However, everything didn’t quite go to plan for the raid on Zeebrugge, Belgium, as Lesley Bellew found out.

The end of the First World War was just months away, but German U-boats were still a menace.

In a daring raid on April 23, 1918, the Royal Navy tried to block the entrance to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, a major submarine base.

The plan was to scuttle ships at the port entrance as the old cruiser HMS Vindictive landed a force of 200 Royal Marines.

But the plan went badly wrong because of heavy German fire. The blockships were sunk in the wrong place and Vindictive was also forced to land the Marines at the wrong spot.

The raiding force suffered more than 580 casualties, including 227 dead. To boost morale at home, the raid was hailed as a major victory, but in reality it was a failure as the canal at the port entrance was blocked for only a few days. Eight Victoria Crosses were awarded.

After the raid, Dover Museum became a makeshift mortuary. The bodies of British sailors were laid out on the ground floor before being removed for burial in St James’s Cemetery, Dover, and Hamilton Road Cemetery, in Deal.

With such a connection to the tragedies of 1914-1918, Dover Museum’s new First World War exhibition not only records how the town became a vital military centre but adds a thoughtful focus on the people of Dover’s contribution to the war effort.

The town was ringed by fortifications and airfields so civilians needed passes to get in and out of the town. They lived in constant danger; the first and last bombs of the war landed on Dover.

Much of the exhibition is given over to sea warfare and how the Dover Patrol grew from a small naval command to one of the most important of the war.

HMS Vindictive’s battered flag is on display, one of many reminders of the Zeebrugge Raid. The story of Dover from 1914 to 1918 is told on giant wall posters in the style of newspaper front pages with photographs and easy-to-read captions.

There are two interactive checkpoint “huts,” a clever twist on the war-time entry point to Dover.

Here, visitors can listen to verbal history recordings from people who remembered the first bomb, air raid shelters and the Canadians, as well as more detailed information on anti-submarines and bombings.

There is a restored pew where visitors can reflect on the moving stories and view the Memorial to the Trawler and Minesweeping Patrol, a triptych complete with a cross made out of metal from HMS Britannia.

It was originally unveiled by Lady Keyes in November 1918, at Holy Trinity Church. The church was badly damaged in the Second World War and the memorial was rescued and restored.