It was an honour to be in Dereham on Armistice Day and to lay a wreath. It was also a privilege to meet Dennis O’Callaghan, President of the Dereham Branch of the Royal British Legion. Dennis is the son of one of two Le Paradis Massacre survivors, and a founder of the Le Paradis Commemoration Group.

Campaign: Norfolk Memorial for the heroes of Le Paradis

The successful evacuation of more than 300,000 troops from Dunkirk in May 1940 was the cornerstone of eventual victory in WW11. It was made possible by the selfless defence of the Dunkirk perimeter. One battlefield centred on the villages of Le Paradis and Lestrem. Here, detachments from the Royal Norfolks and the Royal Scots fought the enemy to a standstill, inflicting heavy losses. They surrendered only when they ran out of ammunition. As Prisoners of War, they were entitled to protections of the Geneva Convention. Instead, they were massacred with machine guns, pistols and bayonets - now known as the Le Paradis Massacre.

Ninety-Seven died, the majority from the Royal Norfolks. However, against the odds, two survived and led the successful post-war campaign to bring justice to the officer responsible for the massacre.

The massacre, and its sacrifice are still remembered by the French and there are several memorials in Le Paradis and Lestrem to those who died. However, there is no permanent memorial in Norfolk to the Norfolk heroes of Le Paradis.

I am therefore delighted to support Dennis and the other founders of the Le Paradis Commemoration Group in their efforts to campaign for a permanent memorial in Norfolk to the heroes of Le Paradis.

To find out more about the campaign visit: www.memorial4leparadishereos.uk