We used to go to dances at HMS Manatee in the Drill Hall, hoping to meet a sailor. One night a soldier said to me,
‘Come out with me tomorrow and I’ll take you to the Pictures. If I don’t turn up, you’ll know why.’
There were lots and lots of little boats outside the Pier – you could have walked across them. The next day they were all gone – it was D Day 1944. So many people were lost, so many people died. Blanche Kennard nee Dore b 1922