0:00:04 > 0:00:06Tomorrow is the 70th anniversary
0:00:06 > 0:00:10of the beginning of the biggest and most important operation
0:00:10 > 0:00:12of the Second World War, D-Day.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Veterans from all over the world will be gathering in northern France
0:00:15 > 0:00:18to mark this historic event.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Welcome to D-Day 70: The Heroes Remember,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24where, all week, we've been telling the story
0:00:24 > 0:00:27of the countdown to the Normandy landings.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Today, I'm at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
0:00:29 > 0:00:33where I'm joined by three Normandy veterans -
0:00:33 > 0:00:34Eddie, Johnny and Tom -
0:00:34 > 0:00:38who I'll be talking to later about what this 70th anniversary
0:00:38 > 0:00:42means to them and to all of those who took part in D-Day.
0:00:42 > 0:00:48For me the 70th anniversary is important not as a celebration -
0:00:48 > 0:00:53it's a commemoration of an amazing event in the war -
0:00:53 > 0:00:57but also remembering those people who lost their lives.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Well, we're getting old now.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03We aren't going to see that many more anniversaries.
0:01:03 > 0:01:04So, it's rather poignant, in a way,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07that we can still remember all these things.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09I'm 89.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13But I want to get there
0:01:13 > 0:01:17for the 70th anniversary,
0:01:17 > 0:01:18and I think I will.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Portsmouth has plenty of D-Day associations.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45It was from here that many of the troops crossed the Channel
0:01:45 > 0:01:47and a few days after D-Day,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50both Churchill and King George VI left from Portsmouth
0:01:50 > 0:01:52to inspect the troops in Normandy.
0:01:52 > 0:01:58A motor gun boat, MGB-81, that took part in the D-Day flotilla,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01is still on display here at the Historic Dockyard.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03In today's programme,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07a veteran who has turned his trips to Normandy into a family affair.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09It will be quite emotional.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I've always seen my grandad as a bit of a hero -
0:02:12 > 0:02:15100% a hero.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19James Holland meets one of the surviving members
0:02:19 > 0:02:23of a small, crack team of men with a special D-Day mission.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27We hear from two French veterans who fought to liberate their country.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29I said, "I'm glad to be in France,"
0:02:29 > 0:02:34The French people are glad to see a French officer -
0:02:34 > 0:02:37surprised and glad - and we are on the good way,
0:02:37 > 0:02:42and soon the war will be over and the Germans will be out.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47And Dan Snow looks at how bad weather nearly jeopardised
0:02:47 > 0:02:50the entire D-Day operation.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Well, all I can remember is that there was a depression
0:02:54 > 0:02:56and it went the wrong way.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58This depression here looks rather ugly...
0:02:58 > 0:03:00- It was probably that one, yes.- Yeah.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06For the troops, the weather also had unforeseen consequences.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Operation Overlord, the codename for D-Day,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12was really scheduled to happen today, on June 5th,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15but strong winds and rough seas delayed it.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19As a result, many men were marooned in their boats for days.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27The waves were about seven foot high, fairly rough going.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Looking at people being seasick!
0:03:33 > 0:03:35It was like a roller coaster at times!
0:03:40 > 0:03:4370 years ago, Joe Cattini found himself
0:03:43 > 0:03:46stranded on the Solent during the preparations for D-Day.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Today, the weather may not be pleasant,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54but in 1944, he had to endure much, much worse.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58On the 2nd of June,
0:03:58 > 0:04:05we were informed that we would be moving out the following day.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07And we had to get all of our equipment ready
0:04:07 > 0:04:10and our vehicles loaded.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12We were driving soft vehicles.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15We thought, "Oh, well, another exercise!"
0:04:15 > 0:04:19We'd already been on three while we were in the camp,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23so this was another exercise as far as we were concerned.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29It wasn't until we got to the docks and then we began to think,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32"Hello, this might be the real thing!"
0:04:33 > 0:04:39The docks - they were absolutely crowded with men and vehicles
0:04:39 > 0:04:43and tanks. You couldn't see the harbour for ships.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46HE CHUCKLES That's how bad it was.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53And we were put on board an LSI, which was a Landing Ship Infantry.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57We then proceeded out into the Solent.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02There was a storm brewing at the time.
0:05:02 > 0:05:08Even in the Solent, the waves were fairly heavy.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10They were about four or five feet.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15Even on board ship, there were so many of them sick, seasick.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19I felt sorry for the people in the assault craft
0:05:19 > 0:05:22because they were really bobbing up and down like corks.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28We thought it was only going to be for a day.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32And then we were told that because of the bad weather,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34things had been delayed, and then we said,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37"Oh, good! We'll be going back!"
0:05:37 > 0:05:40But that was not the case. HE LAUGHS
0:05:42 > 0:05:46We were stuck in the Solent for about two and a half days.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51So consequently, the feeling on board ship was
0:05:51 > 0:05:53"I want to get off here!"
