on the first anniversary of the link-up.

The Dorset, England, town will hold a special Somers Day parade to commemorate Sir George Somers, who claimed Bermuda for the Crown after his ship the Sea Venture was shipwrecked on the Island on its way to Virginia in 1609.

St. George's -- where Sir George's heart is buried -- has always stressed its UK links.

Last year, a delegation from Bermuda's old capital travelled to Lyme Regis for the official twinning ceremony, part of the old town's drive to promote its status as the oldest continually inhabited English-speaking settlement in the western hemisphere.