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| D-day anniversary: Britain's Normandy veterans gather for last time | D-day anniversary: Britain's Normandy veterans gather for last time |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| No more would Britain's Normandy veterans walk in their hundreds through the white serried rows of headstones. Never again would they encircle en masse the Cross of Sacrifice, their standards dipped in respect. | |
| So as Bayeux war cemetery, a British shine and last resting place for 3,935 whom age would never weary, provided a fitting backdrop to this emotive swan song, the old boys claimed the occasion with dignity. | So as Bayeux war cemetery, a British shine and last resting place for 3,935 whom age would never weary, provided a fitting backdrop to this emotive swan song, the old boys claimed the occasion with dignity. |
| They are in their 80s and 90s now, so Friday was a last rally of the blue-blazered brigade as D-day passed into history. The Normandy Veterans' Association will exist no more from November, as age defeats its ranks. | |
| Those who could, stood with pride under a fierce sun. For those who needed one, there was a discreet arm to lean on. Others paid their respects from wheelchairs, bars groaning with medals hanging from their chests. | Those who could, stood with pride under a fierce sun. For those who needed one, there was a discreet arm to lean on. Others paid their respects from wheelchairs, bars groaning with medals hanging from their chests. |
| A deafening flypast – two spitfires, a Dakota and a Lancaster bomber – brought gasps and announced the arrival of the Queen. At 88, she is of their generation and they connect with her. So it seemed fitting she was present at this last hurrah in Bayeux, the first French town to be liberated from the Nazis. | A deafening flypast – two spitfires, a Dakota and a Lancaster bomber – brought gasps and announced the arrival of the Queen. At 88, she is of their generation and they connect with her. So it seemed fitting she was present at this last hurrah in Bayeux, the first French town to be liberated from the Nazis. |
| "This is the 70th. And it's the last. We won't be back," said Roy Harding, 91, a private in 6 Commando who had travelled from Adelaide, Australia, where he emigrated after the war. "I've been back 12 times to Normandy. But this is the last." | "This is the 70th. And it's the last. We won't be back," said Roy Harding, 91, a private in 6 Commando who had travelled from Adelaide, Australia, where he emigrated after the war. "I've been back 12 times to Normandy. But this is the last." |
| In the cemetery the national chairman of the Normandy Veterans' Association, Eddie Slater, read the exhortation: "They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old…" "We will remember them" came back the chorus of elderly, enthusiastic voices. Heads dipped during the two-minute silence, some eyes were closed. | In the cemetery the national chairman of the Normandy Veterans' Association, Eddie Slater, read the exhortation: "They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old…" "We will remember them" came back the chorus of elderly, enthusiastic voices. Heads dipped during the two-minute silence, some eyes were closed. |
| Seventy Normandy summers ago, as the ships, planes and gliders disgorged 156,000 on to beaches and into the smoke, flames and barrage of mortar fire, victory was uncertain. So was survival. | Seventy Normandy summers ago, as the ships, planes and gliders disgorged 156,000 on to beaches and into the smoke, flames and barrage of mortar fire, victory was uncertain. So was survival. |
| No one escaped unscathed. In his wheelchair, watching the Queen, Peter Downey, 91, from Holmfirth in west Yorkshire, who landed on Gold with the Durham Light Infantry, was "really overcome". A stroke has affected his speech, but the emotion of the day was evident in his red-rimmed eyes. | No one escaped unscathed. In his wheelchair, watching the Queen, Peter Downey, 91, from Holmfirth in west Yorkshire, who landed on Gold with the Durham Light Infantry, was "really overcome". A stroke has affected his speech, but the emotion of the day was evident in his red-rimmed eyes. |
| After Normandy, he was one of the first men into Belsen, the concentration camp, then found himself on guard duty during the Nuremberg trials. "He's been on sleeping tablets ever since," said Jeanne, his wife of 65 years. "Wakes up in the night thinking he is being gassed. | After Normandy, he was one of the first men into Belsen, the concentration camp, then found himself on guard duty during the Nuremberg trials. "He's been on sleeping tablets ever since," said Jeanne, his wife of 65 years. "Wakes up in the night thinking he is being gassed. |
| "He's not been so well recently, but he really want to come here. This time it's been very emotional. This time has been the hardest for him. But he wanted to come even if it is the last thing he does". | "He's not been so well recently, but he really want to come here. This time it's been very emotional. This time has been the hardest for him. But he wanted to come even if it is the last thing he does". |
| Before the service there were individual acts of remembrance to be paid at the graves of fallen comrades. Among those who lingered, placing small wooden crosses on headstones, was Peter Smoothy, 89, carrying two crosses. With tears in his eyes, he said: "Coming here, to this place, it always affects me straight away. "My mind is always on those that never came home." | Before the service there were individual acts of remembrance to be paid at the graves of fallen comrades. Among those who lingered, placing small wooden crosses on headstones, was Peter Smoothy, 89, carrying two crosses. With tears in his eyes, he said: "Coming here, to this place, it always affects me straight away. "My mind is always on those that never came home." |