0:05:53 > 0:05:56And some blokes were crying,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58actually crying,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01because they wanted to go home.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08After braving the fierce weather for two and a half days,
0:06:08 > 0:06:09Joe finally got some news.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15First thing we knew about going in to land
0:06:15 > 0:06:21was when Eisenhower spoke to us over the Tannoy of the ships.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24- EISENHOWER:- 'You are about to embark upon the great crusade
0:06:24 > 0:06:27'toward which we have striven these many months.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30'The eyes of the world are upon you.'
0:06:30 > 0:06:35We were going to land in Normandy, and praising us
0:06:35 > 0:06:39for our bravery and all this sort of...
0:06:39 > 0:06:42All this sort of bull! HE LAUGHS
0:06:45 > 0:06:49The infantrymen were called up on deck.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Their craft were swung out over the side
0:06:51 > 0:06:56and they had to clamber down nets to get into them.
0:06:56 > 0:06:57Some of them were really scared
0:06:57 > 0:07:00because they thought they'd fall into the sea.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04HEAVY GUNFIRE
0:07:04 > 0:07:08The barrage of the guns from the ships.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11The noise was terrific.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Every ship was firing its guns.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19Then we started to take things seriously,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22and we knew this was the real thing.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28When the time came for landing,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30we were...we were praying that we would
0:07:30 > 0:07:33land on dry land and not in the water.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38We did see some vehicles disappear in the water
0:07:38 > 0:07:42because they'd gone over shell holes.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44There was no chance of them ever surviving -
0:07:44 > 0:07:46they just sank to the bottom.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51When we landed on the beach itself,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55the beach marshals directed us up lanes
0:07:55 > 0:07:58that were marked by a white tape.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03Because that was the only area that had been cleared of mines.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07I can remember one vehicle, he wandered off the line,
0:08:07 > 0:08:12and he hadn't gone a couple of yards off the line when he hit a mine.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14EXPLOSION
0:08:14 > 0:08:16And he blew up.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21And we thought, "Good God! Is that going to happen to us as well?"
0:08:23 > 0:08:24Joe landed on Gold Beach
0:08:24 > 0:08:27after the initial Allied forces had secured it.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30His truck made it safely off the beach,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34but his experiences of that day have left a lasting impression on him.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Being in D-Day,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40I suppose, yes, did change you.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46You were no longer a teenager or anything like that.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48You had become a man.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54You realised that life was not the sort of thing that you could
0:08:54 > 0:08:59just fritter away - it was something that you've got to hold on to,
0:08:59 > 0:09:00and it was precious.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12Well, I'm joined by three D-Day veterans, Eddie, Johnny and Tom.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Hello to all of you. Eddie, you're actually from Portsmouth.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17What were you doing on D-Day?
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Well, I was on board a landing ship tank.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Whilst we were on board,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26we were told that we were going to land in Normandy.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30But up till that time, we had no idea where we were going to land
0:09:30 > 0:09:34other than France because at our previous establishment
0:09:34 > 0:09:39because we were issued with French money or at least occupation money.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41- Johnny, for you, it was very different.- Oh, yeah.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45You went to Normandy, but you went in a different way.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49On the morning of the 6th of June,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53they got us up at daybreak that morning
0:09:53 > 0:09:59and took us out to the aerodrome by platoons and companies,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02and put us in gliders.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06And we took off about nine o'clock in the morning.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Can you remember what it was like crossing the Channel?
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Just having a joke amongst yourselves, you know,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16because it was 30 men in a glider.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Just one of those normal days, you know?
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Is that how you remember it? Joking?
0:10:21 > 0:10:25You would think that you would be just filled with fear.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27We couldn't get tied up in it, really.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30You were just getting on with it. Doing your job.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31Just got on with it.
0:10:31 > 0:10:37And Tom, you landed on the Normandy beaches. You went in by sea.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41What do you remember in the hours running up to that?
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Trying to quell the seasickness.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48If you've never been really seasick this was horrific.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51In fact, we...
0:10:51 > 0:10:55The fact that we had already been issued with
0:10:55 > 0:10:59what are known as self-heating tins of cocoa -
0:10:59 > 0:11:03it's the worst thing you could ever have!
0:11:03 > 0:11:07And we had so many jobs to do.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11There was no real time to think about anything
0:11:11 > 0:11:14other than quelling the seasickness
0:11:14 > 0:11:20and trying to do what little we could to prepare ourselves.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Well, the sea was certainly rough that night.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27In fact, the weather was a crucial factor in the mission's success.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Dan Snow meets two Wrens who worked on the weather forecasts for D-Day.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36On the 4th of June 1944,
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Allied forces gathered across the south coast of England.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43This was the final step in the long-planned-for invasion
0:11:43 > 0:11:44of occupied France.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Operation Overlord was scheduled to commence
0:11:47 > 0:11:49the next day, the 5th of June.
