Part 1

:00:00. > :00:13.for coverage of the rest of the day 's events in Normandy. World

:00:14. > :00:32.70 years ago today on the 6th June 1944.

:00:33. > :01:06.On a gloriously sunny day from the French Port of Arromanches.

:01:07. > :01:07.This was liberated by British troops who fought their way ashore on D-Day

:01:08. > :01:18.The significance of today's ceremony is to honour those who took part in

:01:19. > :02:03.the landings and it is underlined by the presence of the Queen.

:02:04. > :02:21.that Operation Overlord had finally arrived.

:02:22. > :02:26.Or the fighting in the weeks and months that followed.

:02:27. > :02:31.Today is about the Normandy veterans.

:02:32. > :02:35.It is true there are fewer of them with us.

:02:36. > :02:38.We expect to see more than 650 of them at today's events.

:02:39. > :02:45.We will have live coverage of the main ceremonies.

:02:46. > :02:55.Let's put Arromanches in a D-Day context for you.

:02:56. > :02:58.There you have it in the centre of this long stretch of Normandy

:02:59. > :03:22.There you have Utah and owe Omaha. That's putting Arromanches and our

:03:23. > :03:26.studio in Arromanches in a geographic context for you.

:03:27. > :03:38.In a ceremony, the Standard of the Normandy Veterans' Association was

:03:39. > :03:41.raised for the last time in the square because the Association is to

:03:42. > :03:50.Former servicemen find it difficult to travel.

:03:51. > :04:05.In October they will lay up the National Standard at a service at

:04:06. > :04:07.Westminster. There are just 11 remaining Dutch veterans and they

:04:08. > :04:08.are taking centre stage at a special ceremony.

:04:09. > :04:10.We will be seeing a lot of this square today.

:04:11. > :04:18.The square is in the possession of the Dutch.

:04:19. > :04:21.The king and Queen of the Netherlands are here and they are

:04:22. > :04:24.enjoying a lovely sight on this warm morning in Normandy.

:04:25. > :04:36.There were over 50 ten years ago and it is a reflection of the march of

:04:37. > :04:41.time. Later this afternoon, right here in the same square the British

:04:42. > :04:44.veterans will be in Arromanches for their main event of the day and the

:04:45. > :04:49.Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be here to see them march into the

:04:50. > :04:51.square. We would love you to be involved at home.

:04:52. > :04:56.We would like you to send in comments and questions.

:04:57. > :05:02.I will do my best to use as many of them as the day goes on.

:05:03. > :05:05.Send in photos relating to D-Day too because we know you have many

:05:06. > :05:06.thousands of photos, families have kept valuable photos.

:05:07. > :05:20.There is the Facebook address for you there.

:05:21. > :05:33.At the top we have the BBC website for you.

:05:34. > :05:36.Please get in touch and we'll try to use them as we go through the day.

:05:37. > :05:44.I'm going to start today's commemoration in Bayeux.

:05:45. > :06:00.It is the location of the largest War Graves Cemetery.

:06:01. > :06:18.Huw, I feel like I have got the most privileged job.

:06:19. > :06:21.I am my job today is to meet the veterans and hear their stories and

:06:22. > :06:25.talk to them about their role 70 years ago and they are really at the

:06:26. > :06:30.I've met veterans who are here for a special reason.

:06:31. > :06:34.There is people looking at the graves of their fallen comrades and

:06:35. > :06:37.remembering. So through the morning, I will be talking to veterans and

:06:38. > :06:46.hopefully bringing you some of their stories.

:06:47. > :06:51.This afternoon, the focus moves to Ouistreham.

:06:52. > :06:59.That's where the big international event is being held.

:07:00. > :07:03.Her Majesty, the Queen will be attending along with President Obama

:07:04. > :07:06.and President Putin and there will be 19 nations represented and

:07:07. > :07:09.veterans from all of the nations took part in the landings and Anita

:07:10. > :07:11.Rani is there to he will us -- to tell us more.

:07:12. > :07:23.I'm on Sword Beach, right here, just under 29,000 troops landed.

:07:24. > :07:26.Most of whom belonged to the British Third Infantry Division.

:07:27. > :07:31.The same beach is hosting the international event.

:07:32. > :07:46.That's a map of Europe and later on there will be a performance

:07:47. > :07:49.re-enacting the end of the Second World War.

:07:50. > :08:08.Just over 1,000 veterans and who I will be going off to spend sometime

:08:09. > :08:10.with. That's the broad shape of the day.

:08:11. > :08:20.It will be memorable and it will be moving.

:08:21. > :08:22.The last time we will see the Normandy Veterans' Association

:08:23. > :08:25.gathered here. The programme of events started yesterday.

:08:26. > :08:28.There were ceremonies yesterday to remember the airborne landings.

:08:29. > :08:39.We will be seeing some of that later on.

:08:40. > :08:42.Earlier this morning The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

:08:43. > :09:44.joined veterans at a service at Bayeux Cathedral.

:09:45. > :09:46.# Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice

:09:47. > :09:47.# Him serve with fear His praise forth tell

:09:48. > :10:36.Your Royal Highness which name do you want to give?

:10:37. > :12:11.This morning's service at Bayeux Cathedral on the dedication of a new

:12:12. > :12:14.bell there at the cathedral to mark #.

:12:15. > :12:23.We saw members of the Royal Family taking part and the Bishop of

:12:24. > :12:27.Manchester there representing the Church of England.

:12:28. > :12:29.The Normandy Landings, we are under lining the significance of what

:12:30. > :12:35.Throughout the day we will be talking to a range of people.

:12:36. > :12:38.We will be talking to experts about the detail and significance of what

:12:39. > :12:47.Talking of experts, with me now are Antony Beevor whose books include

:12:48. > :12:50.the Second World War and D-Day and James Holland.

:12:51. > :12:59.Antony, can you underline to viewers straightaway, what's the

:13:00. > :13:09.Well, the significance is huge from the point of view that one sees more

:13:10. > :13:11.and more people showing a greater and interest even though it is 70

:13:12. > :13:22.We are living in a post military society and health and safety

:13:23. > :13:33.environment and people appreciate and are fascinated by a period when

:13:34. > :13:36.the soldiers involved had little control over fates.

:13:37. > :13:40.There is a sense this is a generation that's slipping away.

:13:41. > :13:44.I have been around here for the last couple of days and talking to a

:13:45. > :13:48.number of veterans and it is amazing they come back here to see their

:13:49. > :13:53.fallen comrades in the cemeteries around Normandy and you know, you

:13:54. > :13:59.look down, if you are a veteran and you are in your early 90s now and

:14:00. > :14:05.you look at a grave of a friend of yours who was cut down when he was

:14:06. > :14:07.20 and you think I've had # 70 years longer.

:14:08. > :14:16.It is a useful moment to remind everyone

:14:17. > :14:23.We will be joining lots of the events later and the veterans.

:14:24. > :14:25.That's Ed Miliband, the Labour leader who arrived in Normandy to

:14:26. > :14:30.take part in the service that we will be seeing later on.

:14:31. > :14:33.There will be lots of people keen to chat to the elderly gentlemen with

:14:34. > :14:40.lots of stories to tell about what happened 70 years ago.

:14:41. > :14:45.Just a good moment to talk about what happened after many months of

:14:46. > :14:47.planning. Sophisticated deception and the immense courage of those who

:14:48. > :15:01.The weather conditions not favourable on 5th June.

:15:02. > :15:04.After a 24 hour delay, D-Day was enacted and the first gliders and

:15:05. > :15:09.paratroopers landed near Pegasus Bridge.

:15:10. > :15:19.The bombardment started of the French Coast started.

:15:20. > :15:31.23,000 US troops coming ashore at 6.30am.

:15:32. > :15:50.1,000 men for every soldier you see on this map.

:15:51. > :15:53.Highest number of casualties thereafter Omaha.

:15:54. > :16:00.Just north of Pegasus over 28,000 troops landing there.

:16:01. > :16:03.On D-Day, more than 132,000 men landing on the beaches.

:16:04. > :16:10.23,000 coming in by glider or by parachute.

:16:11. > :16:16.When you put it like that, really it is the scale and the ambition and

:16:17. > :16:21.the vision of what happened that still strikes you 70 years on,

:16:22. > :16:29.Antony? The planning for Operation Overlord was significant.

:16:30. > :16:35.The Canadians joked that it should be called Operation Overboard.

:16:36. > :16:38.When you think of the 6,000 ships and the screen of mine sweepers

:16:39. > :16:46.That was one of the miracles that the marina had not put to sea

:16:47. > :16:53.because they thought it was too rough for an invasion.

:16:54. > :16:56.Are we really at a stage today where we can say what the cost was in

:16:57. > :17:03.There is interesting new research which has come out of the United

:17:04. > :17:07.States where they think they've worked out how many were killed on

:17:08. > :17:17.People go -- there is debate about it.

:17:18. > :17:20.People go missing and did they die on D-Day or two days later?

:17:21. > :17:25.The casualties weren't as high as they feared.

:17:26. > :17:35.Why was it not as bad as they thought?

:17:36. > :17:38.Partly because the ships weren't sunk by the German Navy as they

:17:39. > :17:44.expected, but at the same time one must remember the French civilians.

:17:45. > :17:49.Over 3,000 French civilians were killed on D-Day and another 15,000

:17:50. > :17:53.were killed beforehand and we should remember their sacrifice, not a

:17:54. > :17:55.deliberate one, but still their sacrifice as well as remembering the

:17:56. > :18:08.I want to say to viewers, if you want to find out more about what was

:18:09. > :18:11.happening 70 years ago, we have a live blog and there is coverage of

:18:12. > :18:12.all of today's events on the Red Button.

:18:13. > :18:19.The Red Button you're familiar with on the zapper!

:18:20. > :18:22.That's for those events if we are off air later and there are things

:18:23. > :18:25.going on, press the Red Button and the blog, there we have it, the

:18:26. > :18:28.address I gave you a short while ago:

:18:29. > :18:35.We will be hearing more from Antony and James shortly.

:18:36. > :18:38.The veterans from Britain and around the world have been gathering in

:18:39. > :18:50.I was talking to lots of them yesterday and the day before.

:18:51. > :18:53.For a few, it will be their first visit to the D-Day beaches since the

:18:54. > :18:59.Some returned year after year, but they come with the common purpose

:19:00. > :19:02.which is to give thanks and to remember those who didn't survive

:19:03. > :19:23.One group prepared for this anniversary by gathering at

:19:24. > :19:26.Southwark House in Portsmouth for a dinner on the eve of their crossing.

:19:27. > :19:28.We have been doing this for six years bringing the veterans over to

:19:29. > :19:37.At the same time some new people, it is great to hear the stories that

:19:38. > :19:43.It is different for different veterans.

:19:44. > :19:44.Some have been back many, many times.

:19:45. > :19:53.So they're feeling apprehensive, feeling nervous.

