Weymouth: D-Day embarkation

When I visit Weymouth, as I seem to be doing now on a regular basis, it’s primarily for the wildlife, the birds, butterflies and dragonflies that are either resident or passing through on their Spring and Autumn migrations, and so almost every day I walk from my guest house on the front along to RSPB Lodmoor and back. Along the way I pass poignant reminders of the importance of this seaside town during the Second World War. 

One of those reminders is this sign, placed as you can see at the bottom of a flight of steps that leads from Greenhill Road down to Brunswick Lane at the edge of the beach. 

The text on the sign reads:

Rangers Way 2
At the start of June 1944, the 2nd Battalion US Rangers descended these steps en masse before lining up on the Promenade. They then marched to the Pavilion to board the boats for the crossing of the Channel to Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, France.
"We may never see their like again."

 And, one afternoon, when I was returning to my guest house from a walk around RSPB Radipole via a meandering exploration of the older parts of Weymouth, I found another similar reminder of this town’s strategic importance for the embarkation of soldiers heading to France 82 years ago. 

This harbourside plaque reads:

D-Day Embarkation June 1944

Weymouth was one of the main embarkation points for troops assembled in South Dorset in preparation for the invasion of France during World War II. The thousands of troops who embarked through Weymouth included the US 1st Infantry Division, who landed on Omaha Beach and the 2nd Ranger Battalion who successfully disabled the heavily fortified German artillery battery at Pointe du Hoc. In the days leading up to the 6th June landings this area in front of the old 1908 Pavilion was a bustle of activity with men and supplies being loaded onto landing craft. Over the following year more than half a million American servicemen and 150,000 vehicles would pass through Weymouth and Portland to the beaches of Normandy.

As the Rangers Way sign’s quotation of General Dwight Eisenhower’s famous statement says, ‘We may never see their like again.’

Weymouth: maypole plaque

Today is May Day and, in the few places around the UK where they still exist, maypoles will feature in the celebrations. The origin of the custom of dancing around a maypole seems still to be much debated, with various theories posited, mostly surrounding the worship of trees and/or tree spirits, the phallic symbolism of the pole and its relevance to fertility rituals, and the importance of the return of warm weather for agricultural production. 

There once was a maypole in Weymouth but it was removed many years ago, and its former location is now marked by this plaque at the intersection of St Mary Street and Bond Street. Though the pole is long gone, I was delighted to find a video on YouTube of two performances of maypole dancing at this location, from 2004 and 2005, by the children of Weymouth's Conifers Primary School.

Weymouth: Bloody Assizes plaque

Installed in September 2025, this plaque is a new addition to the many that mark various aspects of Weymouth's history and can be viewed as part of the town's heritage trail. Today, Greenhill Gardens is a manicured park, with a café and benches where visitors and locals alike can sit and enjoy the expansive views of Weymouth Bay, but it is a location with a bloody history. 

Back in September 1685, twelve local men were hanged, drawn and quartered at Greenhill because of their participation in the Monmouth Rebellion. The plaque explains:

The Bloody Assizes

The Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 followed the death of Charles II and was an attempt to put his illegitimate son on the throne in place of James II. The uprising failed and hundreds of rebels were sentenced to death by the infamous Judge Jeffries [or Jeffreys]. Twelve rebels were hanged, drawn and quartered on gallows erected at Greenhill and their body parts then displayed in the nearby towns and villages.