A quiet stretch of woodland by the Hamble River in Hampshire, now used by people walking their dogs and enjoying picnics in the summer, was once the site of something akin to a small town.

The area, in Manor Farm Country Park, was the site of HMS Cricket – a Combined Operations and landing craft base for the Allied push into Europe during World War II.

HMS Cricket had its own roads, services, cinema, medical facilities, ammunition compounds and all the other infrastructure necessary to support more than 4,000 Service personnel.

There is still some evidence of its former role. Several docking bays are still visible along the bank of the river, and the old Guardroom can still be seen, but a number of veterans who visited their old establishment ten years ago spoke of their desire for a permanent reminder of the base and a memorial for their lost comrades.

A small group of local residents took up the cause and formed a committee to address the issue – and now their efforts are coming to fruition.

Through significant donations from Hampshire County Council, other local authorities and individuals, most of the cost of a memorial has been covered, and with the help and co-operation of Barbara Newbury, manager of Manor Farm Country Park, a design for the memorial has been drawn up and a site in the park identified.

Work is due to begin shortly on laying the foundations for a seating area in the general shape of a landing craft and a bronze plaque with appropriate wording will be affixed to a pillar representing the coxswain’s housing.

The memorial will be dedicated on June 2 this year – one the major contributions by the county council to the D-Day 60th anniversary commemorations. The unveiling is due to be carried out by Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who was serving on the Hamble at the time of D-Day.

After a late-morning ceremony there is to be a lunch reception for invited guests, and organisers hoping many of them will be HMS Cricket veterans.

Organisers wish to hear from any veterans, or relatives of those who died at D-Day or subsequent actions.

Organisers want to hear from anyone who served in HMS Cricket and wish to attend on June 2, so they have a provisional idea of numbers. Formal invitations will be sent out by the county council nearer the time.

Partners will be very welcome and, most importantly in their view, widows and widowers or a close family representative of landing craft crew members who lost their lives during the D-Day landings or subsequent actions.

Contact Bob and Rosemary Nimmo at 10, Oatlands Close, Botley, Southampton SO32 2DF, (01489 782820) as soon as possible.

In parallel, members of the Botley and Curdridge Local History Society and Botley Neighbourcare, under the guidance of Hampshire County Council staff, are mounting an exhibition which will incorporate not only the role of HMS Cricket but also the part played by local people and the farming community in the war effort.

The exhibition will run at Manor Farm from the end of May until November.

Any personal reminiscences, photographs, accounts of Service life and any other information relating to this area of Southern Hampshire during the war years will also be warmly welcomed.

Facilities will be available on June 2 to make oral recordings, and any offers of material or help should be directed to Bob and Rosemary Nimmo, as above.

Copies of precious photographs or documents will be made if the owners want to keep the originals.