Monday February 18, 2019
♪♪♫♪♫
There'll be bluebirds over
The White Cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow, just you wait and see....
♫♪♪♫♪
Since the first time I heard this song in my early teens I have always wanted to see the famous White Cliffs of Dover, and today I had that opportunity.
Yeah... I know they are a long way off, but it was still amazing to see them.
As I stood there and looked at those chalky cliffs in the distance, I couldn't help but wonder if Darryl's dad Bill had flown over these same cliffs and what his thoughts were. Of course, WWII was raging at that time, so I imagine his thoughts were more of safety and peace that the awe I felt.
In the town of Dover buildings are built right up next to the cliffs,
And some buildings are built into the cliffs.
Of course I had to put my hands in the English Channel. Yep... it was cold.
After the beach we walked under the street and into the tourist town of Dove, England. The tile murals under the streets were quite fun depicting the vikings landing in England in the 9th or 10th century.
Dover was quite the picturesque town and I understand quite the vacation spot.
Above the town sitting on top of the white cliffs is the impressive Dover Castle.
This Medieval Fortress was a strategic stronghold for William the Conqueror after the battle of Hastings in 1066. Situated high upon the cliffs has served as a showplace for Henry II when he remodeled it in 1180 and was in continued use up until 1958 when the last British garrison left.
This great castle was besieged twice, once unsuccessfully by Prince Louis of France in 1216-1217 and a second time by Prince Edward, Henry III son when it was held by his Sister, Eleanor de Montfort.
From the 1740s onwards the medieval banks and ditches were reshaped as the castle was adapted for artillery warfare. Later in the 18th century, when England faced the threat of invasion from Napoleonic France, even more spectacular additions were made to the castle’s defences. To house the huge numbers of troops needed to man them, a network of tunnels was dug in from the cliff face for use as barracks.
The Napoleonic tunnels were brought back into service in the Second World War, when they made their most notable contribution to British history. From 1939 they housed the command centre that controlled naval operations in the Channel. It was from here that in May 1940 Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay organised the extraordinary evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk, codenamed Operation Dynamo.
Over the next few years the tunnels were greatly extended to serve as both a hospital and a large combined headquarters, responsible for guarding the Straits of Dover and involved in preparing for the 1944 invasion of Europe.
Later, during the Cold War, this network of tunnels was transformed into the secret location of one of Britain’s Regional Seats of Government, with the role of organising life in the event of a nuclear attack.
One more thing checked off the bucket-list.
(Well, it would be if I had a bucket list.)
There'll be bluebirds over
The White Cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow, just you wait and see....
♫♪♪♫♪
Since the first time I heard this song in my early teens I have always wanted to see the famous White Cliffs of Dover, and today I had that opportunity.
Yeah... I know they are a long way off, but it was still amazing to see them.
As I stood there and looked at those chalky cliffs in the distance, I couldn't help but wonder if Darryl's dad Bill had flown over these same cliffs and what his thoughts were. Of course, WWII was raging at that time, so I imagine his thoughts were more of safety and peace that the awe I felt.
In the town of Dover buildings are built right up next to the cliffs,
And some buildings are built into the cliffs.
Of course I had to put my hands in the English Channel. Yep... it was cold.
After the beach we walked under the street and into the tourist town of Dove, England. The tile murals under the streets were quite fun depicting the vikings landing in England in the 9th or 10th century.
Above the town sitting on top of the white cliffs is the impressive Dover Castle.
This Medieval Fortress was a strategic stronghold for William the Conqueror after the battle of Hastings in 1066. Situated high upon the cliffs has served as a showplace for Henry II when he remodeled it in 1180 and was in continued use up until 1958 when the last British garrison left.
This great castle was besieged twice, once unsuccessfully by Prince Louis of France in 1216-1217 and a second time by Prince Edward, Henry III son when it was held by his Sister, Eleanor de Montfort.
From the 1740s onwards the medieval banks and ditches were reshaped as the castle was adapted for artillery warfare. Later in the 18th century, when England faced the threat of invasion from Napoleonic France, even more spectacular additions were made to the castle’s defences. To house the huge numbers of troops needed to man them, a network of tunnels was dug in from the cliff face for use as barracks.
Over the next few years the tunnels were greatly extended to serve as both a hospital and a large combined headquarters, responsible for guarding the Straits of Dover and involved in preparing for the 1944 invasion of Europe.
One more thing checked off the bucket-list.
(Well, it would be if I had a bucket list.)
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