A WARSHIP which has carried Winston Churchill and played a critical role in the evacuation of Dunkirk, calls into Dover on Monday to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of VE Day.

The Motor Torpedo Boat, MTB 102, will dock in Dover Marina, behind the De Bradelei Wharf shopping complex in Cambridge Road, around 11am on Monday. She departs on Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday evening at 7.30pm, the De Bradelei Wharf car park will also be the setting for a free band concert. The Invicta Concert Band will entertain an audience, with the Torpedo Boat providing a stunning backdrop.

The boat's visit and free concert have been organised by Dover Town Council, as a fitting way of marking the VE Day anniversary.

Motor Torpedo Boats were developed to mount a rapid response to threats from any seagoing vessel, from warships to submarines.

MTB 102 was built in 1937 and was the prototype of all the MTBs which served in the Second World War. She was the fastest vessel the Royal Navy possessed.

During Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of British and allied forces from Dunkirk, she crossed the Channel eight times. During the invasion of France on D-Day, Winston Churchill and General Eisenhower reviewed the fleet on board 102.

After the war, she was decommissioned and appeared in film The Eagle Has Landed. In 1996 she was handed over to the MTB 102 Trust, at Lowestoft, who restored her to Second World War naval condition.