| He had been asked to place the crosses by the daughter of one of those resting here. She never knew her father, who was killed on D-day on Sword beach, he said. "She was born soon after. It was something I was happy to do," said Smoothy, from Herne Bay, Kent, who served with the Royal Navy aboard LST215 – one of the many landing craft used to ferry soldiers to the beach and later bring back German prisoners of war. He landed on Juno, which was stormed by Canadian troops. "Just being here, it is very dear to me," he said, wiping away tears. | He had been asked to place the crosses by the daughter of one of those resting here. She never knew her father, who was killed on D-day on Sword beach, he said. "She was born soon after. It was something I was happy to do," said Smoothy, from Herne Bay, Kent, who served with the Royal Navy aboard LST215 – one of the many landing craft used to ferry soldiers to the beach and later bring back German prisoners of war. He landed on Juno, which was stormed by Canadian troops. "Just being here, it is very dear to me," he said, wiping away tears. |
| The Queen was accompanied by Prince Philip, 92 – himself a veteran of the second world war – Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, and a number of Commonwealth leaders and British politicians including the prime minister, David Cameron, the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, Labour leader Ed Miliband, and from Scotland and Northern Ireland, Alex Salmond and Peter Robinson. | The Queen was accompanied by Prince Philip, 92 – himself a veteran of the second world war – Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, and a number of Commonwealth leaders and British politicians including the prime minister, David Cameron, the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, Labour leader Ed Miliband, and from Scotland and Northern Ireland, Alex Salmond and Peter Robinson. |
| Earlier, Cameron joined a procession of veterans as they walked from the town's cathedral to this commonwealth cemetery, led by a piper and accompanied by the cathedral's bells. The veterans were applauded by crowds lining the route, and Cameron spoke of his "sense of awe and gratitude" for what had passed so many decades ago. | Earlier, Cameron joined a procession of veterans as they walked from the town's cathedral to this commonwealth cemetery, led by a piper and accompanied by the cathedral's bells. The veterans were applauded by crowds lining the route, and Cameron spoke of his "sense of awe and gratitude" for what had passed so many decades ago. |
| Australian Michael Pirrie came to honour his uncle, Richard Pirrie, a footballer from Melbourne, who died on his 24th birthday on Juno beach. Clutching a black and white photograph of his uncle, to show the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, he said the ceremony was "incredibly humbling". His uncle, who served with the Australian navy, was credited with saving many lives on Juno beach before his was claimed by German artillery on D-day. | Australian Michael Pirrie came to honour his uncle, Richard Pirrie, a footballer from Melbourne, who died on his 24th birthday on Juno beach. Clutching a black and white photograph of his uncle, to show the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, he said the ceremony was "incredibly humbling". His uncle, who served with the Australian navy, was credited with saving many lives on Juno beach before his was claimed by German artillery on D-day. |
| "He was aboard the Invicta, which was a British, Canadian ship," said Pirrie, who now lives in London. His uncle's job in a spotter boat at the head of the invasion force was to get as close to the shore as he could to identify the Nazis on the cliffs and radio back to the ships so they could get their guns on them. | "He was aboard the Invicta, which was a British, Canadian ship," said Pirrie, who now lives in London. His uncle's job in a spotter boat at the head of the invasion force was to get as close to the shore as he could to identify the Nazis on the cliffs and radio back to the ships so they could get their guns on them. |
| "He got so close to Juno he was able to radio back great information before he was himself killed, which was extremely helpful and which meant the beach had the lowest casualty rate." He was mentioned in dispatches. His body was never found. | "He got so close to Juno he was able to radio back great information before he was himself killed, which was extremely helpful and which meant the beach had the lowest casualty rate." He was mentioned in dispatches. His body was never found. |
| "Just being here is an emotional experience," said Pirrie, surveying the graves. "I don't think anybody has put it as well as Bill Clinton when he said "We are the children of their sacrifice." | "Just being here is an emotional experience," said Pirrie, surveying the graves. "I don't think anybody has put it as well as Bill Clinton when he said "We are the children of their sacrifice." |
| Thomas 'Ted' Bootle, 90, Oulton Broad, Suffolk | Thomas 'Ted' Bootle, 90, Oulton Broad, Suffolk |
