Victorian terraces fronting the beach, a castle built by Henry VIII (in between marrying and beheading wives) and glorious views across the English Channel towards France.

It also has - and this is the subject of my film - a memorial to D-Day - not the recent one, the 55 BC one. Tramping over the shingle, I couldn't help but wonder if Caesar chose the spot deliberately, for the gravel must have slowed down the British war chariots considerably.

The other thing is that Caesar didn't know about tides and no one thought to tell him, so off he went inland with his army, leaving his ships on the beach, where they were promptly damaged by the next high tide!

If you are into Google Earth, you can find the monument at 51 21 40.08N 1 24 10.52E