THIS year may be the last major Second World War commemoration, with the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the beginning of the end of the war in Europe, as huge numbers of Allied troops gathered along the south and west coast of England, preparing to invade France and free Europe from the curse of the Nazis.

In Dorchester, a group of history students have been researching historical archives, unearthing stories, memories and intriguing facts about D-Day and Dorchester for a unique community theatre project.

Their discoveries will be transformed into seven small (10-minute) performances, to be presented simultaneously around the town in an immersive story trail in early June.

Meanwhile, you can get in the mood (pun intended) with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, coming for a Dorchester Arts event on Saturday 11th May, at Thomas Hardye School theatre at 7pm. Directed by Ray McVay, the band takes the audience back into the 1940s, with arrangements of all Glenn’s wartime hits, including Moonlight Serenade, American Patrol, Little Brown Jug, Tuxedo Junction – and, of course, In The Mood.

The UK’s only official Glenn Miller tour features the exact line-up devised by Glenn, alongside the harmonies of the Moonlight Serenaders, the featured vocalists and the orchestra’s own swinging jazz band, The Uptown Hall Gang.