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by Graham Tutthill and Jess Banham

multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk

Barrage balloons will be flying above Dover Castle
again this weekend to mark the opening a new exhibition on the
Dunkirk evacuation.

The multi-million pound exhibition in the secret wartime
tunnels at the castle means visitors can experience
something of the horror of what the soldiers who were rescued from
the Dunkirk beaches went through.

Following two years of detailed research and the discovery of
additional film footage - some of it shot by the Germans - people
can see, hear and feel the dangers that were faced and the risks
that were taken to save so many.

The result is a technically-complicated piece of work which has
planes flying along almost the entire wall of a casemate, bombs
going off and the military might of the Germans and the Allies
listed in ever-changing detail as the advance and retreat of the
opposing forces is graphically plotted on moving maps, leading to a
fiery climax.

The war-time personnel who manned the various operations rooms
appear to be all around you as shadowy figures, going about their
duties, receiving intelligence, plotting the approaching aircraft,
and issuing instructions to the coastal gun batteries.

Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage, said helping
people understand the history of the nation through historic
buildings was at the heart of English Heritage’s work.

“There is no better place in England to learn about the Dunkirk
evacuation than Dover Castle,” he said.

“With Operation Dynamo, visitors step into the tunnels and onto
the beaches, boats and command centre during one of our darkest yet
greatest hours."

The exhibition opens on Friday and from 9 to 10pm each night
until Sunday barrage balloons, lit up by searchlights, will be
flying above the castle.

Admission is £16 for adults, £14.40 concessions, £9.60 for
children and £41.60 for families of two adults and up to three
children. Entry for English Heritage members is free.

See full story and more photos in the Dover Mercury and
East Kent Mercury, June 9.