A local marketing partnership has welcomed the announcement today (6th June) by the Royal Mint of a reissued set of British military history 50p pieces.
The set includes 50p coins commemorating D-Day, the Victoria Cross, the Battle of Britain and the Battle of Hastings. All bear a 2019 date; the originals were issued over a number of years.
Raising Awareness of 1066 Country
Kevin Boorman, the manager of 1066 Country Marketing, the public private sector organisation which promotes the area to visitors, said :- “The original Battle of Hastings 50p coins issued in 2016 to mark the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings proved very popular. They also helped raise awareness of this area nationally and internationally, and I am always pleased to find a ‘Battle of Hastings’ 50p in my change.
“The reissued coins announced today are primarily aimed at collectors, nevertheless they have already received national publicity, and that must help promote 1066 Country too.
D-Day anniversay
“Their issue was obviously timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and that provides an interesting link to us too. The D-Day landings took place in Normandy, home of William the Conqueror, and the first French town to be liberated in June 1944 was Bayeux, home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
“It is interesting that Sidney Little, Hastings borough engineer in the 1940s, and known as the ‘concrete king’ for his expertise in concrete, was seconded to the admiralty during the Second World War. He helped design the ‘Mulberry Harbours’ used to keep the Allied forces supply lines open after D-Day.
Norman invasion “similarities to D-Day crossings”
“It is also worth reflecting that the Norman invasion in 1066, although not on anything like the scale of D-Day, involved a similar sea crossing, but purely using oar and sail power, and was itself an incredible logistical achievement.
“It is therefore entirely appropriate that the Battle of Hastings 50p is reissued alongside the D-Day coin as part of the military history series, and we are very pleased that the Royal Mint has recognised this.”