0:11:49 > 0:11:50But then, at the 11th hour,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53the entire operation was plunged into doubt.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57The usually placid summer weather looked set to be
0:11:57 > 0:12:01interrupted by a low-pressure system roaring in off the Atlantic.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The weather for the 5th of June was looking really bad.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08There were only two very small windows when conditions
0:12:08 > 0:12:10for the invasion would be right -
0:12:10 > 0:12:12a three-day window - opening on the 5th of June -
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and another, two days, from the 19th.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Bad weather could scupper the Allies.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23D-Day had been years in the planning and the Supreme Commander,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26General Eisenhower, was determined to go as quickly as possible
0:12:26 > 0:12:28to hold on to the initiative
0:12:28 > 0:12:32and not give the Germans too much time to prepare their defences.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34As a result, Eisenhower brought pressure to bear
0:12:34 > 0:12:36on the chief meteorologist,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Group Captain James Stagg, asking him to go
0:12:39 > 0:12:43and find a decent forecast for the 5th of June.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Dorothy Rickard and Jean Atkins both
0:12:47 > 0:12:50worked as Wrens for the Met Office in the run up to D-Day.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Do you remember June 1944?
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Do you remember just before D-Day, plotting the weather coordinates?
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Well, I remember very well because I was at Dover then.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03Our job was to forecast the weather of the Channel.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Which, of course, was very, very important.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Particularly building up to D-Day.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09We've got a bit of a treat for you here. I think under here
0:13:09 > 0:13:12we've got the original weather maps
0:13:12 > 0:13:16from June 1944. Do you recognise these?
0:13:16 > 0:13:21- Yes.- All I can remember is that there was a depression
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- and it went the wrong way.- This depression here looks rather ugly.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26It was probably that one, yes.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30It probably should have gone further east. And it didn't.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Ah, what's this?
0:13:32 > 0:13:35This is an enlargement of each of these stations.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38It came through, as...in code.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Cloud, wind, visibility, pressure,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43temperature and the others.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Was there a lot of extra pressure in June? Was it a very exciting time?
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Oh, it was. There was definitely an atmosphere.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51We could guess whenabouts it was going to be
0:13:51 > 0:13:54just because of everything that was happening.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Then I was very aware of consternation in the Met Office.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02And that consternation came from the fact that James Stagg
0:14:02 > 0:14:04had three meteorological teams working under him
0:14:04 > 0:14:07who couldn't agree on the forecast for the 5th.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09The Americans were saying "yes",
0:14:09 > 0:14:11but the British Navy were saying "no".
0:14:13 > 0:14:16The decision came down to the civilian Met Office.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18The Americans were keen to go and they brought pressure to bear.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20But the Met Office held firm.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23They insisted that the weather in the Channel
0:14:23 > 0:14:25on the 5th would be too severe.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Stagg was forced to go to Eisenhower and say it was a no-go.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34And the Met Office were completely right.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37A storm swept through the English Channel on the 5th of June
0:14:37 > 0:14:39which would have devastated the Allied fleet.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43A disaster had been averted, but if this run of bad weather continued
0:14:43 > 0:14:46D-Day would have to be delayed until the 19th of June at the earliest.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48But then the forecasters spotted
0:14:48 > 0:14:51what they thought might just be a break in the weather.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56For one 24-hour period on the 6th of June it looked like
0:14:56 > 0:15:00conditions would be benign enough for the invasion to take place.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Jean and Dorothy explain how the weather changed.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08It looks to me as if the isobars are a bit wider than they were
0:15:08 > 0:15:13on the previous one so, therefore, the sea wasn't quite so rough.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- No rain, hopefully, no low cloud? - There's no fronts.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Would you, working with your teams,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21have said this looks pretty good for an invasion, really?
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Well, it wasn't up to us! But, presumably, they thought so.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27And you look now at women doing nearly
0:15:27 > 0:15:31all the jobs across the military and you really sort of blazed
0:15:31 > 0:15:33a trail for that, made it possible, I suppose?
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Oh, if you put it that way!
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Very modest, you two! THEY LAUGH
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Conditions still looked far from ideal
0:15:42 > 0:15:45but Stagg informed Command of the possible window.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Unwilling to let the initiative slip, Eisenhower took the gamble
0:15:49 > 0:15:52and gave the green light for the invasion to go ahead.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Everybody held their breath in the hope that the forecasters
0:15:55 > 0:15:56had indeed got it right,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59that the Allies would not be flirting with disaster once again.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09The weather would be a hugely important factor for D-Day,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12really determining its success or failure.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16And today, it's still vital in military operations.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Aircraft like this helicopter are massively restricted by bad weather.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Met Office forecaster Simon King knows how important
0:16:25 > 0:16:27predicting the weather is to the modern military,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30having served as a reservist in Afghanistan.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36The very first thing that gets briefed on is the weather,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39so we go up there and we tell them what's going to happen for the day.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42And often, plans for the day can be changed
0:16:42 > 0:16:44based on the forecast that we give.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49Do you ever have to sort of overrule commanding officers and say, "We have to cancel this operation"?