:19:54. > :20:04.They don't know how they will feel when they get over there.

:20:05. > :20:14.The 70th anniversary has come up on top of us.

:20:15. > :20:16.I haven't been there before apart from the original, of course.

:20:17. > :20:33.1944 was the last time I was in Normandy.

:20:34. > :20:42.There was a house piled up with clothing and the belongings and

:20:43. > :20:47.there was' dead horse in the tracks and the family around were dead.

:20:48. > :20:55.I'll never forget that. APPLAUSE

:20:56. > :21:03.It has been one of them, more than the average year for me.

:21:04. > :21:38.The comradeship among the veterans, it has been wonderful.

:21:39. > :21:40.Just mingling and chatting to each other.

:21:41. > :21:47.Some of us are lucky and some of us are not.

:21:48. > :21:57.It is only ten minutes or quarter of an hour we were singing and dancing

:21:58. > :22:06.and enjoying life and then the sad sounds.

:22:07. > :22:09.We shall not grow old as we that are left grow old.

:22:10. > :22:13.At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.

:22:14. > :22:46.There will be a lot of reflecting today and the passage of time, well

:22:47. > :22:50.70 years very much on people's minds.

:22:51. > :22:53.Not just the veterans, but their families too, the nice thing about

:22:54. > :22:56.this event, especially on a special anniversary like this, lots of

:22:57. > :22:59.family and friends come out to support veterans and that's one of

:23:00. > :23:04.We were wandering around earlier chatting to groups f families who

:23:05. > :23:11.There are lots of French families here to come along and enjoy the

:23:12. > :23:22.experience. The time in France is now just about 10.3am.

:23:23. > :23:26.The service -- 10.37am, the service at Bayeux War Cemetery is about to

:23:27. > :23:29.begin. Some made their way up the hill from the cathedral.

:23:30. > :23:32.Her Majesty, the Queen, is about to join them.

:23:33. > :23:40.Let's say good morning to Sian Williams to find out more.

:23:41. > :23:44.Indeed, the veterans who left the service at the cathedral have been

:23:45. > :23:48.walking through the streets of Bayeux lined with local people who

:23:49. > :23:50.have been showing their gratitude and respect to those they call their

:23:51. > :23:58.They're come to go the cemetery for the service of remembrance acht

:23:59. > :24:07.place beautifully -- a place beautifully maintained.

:24:08. > :24:12.There are over 4 ,100 Commonwealth troops buried here.

:24:13. > :24:14.Those veterans who chose not to go to the cathedral service have been

:24:15. > :24:22.It is like meeting old friends and swapping stories and some are

:24:23. > :24:25.already at the cemetery and have been chatting through about times

:24:26. > :24:31.One veteran told me he has been back to the cemetery every year for the

:24:32. > :24:35.past 30 years, but for many, it will be the first time.

:24:36. > :24:38.The Royal British Legion organised the service with the help of the

:24:39. > :24:42.Normandy Veterans' Association and they say it is important for the

:24:43. > :24:44.veterans to be here for the service and to meet members of the Royal

:24:45. > :24:54.Her Majesty, the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and politicians will

:24:55. > :25:01.arrive at the memorial which honours the land forces with no known grave.

:25:02. > :25:11.Those who fought for the freedom will be the focus today.

:25:12. > :25:14.Men now in their 90s who 70 years ago stormed the beaches of Normandy.

:25:15. > :25:30.The Veterans' Association include those who fought in the difficult

:25:31. > :25:35.Ken, what time did you land on D-Day?

:25:36. > :25:36.Quarter to eight on the Tuesday morning.

:25:37. > :25:48.And can you give us a sense of what the scene that greeted you when you

:25:49. > :26:08.I never heard a noise like it before.

:26:09. > :26:11.There was flashes, gun flashes, battleships, guns firing, rockets,

:26:12. > :26:13.smoke. You could hardly see a thing for smoke.

:26:14. > :26:17.You didn't know where you were half the time.

:26:18. > :26:25.And did you lose many comrades when you landed on the beach or had the

:26:26. > :26:31.The first wave definitely did its work because I think as far as I can

:26:32. > :26:33.remember we never lost any men on the beach itself.

:26:34. > :26:40.There was more fighting to come, yes.

:26:41. > :26:44.On a day like this, who are you remembering here today?

:26:45. > :26:54.I have been over here three or four times and I always try to look for

:26:55. > :26:59.Have you met up with any old friends?

:27:00. > :27:09.I have been looking for people from my battalions for 70 years and I

:27:10. > :27:16.have been to different functions and I never found anyone.

:27:17. > :27:25.Yesterday, I went on to Sword Beach and I was stood near the statue and

:27:26. > :27:28.this chap came up to me and said, "My dad's in the same regiment."

:27:29. > :27:39.It turned out he was in the same battalion and company and I was and

:27:40. > :27:51.That was the first one in # 70 years.

:27:52. > :27:54.His son told me he worked out there was three Green House Howards left,

:27:55. > :27:55.his father, myself and another chap who he contacted.

:27:56. > :28:07.Throughout the day we will be hearing lots more.

:28:08. > :28:10.That was a very, very nice experience to share.

:28:11. > :28:20.That was Dan Snow and we will be back with Dan shortly.

:28:21. > :28:28.Bill Martin is a young man of 20 and he was sent to defend the vital

:28:29. > :28:31.bridge later to be known as Pegasus in honour of the airborne troops

:28:32. > :28:45.I served as a private in the 7th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment.

:28:46. > :28:47.Our job was to go out there and hold a bridge at whatever cost.

:28:48. > :28:49.If it meant shooting people, that was it.

:28:50. > :29:00.the Horsa, which crossed the River Orne, and Pegasus,

:29:01. > :29:09.As far as jumping out of an aeroplane,

:29:10. > :29:13.It's when you hit the floor, that's when you can get

:29:14. > :29:19.just tell yourself that you're dead already anyway.

:29:20. > :29:22.Don't worry about it, just get on and do what you're told.

:29:23. > :29:28.I think lots of our soldiers did the same.

:29:29. > :29:29.Don't want to think about your family, your brothers

:29:30. > :29:34.The people you rely on now are the people who are

:29:35. > :29:38.in front of you and behind you, who are jumping with you.

:29:39. > :29:45.We weren't scared of the Germans, we was up for the fight.

:29:46. > :29:48.It is just that we were dropped in the wrong bloody position

:29:49. > :29:55.We were one platoon with thousands of Germans around.

:29:56. > :30:01.I found out later on that we were dropped 21 miles wrong.

:30:02. > :30:06.So we were at a big disadvantage trying to make our way back.

:30:07. > :30:12.I got taken prisoner, others got killed.

:30:13. > :30:25.You don't feel emotional during the actions, but in later life...

:30:26. > :30:29.I never used to think about it a lot.

:30:30. > :30:32.I thought when I first went back to Normandy and I saw the grave

:30:33. > :31:00.and the realisation of what you are about to do is very adult.

:31:01. > :31:05.It's not a movie. You know that death can be odds or evens.

:31:06. > :31:09.It's only now, looking back from this old age,

:31:10. > :31:14.that I see people 20 years of age and they just seem like children.

:31:15. > :31:27.And I realise that we were just children, in many ways.

:31:28. > :31:33.That was Bill Martin's remarkable story. He attended events yesterday,

:31:34. > :31:56.when they returned to Pegasus Bridge.

:31:57. > :32:06.It is deeply humbling to do this. It is hard to explain. I'm highly

:32:07. > :32:17.privileged to be here on my two feet, 70 years later. Did you land

:32:18. > :32:23.on this area on D-Day? Yes, indeed. Close to the Pegasus Bridge. Did you

:32:24. > :32:31.have any nerves this afternoon? Nerves, what's that? !

:32:32. > :32:41.It's just an amazing sight, to think how low they are as well.

:32:42. > :32:50.What made you want to come back for this very special anniversary? It's

:32:51. > :32:56.a special anniversary but this is a bit glamorous at the moment. The

:32:57. > :33:05.really motion I had was visiting the cemetery, seeing my friends' grades.

:33:06. > :33:11.I can understand that. But seeing the planes come over just now, it

:33:12. > :33:15.must bring back memories as well. It does, it gives me a buzz. It gives

:33:16. > :33:20.me a feeling I'd like to do it again. I've got my grandchildren

:33:21. > :33:27.around me. How many of your family have you got with you? 24. It sounds

:33:28. > :33:31.like you had a full life afterwards. It's a good job I turned up

:33:32. > :33:43.otherwise they wouldn't be here. I'm really proud of him. I can't tell

:33:44. > :33:47.you how amazing the atmosphere is here. There's hordes of people and

:33:48. > :33:51.almost to the minute, this precise moment here on Pegasus Bridge, this

:33:52. > :34:01.is where Britain's D-Day began, 70 years ago. I am absolutely delighted

:34:02. > :34:06.to have so many veterans with me because you have with you, in front

:34:07. > :34:14.of you, the ones who are the heroes of the time. I want to thank you

:34:15. > :34:19.all. My father said to the British soldiers as they dug their trenches

:34:20. > :34:23.in the garden, dig it up, it's all for you and I want to invite you to

:34:24. > :34:37.a glass of champagne to commemorate that occasion.

:34:38. > :34:45.How does it feel to have everyone around here today, it must be so

:34:46. > :34:55.special? It is very special because, as you can see, it just shows you

:34:56. > :35:01.that from the military of the time, it continues to be militarily. And I

:35:02. > :35:16.think it is very moving and touching.

:35:17. > :35:25.Have you had any champagne this evening? I'm still half cut! So you

:35:26. > :35:31.are enjoying the festivities? Everyone has been so kind, it's very

:35:32. > :35:36.nice. They are so thrilled to see you over here. Yes, they are. Their

:35:37. > :35:51.parents so as here and they still remember very strongly.

:35:52. > :36:00.There you have it, in just a few minutes, the spirit of this 70th

:36:01. > :36:06.anniversary. Because it is all about paying tribute to those who made the

:36:07. > :36:10.ultimate sacrifice, really. But it is also about French gratitude. No

:36:11. > :36:14.matter where you go, in local cafes here, people just wanting to say

:36:15. > :36:18.thank you for what was achieved 70 years ago. James, I'm envious

:36:19. > :36:24.because you clearly had a lovely time at that event last night. What

:36:25. > :36:28.was it like? Terrific. There were hordes of people. What is so

:36:29. > :36:32.fabulous is all the veterans were treated like kings, which is exactly

:36:33. > :36:35.as it should be. I spoke to a number of them and a lot of them didn't

:36:36. > :36:40.make the cut in that little film. There was one fellow who was moving,

:36:41. > :36:48.he had been in the Durham Light Infantry. I saw his medals. He

:36:49. > :36:53.fought in North Africa, Italy and Normandy as well. He had really been

:36:54. > :37:01.around the park. He was terribly self-effacing, self-deprecating and

:37:02. > :37:04.dignified. The kind of person that the Prime Minister will be meeting

:37:05. > :37:08.today. David Cameron has just arrived at the Bayeux war cemetery

:37:09. > :37:12.for the service taking place in a short while. The Queen will be there

:37:13. > :37:15.too. Antony Beevor is still with us too. I'm reflecting on the Prime

:37:16. > :37:19.Minister there coming to pay his tribute. We are here talking

:37:20. > :37:24.specifically given the gentleman we have just seen about the airborne

:37:25. > :37:27.troops and what they achieved in the lead-up to and overnight into D-Day.

