Tomorrow will see the statues on the Phonenix caissons at Portland harbour named.

The statues, which commemorate D-Day heroes, will receive their monikers following the annual D-Day memorial service at the US War Memorial in Victoria Gardens on Portland. This begins at 10.30am and members of the public are welcome to attend.

Attendees of the service will head over to the D-Day Centre at Castletown, Portland, to officially dedicate and unveil the commemorating plaque for the caissons statues as part of a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Chaplain to the Mayor of Portland will lead with a short service.

Portland Mayor Charlie Flack will be in attendance along with the relatives of the individuals the Caisson Statues represent, veterans and other local dignitaries

The D-Day Centre ceremony begins at 12pm and members of the public are welcome to attend.

Without further ado, here is the penultimate D-Day hero connected to Portland in our fascinating series of the stories behind the statues.

Ernest James ‘Jim’ Marshall worked like a Trojan to keep our boys supplied with arms, ammunition and fuel.

Jim was born in Weston, Portland, on November 18 1912.

Like many Portland children in those days, he left school at the age of 14 and, as local boys did, got himself a job in the local stone quarry.

He worked his way up to engineer and then, due to respiratory problems, transferred his skills to become a chargehand/foreman in the Portland dockyard.

From 1939 to 1945 Portland Harbour played a vital role in the defence of the country and the skills of men such as Jim were invaluable in keeping the wheels of war turning.

Jim supervised work gangs of dockyard ‘mateys’ in the heavy lifting and crane work of loading and unloading supplies, arms, ammunition and fuel, sometimes under German air attack.

In the build up to D-Day, and for several weeks after, Jim worked non-stop, with minimal breaks, to keep the invasion forces supplied.

Jim had a very fulfilled life away from the dockyard, but sadly it didn't turn out to be a long life.

He lived at No 3 Eastville Cottages, Weston, Portland with his wife and daughter. His local pub was The Exchange and he enjoyed working with wood, leather and gardening. He also played football for Weston, Portland.

He died in 1952 at the age of 39.

Jim is depicted on the Caissons, having a ‘fag and a natter’ during a well- earned tea break.