BOMBS fell on the town and dogfights between the German Luftwaffe and Allied forces took place in the sky above Dover as the Battle of Britain raged during July to October 1940.

The Second World War onslaught was the attempt by the German forces to win air superiority over southern Britain and the English Channel by destroying the Royal Air Force and the British aircraft industry.

Dover was the town at the front line of this epic battle and formed the area of the first response by the Royal Air Force.

This year, the 70th anniversary of the valiant effort by The Few to defend our skies, Dover Town Council will host a ceremony to mark the event.

Mayor Sue Jones said: "We do not usually do anything but during my year as mayor I have seen that the Battle of Britain is a big thing. There will be events in Folkestone and Ramsgate and elsewhere, so why not Dover?

"It is important for Dover, as part of the south coast, and I think every town should be doing something.

"I am a generation below the war so I only really know about what happened through talking to local veterans and those people who were here in the town at the time.

"I think the Battle of Britain brought home that we were at war. Until then it had been a bit more distant but now there were bombs being dropped and planes fighting overhead."

Ultimately a tactical blunder by the German forces to switch attention to the capital allowed Fighter Command to recover its strength and inflict losses significant enough to show the Germans the fight was lost.

During this battle about 3,000 airmen took to the sky to defend the country and more than 500 died.

The anniversary service will be held at Charlton Church (St Peter and St Paul), Alphege Road, by Father Colin Johnson, who is the chaplain to the 354 (Dover) Squadron Air Training Corps.

Councillor Jones said: "This is a nice opportunity for us to use the church where the Air Cadets have their services and where, next door, they hold their meetings. I think it gives this a specific link."

The cadet band will be playing as people enter the church for the service which will be on Sunday, September 12, at 3pm.

The service is open to all.

It will be followed by a private reception in the hall which will include local veterans from clubs such as the RAFA and Burma Star Association.

For more details call 01304 242625 or visit www.dovertown.co.uk