:37:28. > :37:30.How lead-up to and overnight into D-Day.

:37:31. > :37:40.important was that? It was terribly important. With the sixth airborne

:37:41. > :37:45.securing the eastern flank and the Americans. What was extraordinary,

:37:46. > :37:48.of course, was that the disastrous scattering of many of the

:37:49. > :37:53.paratroopers dropping all over the place, some of them 20 miles away

:37:54. > :37:58.from their drop zones, confused the Germans, they didn't know where the

:37:59. > :38:01.real focus of the attack was coming, it is the law of unintended

:38:02. > :38:06.consequences in war. Let's look at what is going on in Bayeux. There we

:38:07. > :38:12.have the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, who was also attending this

:38:13. > :38:16.event today and of course, lots of them, we will see in Arromanches

:38:17. > :38:20.when we have the main British event in this part of Normandy when the

:38:21. > :38:21.Normandy Veterans' Association will be parading through the square here.

:38:22. > :38:25.I suppose before we get be parading through the square here.

:38:26. > :38:30.I suppose before we to that service a little later, it's worth

:38:31. > :38:35.reflecting as well on the enormous exercise that went on, not just in

:38:36. > :38:39.the few weeks before D-Day, but for many months before it happened. A

:38:40. > :38:47.sense of that, James, first? Well, D-Day is not the start, it's two

:38:48. > :38:53.years into the planning. Now, the concentrated planning only began in

:38:54. > :39:00.January of 1944, the chief Chief-of-Staff, the first initial

:39:01. > :39:05.planning and the logistics, the Mulberry's was further back than

:39:06. > :39:10.that. The Canadians were training for this since 1940. It is a huge,

:39:11. > :39:16.huge effort. It is not just about getting troops and trucks and tanks

:39:17. > :39:20.over to here, it is about rations and fuel and there is so many things

:39:21. > :39:24.to think about and you though, they do pull it off. Another thought

:39:25. > :39:29.before we go to the service where we will hear lots of themes of

:39:30. > :39:34.gratitude and reconciliation later on. One thought, Antony, it is

:39:35. > :39:38.really to do with not just sacrifice, not just French

:39:39. > :39:42.gratitude, because that's a strong theme today, but also to do with

:39:43. > :39:45.what D-Day achievement. People talk about it being a turning

:39:46. > :39:51.what D-Day achievement. People talk are right to talk of it in that way?

:39:52. > :39:57.It was definitely a turning point in the war in the West. The

:39:58. > :40:02.psychological turning point of statin grad had taken place, if

:40:03. > :40:04.D-Day failed, the map of Western Europe might have looked very

:40:05. > :40:08.different. The Prince of Wales Europe might have looked very

:40:09. > :40:14.the Duchess of Cornwall arriving in lovely sunshine at Bayeux for the

:40:15. > :40:19.service at the Bayeux war cemetery. We'll join Sian Williams who is

:40:20. > :40:27.keeping an eye on things for us there. The Prince of Wales is here

:40:28. > :40:29.today as Admiral of there. The Prince of Wales is here

:40:30. > :40:37.was greeted by the Honour Guard from there. The Prince of Wales is here

:40:38. > :40:42.all three Services and took a Royal Salute as well. They are going to

:40:43. > :40:48.look forward, I know, to speaking to veterans. Yesterday, they met

:40:49. > :40:59.veterans of the Glider Regiment and laid a wreath at the Glider

:41:00. > :41:19.veterans of the Glider Regiment and with a note saying in gratitude of

:41:20. > :41:25.your service and sacrifice. He is talking to a man who looks after

:41:26. > :41:31.Bayeux and the surrounding area. This is a big part in planning it

:41:32. > :41:39.with the Royal British Legion and also consulting the Normandy

:41:40. > :41:44.Veterans' Association. There you can see the French Honour Guard and the

:41:45. > :41:52.British as well from the three Services and that is the memorial

:41:53. > :42:19.representing those who have no grave.

:42:20. > :42:29.The troops from the royal Royal Yeomanry from Nottingham. A lot of

:42:30. > :42:31.them are here for the first time. They say when they saw the scale of

:42:32. > :43:08.the cemetery, it was humbling. Staff Sergeant Graham Mudd.

:43:09. > :43:12.Alongside two guards. The veterans have been here with their families

:43:13. > :43:17.all morning really. They have been here for the past couple of hours.

:43:18. > :43:20.The Royal British Legion was expecting to fewer than 650

:43:21. > :43:26.veterans. They are allowed to bring a spouse or a career and they get

:43:27. > :43:30.funding, Lottery funding to do that, to come here today, but they said

:43:31. > :43:34.they wouldn't be surprised if others turn up. The number of veterans from

:43:35. > :43:41.the UK, also veterans from other Commonwealth countries. And the

:43:42. > :43:45.veterans saying that sometimes it's quite hard to think about coming

:43:46. > :43:51.back. There is always a great feeling of sadness. One veteran told

:43:52. > :43:57.me from the Royal Marines that however many times you come back, it

:43:58. > :44:01.is always a very sad occasion. He is often reminded when he landed on

:44:02. > :44:15.Juno Beach with the Canadians. His best friend didn't make it off that

:44:16. > :44:18.beach. The Band of the Royal Yeomanry. This is the voice of the

:44:19. > :45:05.guards. The land is led by the Director of

:45:06. > :45:08.Music. They are a verve band of 32 musicians. Almost have former

:45:09. > :45:14.service with the Household Division and other bands. The standards you

:45:15. > :45:17.see come from many branches of the Royal British Legion who are

:45:18. > :45:21.represented here today and the British Legion told me they didn't

:45:22. > :45:25.know how many were going to turn up, but there are French standards there

:45:26. > :45:30.as well and from the Normandy Veterans' Association who we heard

:45:31. > :45:46.earlier are going to be officially disbanded later this year.

:45:47. > :45:52.The band of The Standards marching past. This is where the service of

:45:53. > :46:09.remembrance is going to take place. There is a Union Flag which is

:46:10. > :46:14.carried by Norman Espy from Northern Ireland. Carried at the front by

:46:15. > :46:58.Steve Barrage. As they take their places between

:46:59. > :47:05.the choir from Cambridge and the Band of the Royal Yeomanry waiting

:47:06. > :47:14.for the Service of Remembrance. Waiting for The Prince of Wales as

:47:15. > :47:22.well and the Queen, Her Majesty, the Queen, will be arriving shortly by

:47:23. > :47:26.helicopter. The cemetery is kept by the Commonwealth War Graves

:47:27. > :47:37.Commission. I think if you haven't been here before, you are really

:47:38. > :47:41.struck by the dignity. The headstones are the same and they are

:47:42. > :47:50.mant to be uniform -- meant to be uniform. You can't distinguish

:47:51. > :47:57.between rank. It cares for the graves and memorials of over nearly

:47:58. > :48:00.500,000 servicemen and women who died in the Commonwealth Wars. The

:48:01. > :48:07.cross is meant to represent the faith of the majority in the

:48:08. > :48:13.cemetery. And the broad sword facing down to signify that it is a

:48:14. > :48:18.military cemetery. When the Commonwealth qar graves commission

:48:19. > :48:35.was -- War Graves Commission was designing the cemeteries, they were

:48:36. > :48:39.advised by Sir Frederick Kennon that there was no reason why the

:48:40. > :48:51.cemeteries should be places of gloom. That's the chairman of the

:48:52. > :48:55.War Graves Commission. Samantha Cameron, Theon Hague and William

:48:56. > :49:01.Hague and Nick Clegg talking to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister

:49:02. > :49:08.has spoken about his deep respect for the veterans many times. His

:49:09. > :49:15.grandfather was badly wounded shortly after landing on the

:49:16. > :49:22.Normandy beaches in 1944 and he said, "I cannot possibly imagine

:49:23. > :49:32.what it was like to land on those beaches."

:49:33. > :49:49.That's what thousands of young men did.

:49:50. > :49:58.Tony Abbott, seven Australian air men. They were

:49:59. > :50:04.veterans in the Normandy seven Australian air men. They were

:50:05. > :50:12.It was be their first return to Normandy. There are 17 Australians

:50:13. > :50:18.buried in Bayeux war cemetery. Most of them aircrew. Among them Flying

:50:19. > :50:26.Officer Duncan McFadden who was 28 years of age. You can just see

:50:27. > :50:28.there, on the left-hand side of your screen, the Governor General of New

:50:29. > :50:36.Zealand. Just behind the man screen, the Governor General of New

:50:37. > :50:53.the glasses. He has brought nine New Zealand veterans with him.

:50:54. > :51:01.A lot of the politicians, of course, going to the international event at

:51:02. > :51:08.Ouistreham later on with the other heads of State including President

:51:09. > :51:14.Obama and President Putin. The Queen's helicopter is arriving. She

:51:15. > :51:18.is going to be greeted by the French Prime Minister who we saw at the

:51:19. > :51:21.service at the cathedral earlier talking to politicians and talking

:51:22. > :51:38.to David Cameron. The Queen will be lay ago wreath --

:51:39. > :51:49.laying a wreath during the service of remembrance.

:51:50. > :51:58.And the veterans have a special place in their heart for the Queen.

:51:59. > :52:15.A lot of them have been to the services before. Veteran Bloomfield.

