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VE Day: We Fought Them in Gunboats
May 11
We Fought Them In Gunboats film showing.
As twilight fell over the southern North Sea, Felixstowe Dock reverberated to the roar of engines. The fast boats of Coastal Forces were preparing for their night-time missions. Would they tackle a trawler patrol, an enemy convoy or their particular foes, the E-boats? Would they rescue a downed airman or deliver a Dutch resistance agent?
Initially these small, wooden boats were ill-equipped for success. Peacetime solicitor and inspirational leader, Robert Hichens, fought fierce bureaucratic battles ashore while he and his young crew risked their lives at sea
8 Decades later Author and publisher Julia Jones goes in search of memories of HMS Beehive, the Coastal Forces base at Felixstowe Dock (now part of the Port of Felixstowe). One of the heroes of this story is Gunboat Commander Robert Hichens who night after night took on the German E-Boats in the North Sea during the Second World War.
We will be showing this film all day on 11th May as part of celebration of VE Day in Felixstowe.
Normal Fort entry prices apply on the day please check by clicking the button below:
