 The ceremony was attended by several high-ranking officers |
One of the south's most famous military sites, where General Eisenhower planned D-Day, has been consigned to history. The pennant finally came down at HMS Dryad on Thursday, bringing to an end 63 years of navigation and warfare training on the Southwick, Hants, site.
It was at Southwick House that Field Marshal Montgomery and Gen Eisenhower planned the Normandy landings, and from where the order for D-Day was given.
Dryad's training role will be taken on by HMS Collingwood, near Fareham.
Single site
A message from the Queen was read out at the decommissioning ceremony, after which Dryad's company marched out and the gates were ceremonially closed.
The man who gave the decommissioning order, Second Sea Lord Vice-Admiral James Burnell-Nugent, said the service was a way of saying thank you to all who served at the base.
The service was attended by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West, and several former Commodores and Captains of Dryad.
An integrated maritime warfare School, which will deliver all maritime warfare training on a single site, has been created at HMS Collingwood.
The navy say the Dryad site will be handed over to Defence Estates for disposal by 2007.
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