| Bootle landed with 398 company of the Royal Army Service Corps, attached to the 6th Airborne Division. "I came ashore in a five-tonne army lorry. We sailed from Tilbury on an US ship and was transferred to a landing craft mid-Channel. The US crew dropped one of the other lorries and the driver was killed. They had to clear that out of the way before we could be transferred. I was directed to the wrong part of the beach and was told to drive at top speed to the right part and shoot anything that moved." | Bootle landed with 398 company of the Royal Army Service Corps, attached to the 6th Airborne Division. "I came ashore in a five-tonne army lorry. We sailed from Tilbury on an US ship and was transferred to a landing craft mid-Channel. The US crew dropped one of the other lorries and the driver was killed. They had to clear that out of the way before we could be transferred. I was directed to the wrong part of the beach and was told to drive at top speed to the right part and shoot anything that moved." |
| Joseph Nicolson, 88, Selby. Naval seaman gunner on the landing craft | Joseph Nicolson, 88, Selby. Naval seaman gunner on the landing craft |
| "I had lied to get into the navy and was just 18 on D-day. We made quite a few trips back and forth. I remember clearly what happened. We didn't come under so much fire because the troops got quickly inland, but there was the occasional plane dropping bombs on us. One lifted the stern of the ship out of the water. I always feel very proud coming back here, and proud to have been part of the D-day landings. I feel humble as well because of all the French civilians that died. It was when we started taking the wounded back that it hit me. It was just like you see in the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan, only louder and longer. When we got to land, there were still bodies on the beach." | "I had lied to get into the navy and was just 18 on D-day. We made quite a few trips back and forth. I remember clearly what happened. We didn't come under so much fire because the troops got quickly inland, but there was the occasional plane dropping bombs on us. One lifted the stern of the ship out of the water. I always feel very proud coming back here, and proud to have been part of the D-day landings. I feel humble as well because of all the French civilians that died. It was when we started taking the wounded back that it hit me. It was just like you see in the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan, only louder and longer. When we got to land, there were still bodies on the beach." |
| Denis Dayman, 89, Birmingham, private in the Shropshire Light Infantry | Denis Dayman, 89, Birmingham, private in the Shropshire Light Infantry |
| "By the end of the war there were only eight of us left. The others were either dead or wounded. I was wounded in the leg, later in August. I don't think young people want to remember what happened all those years ago. I don't think they're interested. It's wonderful to be here. Everyone is so proud of us, they treat us like gods. And after all, it's important to remember." | "By the end of the war there were only eight of us left. The others were either dead or wounded. I was wounded in the leg, later in August. I don't think young people want to remember what happened all those years ago. I don't think they're interested. It's wonderful to be here. Everyone is so proud of us, they treat us like gods. And after all, it's important to remember." |
| Kenneth William Lucas, Leicester, 92, served with REMI | Kenneth William Lucas, Leicester, 92, served with REMI |
| "We landed on Sword beach two days afterwards. We drove the lorry through the water and headed north to Belgium. I remember clearly parking by the side of the road and a German shell hitting a first aid post in the middle of the road killing four people. It is an emotional time. I come back for the fellas that got killed. I was lucky, I got away with it." | "We landed on Sword beach two days afterwards. We drove the lorry through the water and headed north to Belgium. I remember clearly parking by the side of the road and a German shell hitting a first aid post in the middle of the road killing four people. It is an emotional time. I come back for the fellas that got killed. I was lucky, I got away with it." |
| Roland Armitage, 89, Ottowa, Canada, came ashore on Juno beach on 18 June with the Royal Canadian Artillery | Roland Armitage, 89, Ottowa, Canada, came ashore on Juno beach on 18 June with the Royal Canadian Artillery |
| "We were supposed to be in Caen in three days, in fact we weren't there until July 15th. Those Germans were tough fighters. We were against the 12th Panzer division, who were Hitler Youth boys and trained to be ferocious fighters. You couldn't make them give up. I volunteered to go. We thought Hitler was going to take the world and he was going to take England. We were loyal to England, we wanted a free world, and men are men. Everybody went. I never thought about being scared. I thought if anyone was going to die, it wouldn't be me. I lost one of my ears, and my officer was killed, but I made it." | "We were supposed to be in Caen in three days, in fact we weren't there until July 15th. Those Germans were tough fighters. We were against the 12th Panzer division, who were Hitler Youth boys and trained to be ferocious fighters. You couldn't make them give up. I volunteered to go. We thought Hitler was going to take the world and he was going to take England. We were loyal to England, we wanted a free world, and men are men. Everybody went. I never thought about being scared. I thought if anyone was going to die, it wouldn't be me. I lost one of my ears, and my officer was killed, but I made it." |
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