This month marks the 70th anniversary of the aerial battle over Aljezur which ended when a Luftwaffe plane crashed into the cliffs with the loss of all seven crewmen, shot down by an RAF Beaufighter.
It happened at 8.52am on July 9th 1943, and the seven Luftwaffe airmen, all of them painfully young when they were killed, are buried—and still remembered—in the graveyard at Aljezur.
And on Saturday a series of events will be held to commemorate the battle and for the local community to pay their respects to the brave young men who died in the service of their country.
Their plane crashed crashed into a cliff just south of Atalaia Point, Vale da Telha, where the archaeological ruins are located.
The programme of events on Saturday:
11am: A gathering in the Aljezur cemetery for the placing of wreaths on the graves of the German aircraftman buried there.
3pm: Espaco+ em Aljezur for the inauguration of the exhibition of documentation of the Battle of Aljezur followed by a film presentation about the Battle of July 9 1943.
3.30pm The International Choir Of Aljezur will perform, then there will be a presentation of the third edition of the book “The Battle Of Aljezur” by Dr Jose Augusto Rodriguez, which has been revised and enlarged, followed by a book signing session.
To read Matt D’Arcy’s description of the battle, first published on this website in December 20, 2010, click When World War 11 came to Vale da Telha