Portland dockside D-Day museum opens

Castletown D-Day Centre includes military memorabilia from World War Two and a replica Mk IX Spitfire

A new museum charting Dorset's role in the D-Day landings has opened to the public.

The Castletown D-Day Centre on Portland is located close to slipways where thousands of soldiers embarked for the invasion of Normandy in 1944.

Exhibits include a replica Mk IX Spitfire and an original Sherman M4A4 tank.

Owner Derek Luckhurst, said it was a "amazing tribute" to the activity in the area during World War Two.

Portland was used as an embarkation point for personnel, ships and landing craft and also hosted a field hospital and a prisoner of war cage, during the operation to liberate Europe from Nazi occupation.

A parade of vintage military vehicles was held to mark the opening of the museum

The opening of the museum was marked by a parade of vintage military vehicles.

Mr Luckhurst said: "We're trying to create an environment that gives the visitor an impression of what it was like in April, May June 1944, with the arrival of thousands and thousands of American GIs and the impact that had on the indigenous population."