A campaign group will be launching a social media broadcast to raise awareness of the threat to WW2 war graves in the Goodwin Sands ahead of VE Day.

Goodwin Sands SOS has battled against the Port of Dover for more than three years over its plans to dredge a section of the shifting sands near Deal, for aggregate in its Dover Western Docks Revival project.

Despite over 1,300 representations from the public, consent was given by the government's Marine Management Organisation in July 2018, and was upheld in a High Court hearing in September 2019.

But the GSSOS is continuing to highlight potential disturbance of war graves, blasting it as "hugely irresponsible and highly disrespectful".

Dave Brocklehurst MBE, curator of Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge, has compiled a list of 80 aircraft and more than 100 aircrew from Britain, Poland and Germany that went missing in the area around the Goodwin Sands between May and November 1940. The list has been verified by the Air Historical branch of the RAF.

One of the RAF aircrew listed as missing is Pilot Officer Keith Gillman of 32 Squadron based at RAF Hawkinge.

The former Dover Grammar School boy crashed in an unknown location around the Goodwins in his Hurricane on August 25, 1940, aged 19, one week before his photograph was published on the front cover of Picture Post.

Research by GSSOS also found that Squadron Leader Philip Hunter DSC of 264 Squadron, who earned a reputation as a fighter ace and attended King's School in Canterbury, also went missing.

SOS campaign co-ordinator Joanna Thomson said: "There is a principle at stake here. On the one hand we are paying our respects to all those who died during WW2 and yet at the same time a local company has been granted a licence to mine sand from an area known to contain over 100 WW2 war graves.

"Digging up a Commonwealth War Graves Commission graveyard would be unthinkable, so why are the Goodwin Sands any different?"

The remains of potentially four aircraft crash sites have been discovered on the edge of the proposed dredge zone by Ramsgate diver Vince Woolsgrove but have not been identified by Historic England or the Ministry of Defence.

Fiona Punter, also of SOS, said: "The proposed dredge zone contains 51 anomalies, any one of which could be part of a shipwreck or aircraft crash site but no effort has been made to identify them.

"Dredging blind in an area known to contain war graves is hugely irresponsible and highly disrespectful to all those we are remembering this VE Day."

A Port of Dover spokesman has defended its position highlighting that the licence includes a number of conditions including to protect the war graves.

In a statement, they said: “The decision by the Marine Management Organisation in 2018, upheld by the High Court in 2019, to grant a marine licence in relation to the Goodwin Sands followed an extensive, iterative and consultative process with all respective primary consultees, including Historic England.

"The licence includes a number of conditions specifically designed to protect the environment, war graves, archaeology and the wider historic environment.

"The Port has recently set up an advisory group comprising relevant experts and stakeholders to assist in meeting these conditions and, at the point the licence is executed and we proceed with the dredging, we will continue to work closely with this group to ensure that these conditions are fully met.

"The Port of Dover, which played an important role in key WW1 and WW2 operations such as the evacuation of Dunkirk, has a long and proud history with many commemorative organisations including the British Torch of Remembrance, which comes to the Port each year for a special solemn service as part of its pilgrimage to Belgium, as well as educational and creative events such as the Return of the Unknown (Soldier) and being the founding sponsor of the Dover White Cliffs Branch of the Royal British Legion.”

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