:52:16. > :52:21.He is 92 years of age. He served in the Royal Marines. During D-Day he

:52:22. > :52:38.was a gunner. Ed Miliband talking to members of the military. General Sir

:52:39. > :52:42.Peter Wall, Chief of the General Staff and that's the Chief of the

:52:43. > :52:58.Defence Staff. A lot of French people have come to

:52:59. > :53:02.pay their respects today and as the politicians and the veterans were

:53:03. > :53:10.making their way to the cemetery, they were clapping and shouting

:53:11. > :53:27.merci. It was very moving. They do feel a huge debt of gratitude to the

:53:28. > :53:32.veterans. There was an enormous cost to French civilian life. Tens of

:53:33. > :53:36.thousands of them died at Normandy. They are reflecting on that

:53:37. > :53:42.liberation today and the cost that was paid. By France and by other

:53:43. > :54:04.nations too. We see there the flags of British

:54:05. > :54:08.Legion and the Normandy Veterans' Association to the left-hand side

:54:09. > :54:15.and the Normandy Veterans' Association which will be disbanding

:54:16. > :54:19.later this year is disbanding because there aren't members. There

:54:20. > :54:29.are only 600 members now. There used to be 16,000 members. And it was

:54:30. > :54:35.founded in Grimsby in 1981 and one of its founding members talked about

:54:36. > :54:42.why it had been set-up. He said afterwards for a lot of us, the

:54:43. > :54:53.experience of battles on the Normandy front stayed behind. An

:54:54. > :54:54.ex-serviceman, " Where is that comradeship? Can we possibly regain

:54:55. > :55:30.some of that feeling?" Members of the clergy who are

:55:31. > :55:41.gathering for the service. Military chaplains. That's Mandy Reynolds. A

:55:42. > :55:46.veterans chaplain and that's the Royal British Legion chaplain to

:55:47. > :55:50.Normandy who will begin the service by welcoming veterans today and will

:55:51. > :55:59.also begin by reading a prayer today. In the centre, the Royal

:56:00. > :56:04.British Legion chaplain. I was speaking to him yesterday. He said

:56:05. > :56:16.it was an enormous honour to be here and again, he used that word very

:56:17. > :56:20.humbly. The French Prime Minister arriving at the entrance to the

:56:21. > :57:14.cemetery. The Commanding Officer of the Honour

:57:15. > :57:21.Guard. And the men include 32 Regiment Royal Artillery, the RAF

:57:22. > :57:30.and many different troops as well from naval ships. Some of them were

:57:31. > :57:50.this week attending the State Opening of Parliament.

:57:51. > :57:57.Just to let you know that that flag was actually in Bayeux on the day of

:57:58. > :58:15.liberation, the day after D-Day. As the Queen is arriving and walks

:58:16. > :58:20.to take her place in the Service of Remembrance, there will be a Battle

:58:21. > :58:27.of Britain Memorial Flight. The RAF's tribute to the aviators of

:58:28. > :58:33.World War II. You can see painted with black and white D-Day invasion

:58:34. > :58:35.stripes to avoid friendly fire. Her Majesty, the Queen arriving with

:58:36. > :59:29.the Duke of Edinburgh. They seemed to enjoy that. The Queen

:59:30. > :59:34.makes her way to the front of the cemetery. Now she is stepping on to

:59:35. > :59:47.Commonwealth soil because this land is a gift from the French

:59:48. > :59:53.Government. She is met by Sir Joe French, the vice-chairman of the

:59:54. > :59:59.Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the president of the Royal

:00:00. > :00:06.British Legion which, could have course, the Queen is patron d which,

:00:07. > :00:10.of course, the Queen is patron. This is her fourth visit to Bayeux

:00:11. > :00:14.Cemetery. Lots of people say no matter how many times you have been

:00:15. > :00:16.here, it is always very moving. She will be walking past a lot of

:00:17. > :00:35.headstones. The youngest in the cemetery is only 17 years old. A man

:00:36. > :00:39.called William Scott. Peter Wilkinson telling me this morning,

:00:40. > :00:42.that he was hoping to talk to the Queen

:00:43. > :00:50.that he was hoping to talk to the when she would have been a teenager.

:00:51. > :01:03.Walking past the Stone of Remembrance. It was chosen by Sir

:01:04. > :01:10.Rudiard Kipling. There are small crosses from local schools. And

:01:11. > :01:17.veterans prayer. The Duke of Edinburgh, the High Lord Admiral of

:01:18. > :01:28.the Fleet is wearing his uniform. You can just make out that broach.

:01:29. > :01:34.That was a favourite broach of her mother's. It is called the Waterfall

:01:35. > :02:12.Broach. A representative of

:02:13. > :02:15.Veterans' Association. Although the Normandy Veterans' Association will

:02:16. > :02:21.be disbanded later this year, they have been telling me that they will

:02:22. > :02:36.still come back year after year even as their numbers diminish.

:02:37. > :02:42.There is a huge amount of respect for the Queen from the veterans and

:02:43. > :02:48.the Royal British Legion was telling me yesterday that it really is the

:02:49. > :03:09.icing on the cake that she should be here today. Peter Wilkinson has met

:03:10. > :03:12.the Queen on many occasions. He has spoken of his deep pride at his

:03:13. > :03:17.involvement in today's events. He hopes as well that this year's

:03:18. > :03:19.commemorations will help future generations understand the

:03:20. > :03:55.importance of remembrance. The Royal party and the French Prime

:03:56. > :03:57.Minister preparing for when the service starts in a few minutes

:03:58. > :04:16.time. Your Majesty, your Royal Highnesses,

:04:17. > :04:21.ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Royal British Legion, it is an

:04:22. > :04:29.honour for me to welcome you to this cemetery this morning. Here in this

:04:30. > :04:41.cemetery we are reminded of the true cost of D-Day. Whose 70 anniversary

:04:42. > :04:47.we mark today. We pay tribute to the dead and welcome enthusiastically

:04:48. > :04:54.the veterans for whose courage and devotion we are most grateful. This

:04:55. > :05:02.is a British ceremony and most of the graves in this place are

:05:03. > :05:10.British. But D-Day involved many nations and many nations are

:05:11. > :05:17.represented here. Beside the British graves lie Commonwealth servicemen

:05:18. > :05:26.from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. As well as Czechs,

:05:27. > :05:36.Frenchmen, Poles, and Russians. There are also German and Italian

:05:37. > :05:41.servicemen buried here. Elsewhere in Normandy lies servicemen from

:05:42. > :05:51.Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States. Here in this

:05:52. > :05:59.cemetery men from many nations lie together united in death. And

:06:00. > :06:08.together, united in gratitude, sorrow and respect we honour their

:06:09. > :06:17.memory. May they rest in peace. We sing the hymn Praise My Soul The

:06:18. > :06:37.King Of Heaven. # Praise my soul the king of heaven.

:06:38. > :07:27.# Praise the everlasting King. Hallelujah Lear! Hallelujah!

:07:28. > :08:35.# Hallelujah! Hallelujah! us.

:08:36. > :08:51.# What lay lieuia. Let us remember before God and

:08:52. > :08:59.commend to his keeping those who have died for their country in war.

:09:00. > :09:07.Those whom we knew and whose memory we treasure and today, especially

:09:08. > :09:11.those who gave their lives in June 1944 and subsequent months during

:09:12. > :09:37.the liberation of France. They shall not grow old as we that

:09:38. > :09:42.are left grow old. At the going down of the sun and in morning, we will

:09:43. > :09:54.remember them. We will remember them.

:09:55. > :14:28.getting ready for the laying of the wreath. HRH The Prince of Wales is

:14:29. > :14:31.showing his respect to the people here. The Queen is being led by the

:14:32. > :14:52.Vice Admiral, Sir Wilkinson from the Royal British Legion. The wreath has

:14:53. > :15:12.the inscription, "In memory of the glorious dead." The wreaths made in

:15:13. > :15:21.the poppy factory in South London. They were made by ex-service

:15:22. > :15:52.personnel. HRH The Prince of Wales and the French Prime Minister.

:15:53. > :16:24.Prime Minister, David Cameron, Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of

:16:25. > :16:58.Australia and the Governor General of New Zealand.

:16:59. > :17:31.MUSIC: The Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended

:17:32. > :17:39.Brigadier David Banes from the Normandy Veterans' Association in

:17:40. > :17:41.the middle with Sir Joe French from the Commonwealth War Graves

:17:42. > :19:32.Commission, the vice-chairman. Let us pray. Almighty and eternal

:19:33. > :19:37.God from who we can't be parted either by death or life. Hear our

:19:38. > :19:43.prayers and thanksgivingings for all whom we remember this day. Fulfil in

:19:44. > :19:56.them the purpose of your love and bring us all with them to your

:19:57. > :20:15.eternal joy through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.

:20:16. > :21:03.#Ovaliant hearts who to your glory came.

:21:04. > :21:12.# Through dust of conflict and through battle flame.

:21:13. > :21:22.# Tranquil you lie, your knightly virtue proved.

:21:23. > :21:30.# Your memory hallowed in the land you loved.

:21:31. > :21:33.# Deep your contentment in that blest abode

:21:34. > :21:40.# Who wait the last clear trumpet call of God

:21:41. > :21:47.# O risen Lord O Shepherd of our dead

:21:48. > :21:53.# Whose cross has bought them and whose staff has led

:21:54. > :21:59.# In glorious hope their proud and sorrowing land

:22:00. > :22:54.# Commits her children to thy gracious hand. #

:22:55. > :23:03.How shall he not with him freely give us all things. Who shall lay

:23:04. > :23:14.anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who

:23:15. > :23:27.is he that condemn this. It is Christ that died, rather is risen

:23:28. > :23:31.again. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

:23:32. > :23:32.Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,

:23:33. > :23:43.As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long,

:23:44. > :23:48.we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

:23:49. > :23:52.Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors

:23:53. > :24:01.For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,

:24:02. > :24:19.nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,

:24:20. > :24:20.nor things present, nor things to come,

:24:21. > :24:22.nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,

:24:23. > :24:24.shall be able to separate us from the love of God,

:24:25. > :25:08.which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

:25:09. > :25:18.Lord, welcome into your calm and peaceful kingdom

:25:19. > :25:19.those who have departed out of this present life to be with you.

:25:20. > :25:21.Grant them rest and a place with the spirits of the just,

:25:22. > :25:25.and give them the life that knows no age,

:25:26. > :25:43.the reward that passes not away. ALL: Amen.

:25:44. > :25:46.Almighty God, stretch forth your mighty arm

:25:47. > :25:50.to strengthen and protect the armed forces:

:25:51. > :25:52.grant that meeting danger with courage and all occasions

:25:53. > :26:01.they may truly serve the cause of justice and peace -

:26:02. > :26:06.to the honour of your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

:26:07. > :26:23.Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of peace proceed:

:26:24. > :26:28.kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all,

:26:29. > :26:32.and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom

:26:33. > :26:35.those who take counsel for the nations of the earth,

:26:36. > :26:38.that in tranquillity your kingdom may go forward,

:26:39. > :26:42.till the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love -

:26:43. > :26:47.through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.

:26:48. > :27:10.Teach us good Lord to serve thee as thou deservest -

:27:11. > :27:17.to fight and not to heed the wounds -

:27:18. > :27:24.to labour and not to ask for any reward,

:27:25. > :27:28.save that of knowing that we do Thy will,

:27:29. > :27:44.ALL: O Eternal Lord God, who has united together

:27:45. > :27:47.all Veterans of the Normandy Campaign.

:27:48. > :27:51.Grant, we beseech you, your blessing, and give strength

:27:52. > :27:55.to carry on our work to aid and bring comradeship

:27:56. > :28:04.and joy and common purpose throughout our Association.

:28:05. > :28:07.We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ whose courage never failed.

:28:08. > :28:34.hallowed be thy name - thy kingdom come,

:28:35. > :28:37.thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

:28:38. > :28:40.Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,

:28:41. > :28:45.as we forgive those who trespass against us.

