Beacon tribute to D-Day heroes.THE spirit of D-Day was rekindled in Downton at the weekend, when the village's millennium beacon was relit as a tribute to those who had helped to turn the tide of war 60 years ago.

Wartime songs were sung and the Downton Band played the Dambusters March, with the sound effects of planes droning overhead, bombs falling and machine-guns firing.

The Last Post was sounded and Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Morris, chairman of the Downton branch of the Royal British Legion, led a minute's silence.

Following a concert by Downton Band in the Moot earlier in the evening, more than 200 people gathered round the beacon - recently given a permanent site at the top of Moot Lane - on Saturday to hear Major-General Roy Dixon tell how, as a 19-year-old second lieutenant, he landed on the beaches of Normandy.

He was, he said, so seasick that he was praying for death.

"The navy wanted to stand off from the beaches while we did our best to get them into the main street of Bayeux," he joked.

More seriously, he said: "Three things struck me: How young everyone was.

"My major was 24, my regimental colonel 28 and my division commander 36. These days, we are used to quick campaigns but many of the men with me on D-Day had been fighting at the sharp end for three years.

"And the amazing efficiency of it all - it was unbelievably organised.

"So we mourn and salute those who died and take pride in being part of the greatest feat of arms this country has ever known."

Major-General Dixon then lit the flame.

The event, which was organised by Malcolm Dean, also marked the unveiling of a hanging sign, by Margaret Peach and Sheila Mercer, attached to the beacon, noting its origins as one of the hundreds of official beacons across the country first lit on the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999.