0:16:49 > 0:16:52I would never be foolish enough to overrule a commanding officer,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56but we give them the information and what they do with it is down to them. They know their limits.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59You must have seen some pretty extreme weather out in Afghanistan?
0:16:59 > 0:17:01While I was there we had some pretty big thunderstorms
0:17:01 > 0:17:03with a massive amount of rain.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06And we actually had quite a bit of snow at Camp Bastion,
0:17:06 > 0:17:07People think, "What's going on there?
0:17:07 > 0:17:10"We're in the middle of a desert, it's supposed to be hot,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12"we're making snowmen!"
0:17:12 > 0:17:15This is a modern military Met Office - what tools have you got
0:17:15 > 0:17:17today to help you tell what the weather's going to be?
0:17:17 > 0:17:19You can see here we've got lots of computers.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23We have a lot more information now coming in to us from the Met Office.
0:17:23 > 0:17:24This is today's chart
0:17:24 > 0:17:27and this is exactly the same as they had in D-Day.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30The fundamentals of weather forecasting
0:17:30 > 0:17:32haven't really changed since 1944.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Did the Germans get the weather forecast wrong?
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Because they weren't entirely ready for D-Day, were they?
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Interestingly, new research shows that they were quite good
0:17:41 > 0:17:44at weather forecasting and they did see this weather window.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47But the Germans were caught out, not because they weren't any good
0:17:47 > 0:17:51at forecasting, but because they thought that we wouldn't
0:17:51 > 0:17:54possibly try to launch an invasion based on that forecast.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56So, we made the right decision.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58And if they'd delayed D-Day, and if they'd said,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01"No, it's not good enough at all," then the next time that they had
0:18:01 > 0:18:05the criteria of the low tide and the moon was actually the 19th of June.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09And if they'd waited until then it would have been disastrous,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12because they had an almighty storm raging through the Channel
0:18:12 > 0:18:15and there was no way they'd have been able to go.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17So, they made the right call.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- What call would you have made? - It's a very difficult call.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22But based on the information that they had,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25- I probably would have made the same call.- That's the right answer.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Well, tomorrow the 70th anniversary of D-Day will be commemorated
0:18:35 > 0:18:37with a series of events in Normandy.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41The day will start with services at the Cathedral and War Cemetery
0:18:41 > 0:18:45at Bayeux, attended by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49BUGLER PLAYS "LAST POST"
0:18:49 > 0:18:52It will be followed by an international event to which
0:18:52 > 0:18:56heads of state and royalty from around the world have been invited.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59The British march past at Arromanches, near Gold Beach -
0:18:59 > 0:19:04the traditional focus for British veterans - will close the day.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11So, Eddie, Johnny, Tom, are you going to go to Normandy?
0:19:11 > 0:19:13- Will you be there? - I shall be going back.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17I start laying the wreaths on the 6th of June.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22The first one I shall lay
0:19:22 > 0:19:27is the first man killed on D-Day -
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Lieutenant Brotheridge,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32who was killed on Pegasus Bridge the night before.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36After that, we go and have a little drink
0:19:36 > 0:19:40at the place there by the cemetery.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44And over there, it's quite a big do.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48And, usually, there are at least five or six hundred people.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50I shan't be going this year.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52I haven't been now since 2009 -
0:19:52 > 0:19:54that was the last time I went -
0:19:54 > 0:19:57but prior to that, I went every year.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00But this year, I shall be laying a wreath
0:20:00 > 0:20:03at the D-Day memorial stone on Southsea seafront.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07I'm Chairman of the Portsmouth branch of the Normandy Veterans Association,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10and on their behalf, I will be laying a wreath.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12And Tom, what about you? You're going back, aren't you?
0:20:12 > 0:20:14I shall be going back.
0:20:14 > 0:20:20Apart from one year when I had a heart attack
0:20:20 > 0:20:22and they wouldn't let me go,
0:20:22 > 0:20:27ever since then, I have gone back purely to pay respects
0:20:27 > 0:20:30to those who did not come back.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34This June is going to be the last time
0:20:34 > 0:20:39that the Normandy Veterans will appear as a national branch,
0:20:39 > 0:20:45but I'm sure a heck of a lot of us will try to go over every year,
0:20:45 > 0:20:50bearing in mind, of course, that the majority of us are well over 90.
0:20:52 > 0:20:58It is an honour and a privilege to pay our last years' respects.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Well, like Eddie, Johnny and Tom, many of the veterans
0:21:01 > 0:21:04have been back to Normandy with a friend or relative.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06For Donald Jones from Pontypool,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09the annual pilgrimage to the D-Day memorial events
0:21:09 > 0:21:11has turned into a trip for the whole family.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15My family consists,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17at the moment, of myself,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20my son and daughter-in-law,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24two daughters and six grandchildren.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29Of course, now, young Thomas Lloyd, he's my great-grandson.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Donald, along with various family members,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35has made many trips back to Normandy.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Well, we went for the 45th,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40I went for the 50th, with my wife,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43we went on the 60th.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46From the 65th, we've been over every year.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48This is the 70th.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Could possibly be the last, but you can never tell...