:28:46. > :28:51.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

:28:52. > :28:58.the power and the glory, for ever and ever:

:28:59. > :29:11.we pledge ourselves to serve you and all humanity,

:29:12. > :29:16.in the cause of peace, for the relief of want and suffering,

:29:17. > :29:28.give us wisdom - give us courage - give us hope -

:29:29. > :29:53.and keep us faithful now and always. Amen.

:29:54. > :30:00.to the Church, the Queen, the Commonwealth,

:30:01. > :30:06.and to us and all his servants, life everlasting.

:30:07. > :30:12.And the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

:30:13. > :30:19.come down upon you and remain with you always.

:30:20. > :32:34.And as the Service of Remembrance ends, the Queen is being led by Sir

:32:35. > :32:45.Joe French. Sir Joe French the vice-chairman of the War Graves

:32:46. > :32:50.Commission. There she is greeting the gardening team from the

:32:51. > :32:53.Commonwealth War Graves Commission. That's William Moody she is speaking

:32:54. > :32:59.to there. He worked with the organisation for 46 years and his

:33:00. > :33:06.father and brother worked there before him. The senior head gardener

:33:07. > :33:11.since 2003. And they have been replacing a lot of the headstones in

:33:12. > :33:21.the cemetery over the last few months. The head gardener from

:33:22. > :33:28.Brittany because they wanted it to look particularly special today. And

:33:29. > :33:33.the sorts of flowers they have are very, very important, the texture,

:33:34. > :33:39.the height and the timing of the flower display. That's Myles Hunt,

:33:40. > :33:42.the gardener from Durham. They spend an awful lot of time and care

:33:43. > :33:50.the gardener from Durham. They spend they're doing the garden. It is one

:33:51. > :33:53.of the largest health st horticultural gardens in the world,

:33:54. > :33:57.Commission. The aim was to have the general appearance of a British

:33:58. > :34:03.cemetery and to make sure general appearance of a British

:34:04. > :34:08.seasons the flowers are in bloom. But some flowers will be blooming at

:34:09. > :34:23.any time of the year when people choose to come to the cemetery. The

:34:24. > :34:31.Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are trying to find out more about how

:34:32. > :34:48.the cemetery here is run. She is going to meet some veterans who have

:34:49. > :34:51.been here many times. Peter Wilkinson from the Royal British

:34:52. > :35:01.Legion will be introducing her to the Prime Minister and the Prime

:35:02. > :35:22.Minister will be introducing the Queen to veterans from all over the

:35:23. > :35:31.UK. They have spoken of their pride at being here today. And to meet the

:35:32. > :35:47.Queen and to talk to her. Some of them have seen her before at the

:35:48. > :35:56.Cenotaph Service of Remembrance. We saw a couple of the veterans during

:35:57. > :36:02.the service. Veteran Eddie Slater, the chairman of the Normandy

:36:03. > :36:09.Veterans' Association who said that the ceremony was about honouring

:36:10. > :36:13.those that did not come home and to honour those who did and these men

:36:14. > :36:20.don't think they are heroes. One said to me, "The heroes are in the

:36:21. > :36:34.cemeteries. We just did what we had to do that day."

:36:35. > :36:39.And those who are wearing the blue blazers from the Normandy Veterans'

:36:40. > :36:43.Association say the reason the veterans come together is to have a

:36:44. > :36:46.drink, to exchange memories and to renew old friendships. To do all the

:36:47. > :36:50.things to further the friendships welded on the beaches and the

:36:51. > :36:55.battlefields of Normandy. To remember those who did not return.

:36:56. > :37:02.Who returned disabled, blinded, sick in mind. That's what Arthur Floodman

:37:03. > :37:05.said, one of the founding members of the Normandy Veterans' Association.

:37:06. > :37:12.Even though it will be disbanded later this year, in October, they

:37:13. > :37:14.say they will all still meet and a lot of them will still come here

:37:15. > :38:01.every year. The Queen has a very strong

:38:02. > :38:14.relationship with the veterans and she paid tribute to them at the 60th

:38:15. > :38:19.commemoration of the D-Day. She said, "It is one of the proudest

:38:20. > :38:25.moments in our long, national history." When she thanked them, she

:38:26. > :38:31.thanked them with these words, I take it upon myself to express the

:38:32. > :38:41.debt of grad tud we owe to you all. I thank you and I salute you on

:38:42. > :38:45.behalf of our whole nation. Antony Beevor, the historian, said Her

:38:46. > :38:49.Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh want to show their

:38:50. > :38:52.solidarity with the veterans because they are aware this maybe the last

:38:53. > :38:57.time a reasonable number of them will be able to attend. So it is

:38:58. > :39:20.very important for both of them to be here.

:39:21. > :39:39.This is a chance for people once again to mingle and share stories.

:39:40. > :39:43.The men from the Normandy Veterans' Association, it is said that one of

:39:44. > :39:49.the flags is going to be entrusted to the Mayor of Arromanches as

:39:50. > :40:05.custodian so the mayor and the people will raise it and lower it in

:40:06. > :40:06.homage to that. The French Prime Minister is introducing Her Majesty

:40:07. > :40:37.to French veterans. The Duke of Edinburgh meeting Second

:40:38. > :40:42.World War veterans and he was, of the course, in the Second World War.

:40:43. > :40:48.That's George Batts from the Normandy Veterans' Association.

:40:49. > :40:55.National secretary, he landed on Gold Beach and of course, took part

:40:56. > :40:59.in the Service of Remembrance. The Duke of Edinburgh when he meets

:41:00. > :41:05.people, always puts them at their ease and I have seen this close up.

:41:06. > :41:10.He has a very easy relationship with people he meets. And they have a

:41:11. > :41:38.deep respect for him and his service too.

:41:39. > :41:50.George Batts was saying on the Normandy Veterans' Association, a

:41:51. > :41:55.lot are in nursing homes and a lot are in their 90s, the Duke is now

:41:56. > :42:08.meeting the Australian veterans. The Australian Prime Minister, Tony

:42:09. > :42:17.Abbott. There are 17 Australian graves in Bayeux Cemetery. And a lot

:42:18. > :42:20.of aircrew have come over with the Australian

:42:21. > :42:27.of aircrew have come over with the specifically for this event. Many

:42:28. > :42:29.of aircrew have come over with the them haven't been back to Normandy

:42:30. > :43:30.since the 1940s. The Queen is taking her time with

:43:31. > :43:39.the veterans. It is a very, very important moment for her. She is

:43:40. > :43:43.meeting and chatting to the Australian veterans, Phil Elgar,

:43:44. > :44:02.meeting and chatting to the Bill Evans and Bill Houghton and

:44:03. > :44:16.Bill Purdy. Most of them in the Royal Australian Air Force. One of

:44:17. > :44:28.them deflected German Royal Australian Air Force. One of

:44:29. > :44:33.landing sites. Bill Evans is going to tell the Queen about how he was

:44:34. > :44:52.shot down in the middle of the night in his 20th operation in July 1944.

:44:53. > :45:00.Ron on completion of Bomber Command operationstions post to Fighter

:45:01. > :45:02.Command. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for

:45:03. > :45:30.operations against the enemy. That's the New Zealand governor

:45:31. > :45:38.general. He is introducing the Queen to the New Zealand veterans that he

:45:39. > :46:15.brought with him. There are seven veterans here today.

:46:16. > :46:20.LLOW He is talking now to Fred Reilly, one of the New Zealand

:46:21. > :46:37.veterans. In Bayeux Cemetery, there are the

:46:38. > :46:56.graves of eight New Zealand men. One of them was a seaman. The rest were

:46:57. > :47:19.aircrew. The New Zealand Air Force providing vital support in the 1944

:47:20. > :47:29.invasion. One of the veterans the Queen is being introduced to is a

:47:30. > :47:39.lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves.

:47:40. > :47:50.The New Zealand aircrew, which are buried in Bayeux, were three men in

:47:51. > :47:54.two separate planes. They were shot down the day after one another. I

:47:55. > :48:16.passed their graves yesterday. They died on 11th and 12th June 1944.

:48:17. > :48:27.Brigadier David Baines, the Normandy Veterans' Association president. He

:48:28. > :48:46.laid a wreath during the Service of Remembrance.

:48:47. > :48:56.Among the veterans the Queen is being introduced to is a member of

:48:57. > :49:00.the Yorkshire Regiment and a member of the younger generation there. It

:49:01. > :49:06.is always lovely to see children at these services. There have been a

:49:07. > :49:13.lot. I met a school party from Guildford who were looking around

:49:14. > :49:18.the graves yesterday and one about ten said, "We really appreciate what

:49:19. > :49:23.these men did because without them, we wouldn't be here." They had met

:49:24. > :49:36.veterans and said they told us shocking stories and I was heart

:49:37. > :49:41.broken. At the 65th commemorations here, there was a school party and

:49:42. > :49:49.they held aloft signs that said, "The young do care and we do

:49:50. > :50:02.remember." The Standards Honour Guard as the Queen leaves the

:50:03. > :50:05.cemetery. Since the service finished HRH The Prince of Wales and the

:50:06. > :50:12.Duchess of Cornwall have been meeting veterans. A great

:50:13. > :50:16.opportunity for them to circulate among them and they've left a lot of

:50:17. > :50:28.time to do that today which the veterans will really appreciate. I'm

:50:29. > :50:35.sure seeing HRH The Prince of Wales when he is saluted showing his

:50:36. > :50:39.respect to those who thought fought and those who died in the Normandy,

:50:40. > :50:52.how much he will appreciate talking to them too. He is saluted showing

:50:53. > :51:08.his respect to those who The Duke of Edinburgh is now

:51:09. > :51:18.departing. The cemetery and they have many engagements for the rest

:51:19. > :51:28.of the day. They will be going to a lunch at a nearby chateau and then

:51:29. > :51:34.after that to the International event at Ouistreham which will have

:51:35. > :51:37.a very different feel to what they have experienced today at Bayeux

:51:38. > :51:53.Cemetery. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess

:51:54. > :51:55.of Cornwall spending time chat to go veterans. The -- chatting to

:51:56. > :52:00.veterans. The Queen veterans. The -- chatting to

:52:01. > :52:05.lunch before that event at Ouistreham. This morning, a real

:52:06. > :52:08.moment to pause and reflecting in this most beautiful

:52:09. > :52:09.moment to pause and reflecting in settings. The service acknowledging

:52:10. > :52:18.who gave their settings. The service acknowledging

:52:19. > :52:26.were prepared to do so. 70 years ago, the men who are gathered here

:52:27. > :52:31.today were young men, facing one of the brutal and bloodiest battles of

:52:32. > :52:33.World War II, today we remember and they remember the sacrifices made

:52:34. > :52:37.for peace and for us. And Dan they remember the sacrifices made

:52:38. > :52:47.is among those men now. It is easy to forget that D-Day was

:52:48. > :52:51.a vast coalition effort. There were service personnel from many, many

:52:52. > :52:57.countries. I have been keen to find a veteran to talk to. I have been

:52:58. > :53:00.looking for Australians. You guys know how to dress. That's a fine hat

:53:01. > :53:09.you've got there, sir? Thank you. know how to dress. That's a fine hat

:53:10. > :53:14.What were you doing on D-Day? We had to get up at dawn and we did the

:53:15. > :53:21.dawn patrol. You were a Spitfire pilot, Fred? That's correct, yes.

