The site will eventually host the British Normandy Memorial in honour of all those who lost their lives serving under British Command during the Normandy Campaign. Later in the morning, at Ver-Sur-Mer, the British Normandy Memorial Trust’s D-Day statue was unveiled in the presence of British Prime Minister Theresa May, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, D-Day veterans, military musicians and Armed Forces personnel. On 6th June, the day's events in Normandy began in Arromanches, at 06.26 am, with a lone piper from the 19th Regiment Royal Artillery playing atop a piece of the Mulberry harbour to mark the exact moment the first British soldier landed on Gold beach on D-Day. Right: The BBMF Dakota dropping Paratroopers over Sannerville on 5th June. Left: BBMF Spitfire Mk Vb AB910 and C-47 Dakota ZA947 at Le Havre. In the early evening more than 30 Dakotas, from the ‘Daks over Normandy’ initiative, flew from Duxford to Normandy with many of them dropping re-enactor parachutists onto the Sannerville drop zone. Another 250 British and French Paratroopers jumped from RAF C-130J Hercules and FAF C-160 Transall aircraft. On 5th June, at 3 pm, the BBMF Dakota dropped Paratroopers of the British Army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade (16 AAB) onto a drop zone at Sannerville, Normandy, to recreate the famous D-Day airborne landings. It was accompanied to Normandy by Spitfire Mk Vb AB910, a genuine D-Day veteran aircraft, which was actually there over the invasion beaches 75 years ago.

Meanwhile, the BBMF Dakota, ZA947, had deployed to France the previous day, to operate out of Le Havre airport. MV Boudicca sailing from Portsmouth to Normandy on the evening of 5th June with 300 D-Day veterans on board and BBMF Spitfire PRXIX PM631 (circled) conducting a flypast in their honour, as seen live on the BBC One Show. BBMF Spitfire PR Mk XIX PM631, flown by OC BBMF, Squadron Leader Mark ‘Disco’ Discombe, conducted a flypast over the ship during its departure, which was shown live on the BBC’s One Show. The ship provided accommodation for the veterans for the duration of the D-Day 75 commemorations at no cost to themselves.

The MV Boudicca was chartered with funds from The Royal British Legion and a LIBOR grant from HM Treasury. Later in the day, a specially chartered ship, the MV Boudicca, sailed from Portsmouth across the Channel to France with over 300 Normandy veterans on board, escorted by a Royal Navy frigate along with smaller RN vessels. It was led by BBMF Spitfire PRXIX PM631 and Hurricane LF363. HRH The Prince of Wales, HM The Queen, President Trump, The First Lady, the President of Greece and the German Chancellor watching the flypast at the conclusion of the event in Portsmouth on 5th June. The event was concluded with a flypast of 24 RAF and Royal Navy aircraft led by the BBMF’s Spitfire PR Mk XIX PM631 (resplendent in invasion stripes) and Hurricane LF363. However, these were not the real VIPs, that status was reserved for the surviving D-Day veterans.

The event was attended by HM The Queen and the Heads of State of 16 nations, including President Trump of the USA, President Macron of France, and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor. The major UK national commemorative event took place on Southsea Common, Portsmouth, on 5th June, the day that the invasion forces set out across the English Channel 75 years ago. Some of the D-Day veterans that took part in the event on Southsea Common, Portsmouth, on 5th June. The 75th anniversary commemorations of D-Day saw major events taking place in England and France to mark the anniversary, salute surviving Normandy Veterans, and to acknowledge the debt that we owe for the price that they paid. The invasion was one of the greatest military feats of all time it established a crucial second front, which ultimately led to victory for the Allied Forces in 1945 and the liberation of Europe from Nazi occupation. The total number of British, Commonwealth and Allied casualties (killed, wounded or missing) on D-Day was over 4,400. The invasion was supported by more than 7,000 ships and smaller vessels, and 11,000 aircraft.

It cannot have escaped the attention of readers that 6th June was the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the day in 1944 when an Allied invasion force of 156,000 troops landed in Normandy. Header image: The UK national commemorative D-Day 75 event took place on Southsea Common, Portsmouth, on 5th June, with VIPs, servicemen and women, and some 300 D-Day veterans present. (All photos: Crown Copyright unless otherwise stated)

D day remembrance 75th