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Richard has accompanied his father on many of these trips.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03The family really enjoys going there and has for a number of years.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05It's a really enjoyable trip.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10It's so rewarding when we do go over there because we do get
0:22:10 > 0:22:13a better understanding of what they went through
0:22:13 > 0:22:17and you get to see the respect that other people have for him,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20and not just for him but for the other soldiers
0:22:20 > 0:22:21that still go over there.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25They would come up to Dad and they would want to know what happened
0:22:25 > 0:22:30and they were just totally amazed at what they had done and the fact
0:22:30 > 0:22:34that they were like 18 or 20 years of age
0:22:34 > 0:22:35at the time, when this happened.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40A lot of the young Paras were coming up to Dad,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42and they were extremely interested
0:22:42 > 0:22:44even though they know all about the modern-day army.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Very nice meeting you. Look after yourself, won't you?
0:22:46 > 0:22:49He'd never told us anything about what happened in the war.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52But we'd learned a lot from the fact
0:22:52 > 0:22:56that he was telling complete strangers what he'd done
0:22:56 > 0:22:58and we just happened to be listening in.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01ENGINES DRONE
0:23:01 > 0:23:04On the 6th of June 1944 Donald was
0:23:04 > 0:23:08a Corporal in the Parachute Regiment flying into occupied France.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13Over in the distance, there was all of this flak going up.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16But it wasn't a case of just going up in the air -
0:23:16 > 0:23:19some of it seemed to dance its way up.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20To be quite honest with you,
0:23:20 > 0:23:26it was better than seeing a good firework display in Blackpool!
0:23:26 > 0:23:29But you realise how dangerous it was.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33His platoon of Machine Gunners were being transported
0:23:33 > 0:23:34in two Halifax aircraft.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37We all got out of our plane safely.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40But the other plane,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43it got out from number 1 to 13.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46But from 14 to 20,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48no-one ever found out what happened to them.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Donald jumped from his plane but landed far off target,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57in a field deep inside enemy territory.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02I was completely on my own at three o'clock in the morning.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06I couldn't see any of my colleagues around anywhere.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10I saw someone, possibly 100 or 200 yards away.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17So, I called out to him the password, which was "Overlord".
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Now, I don't know who fired first.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27But I know that I shot a magazine full of shots at him
0:24:27 > 0:24:30and he most probably shot the same amount at me.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Neither of us hit one another
0:24:33 > 0:24:37and he went his way and I went mine.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41He managed to rejoin his platoon
0:24:41 > 0:24:44and they moved in on the village of Ranville.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48About 10 o'clock in the morning. We were set up in this hedge.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54And after a while, I noticed a patrol of Germans coming.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56So I opened fire on them.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Whether I hit any or if I hit all of them, I don't know.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05But about an hour after that,
0:25:05 > 0:25:10all of a sudden we had a loud explosion right next to us.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16There was a German self-propelled gun firing at us.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21Charlie King, my number two, he said, "Taff, I've been hit!"
0:25:21 > 0:25:25So, we made our way down into the village,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28to the first-aid post.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33They found that Charlie did have a piece of shrapnel
0:25:33 > 0:25:36in his shoulder, and they dressed it all.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40And then Charlie, he said, "Have a look at the Corporal,"
0:25:40 > 0:25:43he said, "I think he's picked one up as well."
0:25:43 > 0:25:47Dropped my trousers and I found that a piece of shrapnel
0:25:47 > 0:25:49had taken a lump out of this thigh.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52And that was the end of my D-Day.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58This year, Donald's granddaughter Robyn
0:25:58 > 0:26:02will be joining him in Normandy for the first time.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07I want to go so then I can match the stories with the locations,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11and be able to see it for myself and what my grandad went through.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15If, when I have children, I can tell them
0:26:15 > 0:26:17the story as well of my grandad.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20I don't have many friends at the moment
0:26:20 > 0:26:23that have grandparents that lived through the war.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26So I think that is pretty special.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28It will be quite emotional.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Especially because my grandad's lived through it.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35So, it will be emotional stories but also rewarding.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40I've always seen my grandad as a bit of a hero. 100% a hero.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51Eddie, can you sum up what it means to you, this anniversary?
0:26:51 > 0:26:53During the school holidays,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I and some of my veteran comrades
0:26:56 > 0:26:58go down to the D-Day Museum
0:26:58 > 0:27:03and we speak to schoolchildren who come in with their parents.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07And our main emphasis there is to say to them,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10"It must not be allowed to happen again."
0:27:10 > 0:27:16All those lads who never came back with us from the beaches
0:27:16 > 0:27:19in the Battle of Normandy, they are the heroes.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21They never came back with us,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25and you shall never forget that they died for your freedom,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29and for your democratic rights to live in a free country.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Johnny, what does the 70th anniversary mean to you?