:53:22. > :53:30.Where were you based out of? Redhill. A lot of these

:53:31. > :53:31.Where were you based out of? veterans remember coming up

:53:32. > :53:34.Where were you based out of? beaches, you saw the whole thing,

:53:35. > :53:35.Where were you based out of? you saw the beaches, what

:53:36. > :53:44.Where were you based out of? look like? I never saw so many boats

:53:45. > :54:00.thing and when the firing started and all the sparks and fireworks

:54:01. > :54:01.started, and boats sunk straightaway. We were checking the

:54:02. > :54:06.air in case any Germans were around. straightaway. We were checking the

:54:07. > :54:11.Was your job to help infantry on the ground or was your job

:54:12. > :54:17.Was your job to help infantry on the German planes? Many shoot if there

:54:18. > :54:27.was any Germans involved. Did you see many German aircraft? We got

:54:28. > :54:34.about three. You flew at dawn. You saw the beaches. Did you get up for

:54:35. > :54:40.the rest of the day? We had a rest because I was doing another dusk

:54:41. > :54:46.patrol. Was that a different one? You went over at dawn and saw the

:54:47. > :54:47.landings as they were happening. At dusk was it a different scene? It

:54:48. > :54:56.was a different scene because dusk was it a different scene? It

:54:57. > :55:03.a lot of the landing craft and - mainly we had to be careful what was

:55:04. > :55:07.going on. A, you had it take possession when you were flying in

:55:08. > :55:16.formation and making sure that nothing was attacking you. What's it

:55:17. > :55:24.like when you hear the noise of those griffin engines and you see

:55:25. > :55:30.the outline of your old fighter. What emotions does that stir up in

:55:31. > :55:34.you? Eel' not an emotional -- I'm not an emotional type, but I was

:55:35. > :55:39.emotional at the whole thing today. It has been a beautiful day? A

:55:40. > :55:48.beautiful day. In fact, I never ever thought I was going to use my hanky

:55:49. > :55:53.chief, but I needed to today. We have all been using them. We are

:55:54. > :55:56.surrounded by the 4,000 headstones in Bayeux Cemetery which is

:55:57. > :56:00.beautiful. Of course, when you travel around Normandy, you see so

:56:01. > :56:04.many of these cemeteries, you almost can't get away from them and

:56:05. > :56:07.everyone who visits them talks about their experience in them and they

:56:08. > :56:11.are places of contemplation, a place of commemoration and just beautiful

:56:12. > :56:17.places to spend some quiet time. There is one organisation that looks

:56:18. > :56:20.after the cemeteries, not just the 18 here in Normandy, but the

:56:21. > :56:25.thousands around the world. They make sure the headstones are kept in

:56:26. > :56:29.pristine condition with no difference in age, rank, religion or

:56:30. > :56:44.nationality. This is their story. The task of the

:56:45. > :56:46.Commonwealth War Graves Commission is to maintain the records and to

:56:47. > :56:48.care for the graves and memorials to 1.7 million Commonwealth war

:56:49. > :56:48.dead from both World Wars And really it was down to the vision

:56:49. > :56:59.of one man called Fabian Ware. What he discovered was that there

:57:00. > :57:02.was no organised system for recording the burial places

:57:03. > :57:05.of soldiers who had died in battle, so he went about and started to

:57:06. > :57:10.record and mark the burial places, and his work was then recognised

:57:11. > :57:14.by the Army in 1915, until in 1917, the imperial War Graves Commission

:57:15. > :57:19.was formally established by Royal Charter, and the work of the

:57:20. > :57:23.War Graves Commission really began. Nothing like this had ever

:57:24. > :57:28.been attempted before. Many of the burial places were

:57:29. > :57:31.chosen as the fighting was going on. So, here in Bayeux,

:57:32. > :57:33.there was plenty of space, and this was close to

:57:34. > :57:37.many of the field hospitals that were established

:57:38. > :57:40.very early on during the fighting. So many of the men buried here

:57:41. > :57:42.died in hospital, but many of them were brought from

:57:43. > :57:53.battlefields all across Normandy. All the cemeteries

:57:54. > :57:55.in the War Graves Commission, The same policy is implemented

:57:56. > :58:01.in many cemeteries. We are in Jerusalem Cemetery here,

:58:02. > :58:05.and it is a small cemetery, If it is a small or

:58:06. > :58:10.a very big cemetery, it is still maintained to the same

:58:11. > :58:14.standard as all other cemeteries. the first thing he will see

:58:15. > :58:18.is headstones, because the headstone

:58:19. > :58:21.is the identity of that they need to be always

:58:22. > :58:27.in good shape, the headstones. People must read the name,

:58:28. > :58:30.the regimental badge, everything in

:58:31. > :58:33.the inscription needs to be clear. And if the headstone is bad,

:58:34. > :58:36.if they get wear and tear due to the climate or

:58:37. > :58:39.a bad storm, they get replaced. They are like a battalion

:58:40. > :58:42.in an army, they all keep square and try to

:58:43. > :58:46.be straight, like they would My father worked, my brother

:58:47. > :58:55.worked, and now my son works. So we all work for the

:58:56. > :59:04.War Graves Commission. We deal with about 26,000

:59:05. > :59:08.enquiries a year. They can be by telephone, e-mail,

:59:09. > :59:10.letter. We are the first point of contact

:59:11. > :59:15.that a lot of people will have when they are trying to trace

:59:16. > :59:16.a relative's burial. You can really look back

:59:17. > :59:20.into the archives that we have, Some people do find it upsetting

:59:21. > :59:24.when they find It just astounds those that ring us

:59:25. > :59:30.that all those thousands of people have no grave, but we do

:59:31. > :59:39.commemorate them all equally. We came over on Sunday just to

:59:40. > :59:43.look at the history of the place. I think the most poignant thing

:59:44. > :59:47.is the average age of the people. The majority of them died in

:59:48. > :59:51.a two-week period in June 1944. Even though we are in the centre of

:59:52. > :59:59.the town, when you walk around, it is very,

:00:00. > :00:02.very quiet and very peaceful. You can easily just, you know,

:00:03. > :00:06.lose yourself. I think it is a fitting memorial

:00:07. > :00:09.to the people buried here. I think they are really well kept

:00:10. > :00:11.out of respect We have had a number of phone

:00:12. > :00:15.calls, even recently, from people that have been trying to

:00:16. > :00:17.trace relatives and they've actually been in Normandy at the time,

:00:18. > :00:20.saying, "I don't know which "of the cemeteries my great-grandad

:00:21. > :00:27.is buried in, can you help me?" And we can give them

:00:28. > :00:30.directions to find the grave. Physically,

:00:31. > :00:32.you can hear someone when they They're stood at

:00:33. > :00:37.the relative's grave and the emotion

:00:38. > :00:41.of that will come across as well. The men and women

:00:42. > :00:43.that we commemorate still have They make us reflect

:00:44. > :00:47.on our own lives and think about what we

:00:48. > :00:49.hold dear and our own values. And I think that's their

:00:50. > :01:13.greatest legacy today. I have got Glyn with me now. There's

:01:14. > :01:17.one particularly interesting headstone here. There are two joined

:01:18. > :01:21.together. What does this mean? This is an aircrew who were killed when

:01:22. > :01:27.their plane came down. These men served together. They died together

:01:28. > :01:29.and here they are buried together. Their remains couldn't be

:01:30. > :01:37.individually identified, but here they are laid to rest. These are

:01:38. > :01:42.Australians, aren't they? One Australian here. That is a reminder

:01:43. > :01:46.of the Commonwealth aspect. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

:01:47. > :01:50.commemorates men from across the former British Empire. We have

:01:51. > :01:54.Canadians, South Africans, Australians, New Zealanders. This is

:01:55. > :01:59.very exciting. I have never seen this before. You have also got

:02:00. > :02:12.Allies - in fact, you have Italians who, of course, at that stage, and

:02:13. > :02:17.Soviet and Czech forces? That's right. The Commonwealth War Graves

:02:18. > :02:21.Commission commemorates many men and women from other nationalities. The

:02:22. > :02:24.headstones are roughly the same dimensions. Each are shaped

:02:25. > :02:28.differently. That reflects each individual nation. We have Soviet

:02:29. > :02:37.forces, Czech forces, many Poles here, too. When I come to these

:02:38. > :02:42.places, I would think what were two Czechs doing here? Rome had been

:02:43. > :02:46.taken the day before D-Day? It is a reminder of how international the

:02:47. > :02:49.effort was, not only on D-Day, but throughout the Normandy Campaign

:02:50. > :02:54.which followed. I must say when I come to these cemeteries, I do get

:02:55. > :02:59.choked up when I look on the British graves, there are these dedications,

:03:00. > :03:03.or inscriptions. Are the families able to choose? That's right. The

:03:04. > :03:07.families submitted the inscriptions to the Commission to be included.

:03:08. > :03:12.There is a limited number of characters and lines that can be

:03:13. > :03:18.used. You get an incredible variety of different sentiments. Sometimes

:03:19. > :03:22.there are biblical quotations or lines of poetry and messages on

:03:23. > :03:28.behalf of the families to the men. That is poignant. This is a very sad

:03:29. > :03:34.one here. "In proud and loving memory, beloved husband of Ivy."

:03:35. > :03:40.Some of the guys on D-Day weren't 19 or 20-year-olds, they had families.

:03:41. > :03:47.This one was 34? The youngest was 17, the oldest 58. There's one here

:03:48. > :03:51.that is interesting. A reminder of the different nations even within

:03:52. > :03:57.the British Isles who took part in D-Day - this one is in Gallic?

:03:58. > :04:01.That's right. Again, it is a reminder of the variety of the

:04:02. > :04:05.forces that took part, not only in terms of international forces, but

:04:06. > :04:10.within the British forces, too. When this was set up, we have seen the

:04:11. > :04:16.veterans today, the impact coming here has on them. When it was set

:04:17. > :04:20.up, did people think it would become a place of pilgrimage where veterans

:04:21. > :04:24.could go back and remember? Absolutely. That was the founding

:04:25. > :04:27.principle of the Commission. Back then, the way that the Commission

:04:28. > :04:32.commemorated these men and women was very original. The idea that you

:04:33. > :04:36.would have the same headstone regardless of class, or race, or

:04:37. > :04:40.creed or religion. For the day, it was very unusual. Today, we have

:04:41. > :04:45.generals commemorated in the same way as privates. I suppose there is

:04:46. > :04:51.a big question - we have seen the veterans come back in an official

:04:52. > :04:55.way for the last time today. What happens in the future? Are we going

:04:56. > :05:03.to keep looking after these? That happens in the future? Are we going

:05:04. > :05:09.the Charter, and as you will see on the Stone of Remembrance, the words

:05:10. > :05:13.that Rudyard Kipling chose, "Their name liveth forever more." That is

:05:14. > :05:17.what the Commission will be doing for years to come. Thank you.

