A weekend of events to mark the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France has started. The course of the Second World War was changed as Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy, and many of those involved are travelling to France to remember their colleagues. The veterans are being joined by world leaders and well-wishers. A flotilla of ships will set sail from Portsmouth later this morning to mark the anniversary, with the cross-channel ferry Normandie sailing in convoy with Royal Navy, Allied warships and other historic vessels Prince Charles will be attendance throughout, meeting veterans and unveiling a replica of the Horsa glider used by British troops in their raid on Pegasus Bridge, the first assault of the D-Day invasion. He will also watch a mass parachute jump by serving members of 1 Para at nearby Ranville - the scene of the original first drop into occupied France on June 6th 1944. In addition, he will inaugurate a British Garden of Remembrance in Caen, capital of the Calvados region in which most of the D-Day beaches are sited.
Members of the Normandy Veterans Association will pay tribute to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commander of ground troops for Operation Overlord, at Colleville-Montgomery, the French village renamed in his honour. The army’s highest-ranking officer, General Sir Mike Jackson will unveil a statue of Brigadier James Hill - at 93, D-Day’s oldest surviving senior officer. The day will conclude with a march-past by veterans of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Pegasus Bridge. A massive security operation involving around 17,000 French military personnel and police is looking after proceedings. |