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Well, it means quite a bit.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37I've done the job for 27, 28 years,
0:27:37 > 0:27:42of laying wreaths at Ranville and, you know...
0:27:42 > 0:27:43And I'm always...
0:27:43 > 0:27:46There's only usually two veterans -
0:27:46 > 0:27:48me and another one -
0:27:48 > 0:27:51out of all those men, that survived.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55The wreath people, the British Legion, deliver it
0:27:55 > 0:27:59in the last week of January - I've got it indoors now.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02And that's happened for the past 20-odd years.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Tom, what is it about this anniversary
0:28:05 > 0:28:06that is so important to you?
0:28:06 > 0:28:13Purely the fact that there were so many of us
0:28:13 > 0:28:15who did not come back.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20We were so relieved to have been able
0:28:20 > 0:28:24to stand on those beaches, et cetera,
0:28:24 > 0:28:29and think that at least we were doing something to honour
0:28:29 > 0:28:33the dead, which is very much in my mind.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39Tom, Johnny, Eddie, thank you all so much for sharing
0:28:39 > 0:28:42your extraordinary memories of 70 years ago.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43THEY CHUCKLE
0:28:43 > 0:28:46Well, more than 150,000 troops
0:28:46 > 0:28:50landed in Normandy on D-Day by sea and air.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53James Holland remembers the actions of a small group
0:28:53 > 0:28:56of men from an elite unit whose daring missions
0:28:56 > 0:28:58were crucial to the success of the invasion.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03December the 31st, 1943,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Gold Beach, Normandy.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07On a dark, moonless night,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10whilst the German forces celebrated the New Year,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14two stealthy figures emerged from the bitterly cold surf
0:29:14 > 0:29:16on a top-secret mission.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19A mission that would hold the key to the future success of D-Day.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24This is Hayling Island Sailing Club, a most unassuming place
0:29:24 > 0:29:27for one of the most secret operations of D-Day.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30In 1943, it became home to COPP -
0:29:30 > 0:29:33the Combined Operations Pilotage Parties,
0:29:33 > 0:29:35a covert team whose secret missions
0:29:35 > 0:29:39and fantastical gadgets were like something out of a James Bond novel.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44COPP's main purpose was to secretly reconnoitre beaches
0:29:44 > 0:29:46in enemy occupied territory.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51And it was from here on New Year's Eve 1943
0:29:51 > 0:29:54that two men were sent on a daring incursion into enemy territory
0:29:54 > 0:29:56equipped with little more
0:29:56 > 0:29:58than a rubber swimsuit, a service revolver,
0:29:58 > 0:30:02and, curiously, several packets of condoms.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06The two men sent on this mission were Bruce Ogden-Smith
0:30:06 > 0:30:08and Logan Scott-Bowden.
0:30:08 > 0:30:1120 years ago, Scott-Bowden, accompanied by his son Robbie,
0:30:11 > 0:30:13returned to Normandy to recount his story.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15- MAN:- 'I'll just get you in focus.'
0:30:17 > 0:30:20We're on the invasion beaches
0:30:20 > 0:30:24on the right-hand part of the British sector.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27And so, we were ordered, suddenly,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30to do a reconnaissance here one night,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34and we were to take samples in that area there.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39The operation that my father first got involved in - they wanted
0:30:39 > 0:30:44swimmers to go ashore in order to take soil samples on Gold Beach.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47- Why was that? What was the problem with it?- They'd been looking
0:30:47 > 0:30:50at Gold Beach in great detail and studying the geology of it.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52They needed to have sufficient sand above the clay
0:30:52 > 0:30:54in order to allow the tanks to move ashore.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58And that's what they needed to find out. So, on New Year's Eve,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01a date that was chosen, we're told, by Churchill
0:31:01 > 0:31:02because he suspected the Germans
0:31:02 > 0:31:05would be having a very good New Year's Eve party.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07So, it's as simple as that?!
0:31:07 > 0:31:09Absolutely. And they set about it.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15We were put in the water about three-quarters of a mile out there.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19I think we had about a 300, 400-yard swim.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21And then, we made our way along there,
0:31:21 > 0:31:23very alert to try and avoid sentries.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28We did hear the Germans having a bit of a party,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31as it was New Year's Eve.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35And the object of the exercise was to do a W-pattern there,
0:31:35 > 0:31:36from there to there.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41They were going to drill into the sand, and then they had these
0:31:41 > 0:31:45ten cylinders where they would put the sand in and held it on the body.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49- And the condoms?- Well, the condoms were there to protect the soil,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52and were slipped over the top.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56The military always used condoms to keep the moisture out.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00Having taken the samples, the real problem they came up against,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04which they hadn't anticipated, was actually swimming out.