:05:18. > :05:26.STUDIO: Scenes in Bayeux that will live long in the memory from the

:05:27. > :05:30.solemnity of the service to the nice informal scenes, the Queen and the

:05:31. > :05:41.Duke of Edinburgh mixing with the veterans. We are back in

:05:42. > :05:44.Arromanches. I asked you for messages and for anecdotes a short

:05:45. > :05:49.while ago, before the service started. I have to say, you have

:05:50. > :05:53.done us proud. I'm going to select a few. There are lots of really nice

:05:54. > :05:57.things that people are sharing with us. I will start with Angus Cameron.

:05:58. > :06:05.Thank you for sending this in. You were talking to your aunt last week.

:06:06. > :06:10.She was a WREN working deep underground in Dover Castle, she

:06:11. > :06:16.knew history was being made. She finished her shift just after dawn,

:06:17. > :06:21.climbed the stairs, and she was greeted by the massed invasion fleet

:06:22. > :06:26.in the Channel. Thousands of ships all heading to France and the sky

:06:27. > :06:29.dark with planes. She said, "It was breathtaking and sobering too to

:06:30. > :06:32.know that many of the young men aboard the ships would not return

:06:33. > :06:45.home to their family." Thank you for that. John Healey talking about his

:06:46. > :06:51.father-in-law, Edward Robinson, 20-years-of-age. His father-in-law -

:06:52. > :06:55."He is now 90, although his memory is not what it was, his memories are

:06:56. > :07:00.still vivid." I am going to do one more for you. This is moving.

:07:01. > :07:06.Josephine Williams telling us about Ivor Gibson, her uncle. He was

:07:07. > :07:10.landing on Sword Beach on D-Day helping to liberate that part of

:07:11. > :07:14.Normandy. Very hurt that he can't be here today. Missing out on the

:07:15. > :07:20.presentations. But watching near his bed. Mr Gibson, we are thinking of

:07:21. > :07:25.you today and we hope that you are part of the events through our

:07:26. > :07:29.coverage today. Thank you, Josephine, for that. Let's look

:07:30. > :07:33.outside. This is Arromanches. That is the main square, which you can

:07:34. > :07:34.see in front of us. They are getting ready for that British event, that

:07:35. > :07:37.parade, at the end of the day. And ready for that British event, that

:07:38. > :07:42.parade, at the end of the day. there we are, lots of chairs laid out

:07:43. > :07:45.already. It looks quite empty now. There were lots more earlier for the

:07:46. > :07:51.Dutch event. If we look a few yards away on to the beach, there you see

:07:52. > :07:55.in wonderful sunshine - we couldn't have hoped for better weather. The

:07:56. > :07:57.flags fluttering in the breeze. We have some interesting craft on the

:07:58. > :08:00.beach. James Holland is still with me. The author and historian. These

:08:01. > :08:04.beach. James Holland is still with me. The author and historian. craft

:08:05. > :08:07.are interesting. Tell us about the landing craft themselves. We are

:08:08. > :08:15.going to look at one of them. What is going on? This one is a landing

:08:16. > :08:17.craft utility. This would be for the Royal Marines Commandos. You would

:08:18. > :08:24.get 120 men on that. Royal Marines Commandos. You would

:08:25. > :08:27.get 120 men on And four Viking armoured personnel carriers as well.

:08:28. > :08:35.That is a standard assault vessel of the age. They date back to 2002. It

:08:36. > :08:40.is interesting, looking at Arromanches - it is worth reflecting

:08:41. > :08:43.on that. Before we came into the studio today, a kind friend handed

:08:44. > :08:49.this to me. Let's have a look at this. This is a posh guide to

:08:50. > :08:54.Northern France and this dates from 1909. The reason I have got this is

:08:55. > :08:57.because I want to tell you that Arromanches today attracts many,

:08:58. > :09:06.many people for obvious reasons, for the D-Day heritage. In 1909, in this

:09:07. > :09:10.book, it merits half a line. It says this, "To Arromanches, a pretty

:09:11. > :09:15.situated bathing resort." That is it. That is all we have. Of course,

:09:16. > :09:20.Arromanches today is right at the heart of the D-Day heritage trail,

:09:21. > :09:27.some 300,000 visitors to the museum. But if you look at the Normandy

:09:28. > :09:32.coastline and the D-Day centres along the coastline, some five

:09:33. > :09:40.million visitors coming along. Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, Utah and

:09:41. > :09:46.the town of Bayeux and Caen. Five million people visiting this area in

:09:47. > :09:49.an average year. In years like this, special anniversaries, the 70th this

:09:50. > :09:55.year of course, we are talking about a big surge in those who come along

:09:56. > :09:58.here. So that is where we are. That is the setting for you, if you like,

:09:59. > :10:06.and the way that Arromanches has been transformed from a tiny little,

:10:07. > :10:10.really unheard of place in 1909, to being one of the most famous places

:10:11. > :10:14.in France today. We are going to think now about the memories of the

:10:15. > :10:18.veterans have been sharing. We saw some of them chatting to the Duke of

:10:19. > :10:22.Edinburgh earlier and the Queen. I have no doubt they were sharing some

:10:23. > :10:54.of those memories with them. Those memories still very vivid.

:10:55. > :10:57.When you select a target, you curl your finger around the trigger,

:10:58. > :11:00.take the first pressure, then the second pressure, and the man falls,

:11:01. > :11:03.at that precise moment, you may well have made a wife a widow, children

:11:04. > :11:09.It's not just the men that die, it's what's left.

:11:10. > :11:12.I must have felt that it was worth it, because the alternative

:11:13. > :11:28.And we were all aware that we might get killed at one time or another.

:11:29. > :11:31.After 70 years, one tends to forget, or wants to

:11:32. > :11:36.forget, and I want to forget the things that happened 70 years ago.

:11:37. > :11:44.But I'm glad that it's all gone and it's all in the past,

:11:45. > :11:52.I think there was a philosopher said at one time,

:11:53. > :12:01.or somebody, better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

:12:02. > :12:21.That's what it was about - people able to live their lives

:12:22. > :12:43.Those who don't come back, they are the heroes.

:12:44. > :12:49.That is what today is all about. It is all to do with the story of the

:12:50. > :12:55.veterans. Those clearly still with us, able to relate their experiences

:12:56. > :13:01.- and they do so so movingly. Of course, some of them not with us

:13:02. > :13:06.today. Earlier on, we saw the Prince of Wales in Bayeux, enjoying his

:13:07. > :13:09.chat with the Normandy veterans and people from across the Commonwealth.

:13:10. > :13:15.We have seen representatives from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

:13:16. > :13:21.Other countries, too, represented. People from Germany, people from

:13:22. > :13:26.Italy. 19 nations represented at the event at Bayeux this morning. It was

:13:27. > :13:29.lovely to see the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh spending a lot of times

:13:30. > :13:33.with the veterans asking them questions. Now, we see Charles and

:13:34. > :13:41.Camilla doing the same thing. The Prince, who has been very busy for

:13:42. > :13:44.the last 24 hours or so, in events yesterday at Ranville, and toasting

:13:45. > :13:49.the success of the people who came in overnight, those who prepared the

:13:50. > :13:56.way, if you like. And spoke very movingly there and took part in the

:13:57. > :14:01.service at Bayeux and gave a reading at Bayeux this morning. That is the

:14:02. > :14:07.end of that event in Bayeux at the War Cemetery. More than 4,000 people

:14:08. > :14:11.buried there. I'm going to talk a bit about the beach where most of

:14:12. > :14:14.the casualties happened, that is Omaha. That is where the most

:14:15. > :14:20.intense fighting took place on D-Day. So, if we see it, it is

:14:21. > :14:25.second from the left there. And when we talk about Omaha, we are talking

:14:26. > :14:30.about a beach that is six miles wide, the biggest of all the

:14:31. > :14:34.beaches. Overlooked by cliffs which made attack very difficult. The

:14:35. > :14:41.Americans faced the formidable German defences built by Rommel, the

:14:42. > :14:47.famous dragon's teeth on the beach as they were called, designed to

:14:48. > :14:51.destroy any landing craft. There were big gun emplacements and lots

:14:52. > :15:02.of challenges. James is still with me. And we are joined, too, by the

:15:03. > :15:06.military historian, Roderick Bailey. Omaha is, in many ways, when you

:15:07. > :15:11.read the accounts, it is the most terrifying. What is your account of

:15:12. > :15:16.Omaha and why it proved to be such a difficult one, James? The

:15:17. > :15:21.interesting thing - Omaha does define D-Day for an awful lot of

:15:22. > :15:30.people. That's been exaggerated by films such as Saving Private Ryan

:15:31. > :15:38.and those 11 photographs by Robert Kapper. The point is - that is when

:15:39. > :15:42.it was really terrible, in the initial wave. You have these cliffs

:15:43. > :15:46.overlooking. They are not very high. They curve down and, of course,

:15:47. > :15:51.anyone on those has They curve down and, of course,

:15:52. > :15:54.field of fire for the attackers. It causes a whole lot of problems if

:15:55. > :16:00.you are defending it as well because there is no escape. Anyone offshore

:16:01. > :16:08.can see you because they curve down towards the sea. Even the most

:16:09. > :16:18.heavily-defended strong points - one of the biggest ones is WN62 - it is

:16:19. > :16:19.still only manned by 41 people. You are talking about comparatively few

:16:20. > :16:23.numbers. The initial slaughter are talking about comparatively few

:16:24. > :16:27.terrible. But it quickly becomes a lot easier. So you get

:16:28. > :16:30.terrible. But it quickly becomes a casualties in the first wave. That

:16:31. > :16:34.goes down to 30%. Then subsequent waves a lot lower than that.

:16:35. > :16:38.goes down to 30%. Then subsequent first strong points are falling

:16:39. > :16:45.about 9.00 and by midday, it is all over. Interesting to see the images.

