Approaching the historical Town of St. George's, visitors cannot miss the town gate that proudly announces its familial affiliation with Lyme Regis, an equally small seaport on the coast of Dorset, England.

On July 25,1996 these two towns officially recognised and celebrated their historical twinship, fathered by Sir George Somers, a sailor born in Lyme Regis who became the Admiral of the fleet which landed on Bermuda on their way to deliver supplies to Jamestown, Virginia. After the shipwreck of the Sea Venture in 1609, Sir George Somers established the first permanent settlement on the island.

Sir George Somers binds these two towns as much in death as he did in life; after his death in 1610, his heart was buried in the Somers Gardens, St. George's, while his body was returned for burial in Lyme Regis. Today a statue of Sir George Somers, by Bermudian sculptor Desmond Fountain, stands on Ordnance Island and was unveiled by Princess Margaret in 1984 to commemorate his historical significance to Bermuda.

The ties of twinning are greater than Sir George Somers. In 1994, the Lyme Regis — St. Georges Twinning Association was formed after the concerted efforts of Richard Fox, Lyme Regis town crier and St. George's Mayor Henry Hayward. The twinning was the result of a close friendship that developed between Richard Fox and St. George's town crier Donald Burns, who visited Lyme Regis every year in July for the annual March to the Cobb, until his death in 1994. This tradition persists today to acknowledge the close connection between these two towns; every three years the Mayor of St. George's, with his or her delegation of Town Alderman and Crier, visits Lyme Regis for the March to the Cobb, and in turn the Mayor of Lyme Regis and delegation visit Bermuda in April to participate in the Peppercorn Parade.

The official Twinning Ceremony in 1996 marked the start of a century long commitment. To commemorate the twinning of these towns, two time capsules — one in Town Hall, St. George's, and the other in Guildhall, Lyme Regis — containing mementoes of the event, such as photos and press coverage, and a bottle of Gosling's Black Seal Rum were sealed. On July 25th 2096 the time capsules will be reopened and a toast will be made to this historical connection.

What does history have to do with present day? The Director of the St. George's Foundation, Sharon Jacobs, believes that this connection is "not only about shared history and tourism, but also a valuable opportunity to share resources" and cites the Education Director for the Foundation who visited Lyme Regis in May to learn how to design programmes for local students.

"This is an opportunity to think about the history" she says, lamenting that people often "take history for granted." A similar sentiment is captured in the words of Richard J. Fox MBE, one of the founders of the Lyme Regis — St. George's Twinning Association: "Through greater understanding of our cultural heritage, future generations must benefit."

*Coincidentally Lyme Regis sits in the heart of a World Heritage Site called "The Jurrassic Coast". The surrounding rocks are renowned for the fossilised remains of sea creatures that lived in what was once a tropical sea during the Jurassic period.