0:32:04 > 0:32:05If the swimmers got caught,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08they were going to compromise the Normandy invasion.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15It had got a great deal rougher, and, to our astonishment,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18in our first attempt to get out, we were thrown back onto the beach!
0:32:19 > 0:32:21On our third attempt, we got out.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25And then having got out further,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29we then had to rendezvous once again with the...with the gun boats!
0:32:31 > 0:32:34I mean, you can only imagine how hard that must have been.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37I mean, it's dark, it's stormy, middle of the night
0:32:37 > 0:32:40and you've got to try and find a very small boat.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42And it worked out very well.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45This business of a recce - getting people a very good idea of what's on
0:32:45 > 0:32:48the ground, what sort of obstacles they were going to come across,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51in order that they could start making plans - was really important.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54When you think of your father's achievements, you must feel proud?
0:32:54 > 0:32:58We're all very proud in the family of what my father did,
0:32:58 > 0:33:02and, in many ways, we didn't really know much.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04He didn't really speak much about it, to be honest.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10But that wasn't the end of COPP's involvement in D-Day.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Their next mission would use some of Britain's most
0:33:13 > 0:33:16experimental and secretive technology and in the days leading
0:33:16 > 0:33:21up to D-Day, place it within a stone's throw of the German forces.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Here at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum is X24 -
0:33:28 > 0:33:33the last surviving X-Craft to have seen service during the Second World War.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36At 27 tonnes and only 51 feet in length,
0:33:36 > 0:33:40she was much, much smaller than a conventional wartime submarine.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42And for her five-man crew,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44often trapped inside for days at a time,
0:33:44 > 0:33:46she was almost unbearably cramped.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Jim Booth is the only surviving COPPist to have taken
0:33:50 > 0:33:53part in the X-Craft D-Day mission.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56So Jim, what was your D-Day mission?
0:33:56 > 0:33:59You had use of two X-Craft - X20 and X23.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03And the mission between the two of them
0:34:03 > 0:34:05was to get across the Channel
0:34:05 > 0:34:08well before the planned D-Day,
0:34:08 > 0:34:12and to fix each of ourselves on two positions.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Submerged a quarter of a mile offshore,
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Jim and his team were the first Allied troops
0:34:17 > 0:34:21to arrive off the Normandy beaches in the run up to D-Day.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24At dawn on the day itself, Jim's mission was to surface
0:34:24 > 0:34:26and set up light beacons on his X-Craft
0:34:26 > 0:34:29to guide the Allied fleet to the correct beaches.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Without any proper navigational aids,
0:34:33 > 0:34:36it was too easy not to hit the right beach in the time.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39So, it was important that we made sure
0:34:39 > 0:34:41that they did arrive on the right beach.
0:34:41 > 0:34:42So, that was our main job.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45The next thing of course we had to do was to find out
0:34:45 > 0:34:48- whether the invasion was coming on. - Were you in radio contact?
0:34:48 > 0:34:51I mean, if you use a radio, doesn't it give away your position?
0:34:51 > 0:34:53No, we only had a receiver aerial.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56- RADIO:- 'This is the BBC Home Service.'
0:34:56 > 0:34:59We received the BBC Home Service, it was, actually.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03After the news, there was an added little bit of funny news -
0:35:03 > 0:35:05"All not well in Scarborough" -
0:35:05 > 0:35:08I think I've got that right, something like that.
0:35:08 > 0:35:09It was a plain-language message
0:35:09 > 0:35:12which in our little, coded book said, "It's off."
0:35:13 > 0:35:16As you know, Eisenhower postponed it because of the weather,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18so we had to wait the whole day
0:35:18 > 0:35:21and then repeat the operation the following night.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25And like everyone else, Jim's mission was delayed by the weather.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29But for Jim, this meant another 24 hours trapped in the cramped
0:35:29 > 0:35:32confines of his X-Craft on the bottom of the Channel.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36So, D-Day dawns on the 6th of June.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38So, do you surface at that point?
0:35:38 > 0:35:39Yes, that's right, we did.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43We surfaced and start setting up all the equipment.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47And, suddenly, there it was - the incredible fleet arriving.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49- RADIO:- '..D-Day has come.'
0:35:49 > 0:35:51It must have been amazing as you look out
0:35:51 > 0:35:55and the whole sea is dark with ships, wasn't it?
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Yes, it was, it was unbelievable, wasn't it?
0:35:58 > 0:36:01And there it was, D-Day, and then, they arrived.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04How important do you think your mission was,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07and the work of COPP, to the success of the invasion?
0:36:07 > 0:36:10It was, it was the turning point of the war in retrospect, wasn't it?
