War veterans are flying to commemorate the 60th anniversary of a wartime raid and the role of Canadian soldiers stationed in Sussex.

The Dieppe mission on August 19, 1942, was the Allies' most ambitious seaborne raid on German-occupied Europe. More than 6,000 troops were deployed, 5,000 of them Canadian.

At noon today a maple tree was due to be planted in the grounds of Michelham Priory, near Hailsham, where Canadian officers were billeted from 1941 to 1943.

Standard bearers of the local Canadian Veterans Association will oversee the ceremony, along with two British Dieppe veterans.

Major General Robert Houghton won an Military Cross as a commando in the raid and Herbert Tappin flew his Hurricane plane as part of the mission.

Guests will include Joshua Scuby, a representative of the Canadian High Commission in London, and the daughter of a French Canadian who was captured at Dieppe and spent the next four years as a prisoner of war.

The soldier's letters and papers chronicling his story are on show in an exhibition about the raid at Michelham Priory until the end of October.

Helen Poole, senior museums officer for event organisers Sussex Past, said: "We wanted to commemorate the raid because, while there were tremendous numbers killed and taken prisoner, it's not as well known as other battles.

"We felt it was important to have a special event because there is a strong link between Sussex and Canada.

"Between 6,000 and 7,000 Canadian soldiers married local women during the war and, while most couples moved to Canada, many returned to Sussex because their wives were homesick."