The White Cliffs of Dover

https://postcardhistory.net/2020/06/the-white-cliffs-of-dover-composed-by-walter-kent-1941

The White Cliffs of Dover / Composed by Walter Kent, 1941 / Lyrics by Nat Burton / First recording by vocalist Vera Lynn | Postc

 

The white cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France.

• It forms the famous White Cliffs of Dover in Kent, England.

The famous White cliffs of Dover, England are a good example of a Chalk Formation deposit.

•  Coccoliths are composed of calcium carbonate   as the mineral calcite and are the main constituent of chalk deposits such as the white cliffs of Dover.

The White Cliffs of Dover are made of the same chalk rocks as are found in the Champagne region, and are not that much further north.

Dover is a major port on the south-east coast of England, at a gap in the white cliffs near the narrowest point of the English Channel.

 

On a clear day, one can see the emblematic white cliffs of Dover on the English shore from the cliffs on the Cap.

 

Peverell's Tower stands at the highest point within the walls of Dover Castle, which was founded on the White Cliffs in 1066 by William the Conqueror.

 

Best remembered for the wartime standards "The White Cliffs of Dover" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas," Walter Kent was born in Manhattan in August 1911.

 

 

The White Cliffs of Dover

 

Composed by Walter Kent, 1941

Lyrics by Nat Burton

First recording by vocalist Vera Lynn

 

IN MEMORIUM
Vera Lynn
1917-2020
The Voice of England’s Unofficial Hymn

 

The White Cliff of Dover

 

(111) My Choice - Vera Lynn: The White Cliffs of Dover - YouTube

 

 

 

There’ll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover, 
Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

There’ll be love and laughter
And peace ever after.
Tomorrow, when the world is free.

The shepherd will tend his sheep.
The valley will bloom again.
And Jimmy will go to sleep
In his own little room again.

There’ll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover, 
Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

The shepherd will tend his sheep.
The valley will bloom again.
And Jimmy will go to sleep
In his own little room again.

There’ll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover, 
Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

 

The White Cliffs of Dover “The Seven Sisters” Editor’s photograph, 1997.

 

The White Cliffs of Dover was written before the United States joined the war effort in order to lift the spirits of the Allies at a time when Nazi Germany had conquered much of Europe and was actively bombing Britain. Walter Kent, an American working in London, composed the song shortly after the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German Luftwaffe started regular aerial dog-fights over the cliffs near Dover during the Battle of Britain (circa late June 1940 until the end of October).

The lyrics refer to the RAF and RCAF (Royal Canadian) fighter pilots (in their blue uniforms) as “bluebirds” and expresses confidence that they would prevail during those dark days. The second verse* (seldom sung and never recorded) contains references such as “Thumbs Up!” which was a RAF and RCAF signal asking permission to commence their assigned mission and “flying in those angry skies” where the air war was taking place. The lyrics also look toward a time when the war would be over and peace would reign over the iconic white cliffs, Britain’s de facto border with the European mainland. Glenn Miller recorded the first American version of the song in November 1941.

§ Hear Verna Lynn sing the song on YouTube.com. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAaxkAgVkHQ.

 

 

White Cliffs of Dover; Verse Two
“I’ll never forget the people I met …
Braving those angry skies …
I remember well as the shadows fell …
The light of hope in their eyes …
And though I’m far away I still can hear them say …
Thumbs up …
For when the dawn comes up …
There’ll be bluebirds over …
The white cliffs of Dover …
Tomorrow, just you wait and see.”

 

 

White Cliffs of Dover

 

The stunning beach with gorgeous white cliffs 2 hours from London 

 

Stretching north and south of the harbor town of Dover, the famed White Cliffs lining the Straits of Dover have been to the English for a thousand years the place where home begins.

 

The White Cliffs flank the port city of Dover with vertical precipices over 300 feet high, a solid wall of gleaming white that extends to both horizons.

 

 

It is a spectacular sight; the cliffs seem to rise straight out of the water in a single mass of milk-colored rock, broken only by the narrow gorge into which Dover is jammed. They appear more like a school child’s painting of a cliff than the sloppy reality of an actual cliff.