0:36:10 > 0:36:14Because if we'd failed, one daren't think what would have happened.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Most of the troops that took part in D-Day
0:36:23 > 0:36:26were British, American and Canadian.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30But there were also men from around the world who volunteered to join.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32Among them were two Frenchmen,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34who fought as part of the Allied forces,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36to help liberate their country.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42In May 1940, German forces swept into France.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45EXPLOSIONS
0:36:45 > 0:36:48On June the 22nd,
0:36:48 > 0:36:52the French government surrendered and the Nazi occupation began.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56Leon Gautier was amongst the last of the French forces
0:36:56 > 0:36:58trying to repel the German advance.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16Remi Dreyfus was an officer in the French cavalry.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19I joined the army in April '40 -
0:37:19 > 0:37:22just in time to live the terrible disorder
0:37:22 > 0:37:25and the terrible defeat of 1940.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29Life under German rule was hard for the French
0:37:29 > 0:37:33and many, like Remi's wife, were part of the French Resistance.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36My wife was in Resistance
0:37:36 > 0:37:38from the very first day.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42And she was trialled by a Vichy government,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45and sentenced by a Vichy court
0:37:45 > 0:37:48to 20,000 imprisonment,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52and later, handed over to the Germans.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54With his wife imprisoned,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56Remi was determined to escape to England
0:37:56 > 0:37:59in order to join the fight against the Nazis.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04I escaped from France through Spain, like many people.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Finally, I reached Gibraltar.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10From Gibraltar, I was sent to England by ship
0:38:10 > 0:38:13and joined the Free French.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16The Free French forces were a group of exiled French military
0:38:16 > 0:38:19brought together by General Charles De Gaulle in London,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22with the aim of one day liberating France.
0:38:38 > 0:38:39In between training,
0:38:39 > 0:38:44both Leon and Remi were able experience life in wartime England.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48I was on leave when the first V1
0:38:48 > 0:38:50fell upon the city.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55And when I walked down from my studio in the morning,
0:38:55 > 0:39:00I saw the landlady brushing off the pavement to clear whatever gravel
0:39:00 > 0:39:04had been sent from that bombing.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06And all I heard was this -
0:39:06 > 0:39:10"Rather noisy wasn't it, sir, last night?"
0:39:10 > 0:39:11HE LAUGHS
0:39:11 > 0:39:13And amidst the air raids,
0:39:13 > 0:39:17Leon met a very special lady called Dorothy.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26I had no boyfriend or anything.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31- She had no boyfriend. I was the first one.- Yes!
0:39:31 > 0:39:33THEY LAUGH
0:39:33 > 0:39:37But whilst romance bloomed, the war raged on.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40The Free French were desperate to liberate their compatriots
0:39:40 > 0:39:43living under the iron fist of German rule.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46When the plans for D-Day were announced,
0:39:46 > 0:39:49it was the answer to Leon and Remi's prayers.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06The first thing I asked to the Colonel who greeted me,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08he said, "We are going to land."
0:40:08 > 0:40:10So, I asked him, "When?"
0:40:10 > 0:40:14And of course it was a shock when he said, "Tomorrow!"
0:40:14 > 0:40:16HE CHUCKLES
0:40:18 > 0:40:21On D-Day, Leon was amongst the first wave of commandos
0:40:21 > 0:40:23to storm Sword Beach,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26whilst Remi landed in a glider near Pegasus Bridge.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30For both men, their first encounter
0:40:30 > 0:40:32with their fellow countrymen remains vivid.
0:40:48 > 0:40:49I said, "I'm glad to be in France."
0:40:49 > 0:40:53The French people are glad to see a French officer.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56And surprised and glad.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58We are on the good way and soon,
0:40:58 > 0:41:03the war will be over and the Germans will be out.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05But the war wasn't over yet.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Thousands of people, including Remi's wife,
0:41:12 > 0:41:16were still suffering at the hands of the Nazi regime.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18She was handed over to the Germans
0:41:18 > 0:41:21and she escaped and was sent to a concentration camp,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25but a few days before the liberation of the concentration camp
0:41:25 > 0:41:27by the American armies,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30they were, like is the case in many camps,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33taken to "chambre a gaz" -
0:41:33 > 0:41:35taken to a gas chamber -
0:41:35 > 0:41:39because the Germans wanted to liquidate the maximum
0:41:39 > 0:41:42of their political prisoners.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47And, fortunately, the gas chamber didn't work.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02After being involved in fierce battles
0:42:02 > 0:42:06with the German forces in France, Leon was granted leave.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09He returned to England on a special mission.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14When he came back, it was in September.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17I was going to the cinema
0:42:17 > 0:42:22and Mummy and Daddy stopped and told him where I was.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24And we came back, and he said to me,
0:42:24 > 0:42:31"Well, I'm all in one piece, we're going to get married," he said.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34I knew I was going to marry him,
0:42:34 > 0:42:37even before he went to France.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39If Leon didn't come back,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42I don't know what I'd have done.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56That's it from us and our countdown to D-Day.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59But join us tomorrow on the other side of the Channel
0:42:59 > 0:43:02in Normandy for live coverage throughout the day
0:43:02 > 0:43:05of the events to mark the 70th anniversary
0:43:05 > 0:43:08of the Normandy landings. Until then, goodbye.