 

The Cliffs of Dover

The Cliffs are symbolic

To the English, the White Cliffs of Dover are not only beautiful, they are also deeply symbolic. The small city of Dover sits closer to mainland Europe than any other port on the island of Britain, a mere 25 miles over the English Channel to the French port of Calais.

 

When an English soldier went to war, the White Cliffs were his last sight of home; when he returned, the White Cliffs welcomed him to a normal life. They are the very edge of England, the place where home begins and the wide world ends. And they are protection—a defensive barrier that bars enemies from invading.

 

In the 20th century, this protection wore thin. After Germany conquered France in 1940, it assembled an enormous invasion fleet at Calais. The English military lined the cliff tops with defenses they had never before needed—gun emplacements and a network of tunnels and bunkers dug deep into the cliff rock. The 1941 song “The White Cliffs of Dover” expressed this sense of the world turned upside down:

 

Aerial view of the White Cliffs of Dover.

Close up view of the cliffs from the sea side. 

 

(111) The White Cliffs of Dover - Lyrics - Vera Lynn - YouTube

 

There’ll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow, just you wait and see.
There’ll be love and laughter and peace ever after
Tomorrow, when the world is free.
The shepherd will tend his sheep, the valley will bloom again,
And Johnny will go to sleep in his own little room again.

 

The story of the Cliffs

So the White Cliffs have two stories, a nature story and a history story: the tale of a natural wonder of great beauty, and the tale of England’s independence and freedom. As you explore the cliffs, both stories weave in and out before your eyes, creating a tapestry of history and grandeur.

To the right of the cliff, a grassy verge climbs up from the shingle and a set of steps follows it to the cliff top. Those steps are the beginning of a footpath that proceeds along the edge of the White Cliffs for their entire 14-mile length, an easy and well-marked walk over grassy meadows alive with wildflowers. Although the cliffs around Kingsdown are the lowest in the White Cliffs, a mere 150 feet above the sea, the views are spectacular.

 

The really big cliffs begin at St. Margaret’s Bay. Barely visible on a map as the slightest indent into the cliffs, St. Margaret’s Bay is a small, sheltered cove with a shingle beach. Cliffs jump up instantly on both sides of the shingle, and to its south they just keep rising, reaching 300 feet within a few hundred yards.

Several miles later, the path drops suddenly into Dover, a major port jammed into a narrow gorge hardly more than a quarter-mile wide.

 

White Cliff Kent off Dover

Dover

From Dover, the cliffs run mainly westward, their bright white wall catching the full southern sun. Now the really tall cliffs begin! Views from the edge are the most breathtaking in the entire length of the White Cliffs, reaching heights of nearly 500 feet.

 

The drop is completely vertical, and in many places has a substantial overhang. Unfenced and unstable, the edge is a dizzying place, to be approached with the greatest caution. Seagulls glide high above the water—far, far below.

These great, vertical cliffs end five miles west of Dover, and the White Cliffs enter their final phase. Here the top 100 yards of the cliffs have retreated about a quarter of a mile inland, leaving a rough platform perched above the sea. Below the platform are the final 50 feet of cliff, protected by huge sea walls. This is the only place where a walker can follow a safe, marked path straight down the cliff face from top to bottom.

 

The White Cliffs end on a south-facing hill, covered in short-cropped grass and topped by a Martello Tower—a tall, thick-walled cylinder upon which cannons were mounted to repel any invaders trying to land. The Cliffs of Dover truly are a sight to behold.

 

The White Cliffs of Dover, England

Dover's white cliffs

 

Image caption,

The National Trust owns the clifftop but later found more land had become available

VeraLynn celebrated her 100th birthday at her home in Ditchling, Sussex, 2017 - became known as the Forces' Sweetheart after her performances of the 1942 classic, The White Cliffs of Dover.

 

 

Under threat: The National Trust's £1.2m campaign to safeguard the White Cliffs of Dover will be its biggest ever coastal fundraiser

 

Image caption,

The land is a haven for flowers, grasses, birds and butterflies

The trust bought the clifftop in 2012 but later found out the 700,000 sqm of land had become available.

 

Image caption,

Planned work includes creating access routes for visitors