:16:46. > :16:50.We will keep on watching them. Roderick, your perspective on Omaha

:16:51. > :16:57.and what went right and want went wrong? James referred to the terrain

:16:58. > :17:01.being a formidable obstacle. There was a combination of factors that

:17:02. > :17:04.did go wrong. The aerial bombardment beforehand which should have taken

:17:05. > :17:09.out some of the fortifications, it was too far inland. A lot of the

:17:10. > :17:12.fortifications were left untouched. They were extremely strong. The sea

:17:13. > :17:17.bombardment as well went too far inland and there was a concern

:17:18. > :17:20.because the weather was so poor that the shells could drop short and hit

:17:21. > :17:25.the Americans as they were landing. Was there any option or any thought

:17:26. > :17:30.at any stage not to do Omaha? Was there any strategic - I read

:17:31. > :17:33.somewhere that Bradley thought they could drop this as an option because

:17:34. > :17:42.it was so challenging. Was that realistic? What would have happened

:17:43. > :17:46.had he done so? There was a Royal Navy detachment, Special Forces, and

:17:47. > :17:56.a two-man team went out on New Year's Eve. As long as that... Yes,

:17:57. > :18:01.and they went over in a midget submarine and crept out on to the

:18:02. > :18:08.beach. The reason for going on New Year's Eve was that would be when

:18:09. > :18:18.the Germans would be partying. When he came back, they had to do a

:18:19. > :18:26.report. They saw General Bradley and Bradley said, "I know, my boy." Any

:18:27. > :18:29.amphibious assault is an operation fraught with risk and people are

:18:30. > :18:33.going to get killed and wounded. When you look at the sequence of

:18:34. > :18:38.beaches and the way we have described the layout. If you take -

:18:39. > :18:43.if you had taken Omaha out of that equation, could D-Day have worked? I

:18:44. > :18:48.think so. Omaha itself is so different to the other beaches. It

:18:49. > :18:52.was a key beach between Gold and Utah and the American parachutists.

:18:53. > :18:57.The purpose of Omaha was to link up the beaches. That had to be done to

:18:58. > :19:00.keep in touch with Utah and reinforce the Americans and keep in

:19:01. > :19:06.contact with them in the east. It was a tough call. One of the things

:19:07. > :19:12.they learned from 1943 is that if you have your invasion forces too

:19:13. > :19:16.far apart, it gets very difficult to link that bridgehead. The most

:19:17. > :19:19.important thing of all is to build-up enough troops quickly

:19:20. > :19:25.enough so that you have that force there that when the Germans - as and

:19:26. > :19:28.when the Germans do a concerted counterattack, you have enough to

:19:29. > :19:32.see that off. You need your bridgehead to link together so there

:19:33. > :19:35.is no real way - you could have taken out Omaha, but it would have

:19:36. > :19:41.been fraught with all sorts of problems. Given what happened on

:19:42. > :19:45.Omaha, are we in a position now, 70 years on, to say we know how many

:19:46. > :19:49.people lost their lives on D-Day, we know how many casualties there were?

:19:50. > :19:57.Are we far more certain about those statistics than we used to be? That

:19:58. > :20:03.is a very good question. A lot of the statistics cover a period. A lot

:20:04. > :20:09.of wounded were taken back to the UK. No real casualty lists were

:20:10. > :20:13.taken on 6th June. Recent research in the States suggests the

:20:14. > :20:18.casualties on Omaha were higher than the 2,000 or 3,000 people have

:20:19. > :20:24.estimated. James? The latest figures are suggesting that there were 4,414

:20:25. > :20:29.dead on D-Day and I would imagine that is about as accurate as we can

:20:30. > :20:34.ever hope to get. Because of all the problems... That is more what we

:20:35. > :20:39.used to report? It is. Having said that, worst case scenario was 30,000

:20:40. > :20:44.casualties for D-Day, which they were prepared to absorb. The famous

:20:45. > :20:51.line from Churchill... Exactly. It was about a third of that. D-Day was

:20:52. > :20:55.always going to be tough. And things - it doesn't matter how much

:20:56. > :20:59.preparation you have. It is such a complicated operation and things are

:21:00. > :21:04.going to go wrong. Your amphibious tanks will come in at 45 degrees,

:21:05. > :21:09.bombers will go over. You can't think of everything. The weather

:21:10. > :21:16.plays a part. There was a big wind. That makes life difficult when you

:21:17. > :21:21.are flying at low level. There's all sorts of things to factor in. The

:21:22. > :21:25.miracle of D-Day is that, broadly speaking, all the major objectives

:21:26. > :21:30.are taken - the flanks are secured, all the beaches are taken, no-one is

:21:31. > :21:35.thrown back into the sea, the build-up of troops is every bit as

:21:36. > :21:41.fast as they hope. OK, we don't get to Caen on day one. The actual area

:21:42. > :21:48.that they are hoping to capture isn't as big. The Canadians do best

:21:49. > :21:51.on Juno. They are the ones that make the biggest bridgehead around that

:21:52. > :21:56.beach. In a moment, we will hear from one of the Americans who was on

:21:57. > :22:03.Omaha on the day. Before we hear from him, one final point, Roderick.

:22:04. > :22:08.When D-Day happened, the expectation was that, as you say, Omaha would

:22:09. > :22:12.present the biggest challenges, or at least one of them. So, in that

:22:13. > :22:16.sense, did the result at the end of the day in terms of casualties and

:22:17. > :22:22.the balance of casualties, did it work out as people had foreseen? You

:22:23. > :22:26.had all but one of the beach heads had been linked very soon, so that

:22:27. > :22:32.was part of it, part of the success of the day. You had lodgements,

:22:33. > :22:36.troops ashore on every beach head. Bradley stopped pushing people in

:22:37. > :22:39.into Omaha and did wonder about taking survivors off and putting

:22:40. > :22:46.them somewhere else. That didn't happen. Omaha was taken. So, the

:22:47. > :22:50.aims were taken. Caen wasn't taken and Bayeux had to wait until the

:22:51. > :22:55.next day. This was a lot of progress. Now that we have discussed

:22:56. > :22:59.Omaha, it is worth listening to what one of the Omaha survivors told us

:23:00. > :23:29.about his experiences on that day. My rank was private. We landed on

:23:30. > :23:33.Omaha Beach. The smallest, but most heavily-defended sector. Everybody

:23:34. > :23:37.around me was getting killed. As we were running across the beach, the

:23:38. > :23:41.man on my right got shot in the chest. The man on my left got shot

:23:42. > :23:49.in the chest. So, there was death all around me. I got shot in the

:23:50. > :24:00.rifle. It fired once. It broke in two pieces. And just then, a shell

:24:01. > :24:07.went off in front of me. For 32 hour, I suffered five serious

:24:08. > :24:13.wounds. I figured there is no sense of - I might as well keep fighting.

:24:14. > :24:18.I went out to get a Sergeant off the battlefield and I got three pieces

:24:19. > :24:24.of shrapnel in the left side of my helmet into my skull. When I left

:24:25. > :24:32.the beach, I received a bullet through my left foot.

:24:33. > :24:43.At 12.30am, I received a bullet wound through my left upper lip to

:24:44. > :24:47.take out my right upper jaw. The reason I kept on, I didn't think

:24:48. > :24:53.they would be able to put me back together and I just saw all my

:24:54. > :25:02.friends get killed on the beach. I wanted revenge. I wanted to keep

:25:03. > :25:08.fighting. At 11.00am, a sniper, or snipers, opened up on the wounded.

:25:09. > :25:17.When they came to me and shot me in the right knee. The next one was

:25:18. > :25:23.going through HERE, but the destroyer got rid of the German

:25:24. > :25:33.snipers. The knee injury was number five and I was evacuated after that.

:25:34. > :25:41.I think the Lord was watching over me. I prayed on the beach. I figured

:25:42. > :25:45.there was a mission for me. I found out later, one of the reasons for me

:25:46. > :25:51.being saved was I became a physician and I saved a lot of lives.

:25:52. > :26:02.STUDIO: Such a compelling account there. We will stay with Omaha and

:26:03. > :26:06.the American account of events because there are special events and

:26:07. > :26:10.commemorations taking place all over Normandy. We are covering them. The

:26:11. > :26:14.Americans have been holding their own ceremonies and just a short

:26:15. > :26:15.while ago, President Obama was there and he's been addressing the

:26:16. > :26:35.veterans. Republic, Francois Hollande and the

:26:36. > :26:44.president of the United States of America, Barack Obama. It is our

:26:45. > :26:47.privilege to welcome all the visitors here today. We extend

:26:48. > :26:51.special mention for the visitors here today. We extend

:26:52. > :26:56.D-Day veterans and all those who honour us with their presence.

:26:57. > :27:00.Today, we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings

:27:01. > :27:16.which began on the morning of June the morning of June six, 1944.

:27:17. > :27:22.TRANSLATION: We will never forget. We will never forget the sacrifice

:27:23. > :27:25.of the American servicemen. Mr President, we are the children and

:27:26. > :27:35.grandchildren of this great generation. Long live America. Long

:27:36. > :27:37.live France. Long live the memory of those who lost their lives here

:27:38. > :28:01.today for our freedom. President Hollande, the people of

:28:02. > :28:09.France, friends, family, our veterans,

:28:10. > :28:14.If prayer were made of sound, the skies over England that night would

:28:15. > :28:26.have deafened the world. Captains paced their decks. Pilots

:28:27. > :28:32.tapped their gauges. Commanders pored over maps, fully aware that

:28:33. > :28:41.for all the months of meticulous planning, everything could go wrong:

:28:42. > :28:48.the winds, the tides, the element of surprise - and above all, the

:28:49. > :28:53.audacious bet that what waited on the other side of the Channel would

:28:54. > :29:04.compel men not to shrink away, but to charge ahead.

:29:05. > :29:11.Fresh-faced GIs rubbed trinkets, kissed pictures of sweethearts,

:29:12. > :29:17.checked and re-checked their equipment.

:29:18. > :29:21."God," asked one, "Give "God," asked one, "Give

:29:22. > :29:39.me guts." And in the pre-dawn hours, planes rumbled down runways, gliders

:29:40. > :29:42.whenever the world makes you cynical, stop and think of these

:29:43. > :30:03.men. Wilson, Harry, and Rock are here

:30:04. > :30:07.today, and I would ask them - along with our veterans of D-Day - if you

:30:08. > :30:09.can, please stand. If not, please raise your hand and let us recognise

:30:10. > :30:15.your service. These men waged war so that we might

:30:16. > :30:19.know peace. They sacrificed so that we might be free. They fought in

:30:20. > :30:19.hopes of a day when we'd no longer need to.

:30:20. > :31:31.Gentlemen, I want each of you to A very powerful message from

:31:32. > :31:35.President Obama who has been spending time with the American

:31:36. > :31:38.veterans at Omaha and not just commending their courage and

:31:39. > :31:43.remembering those who did not survive, especially in those first

:31:44. > :31:47.waves, but really recognising all the support of family and friends

:31:48. > :31:52.over the years who kept alive the heritage of D-Day, if you like, and

:31:53. > :31:57.not allowed people to forget what happened 70 years ago. We are

:31:58. > :32:01.Arromanches and we're looking forward to the events of this

:32:02. > :32:04.afternoon. We will have a very moving parade, the Normandy

:32:05. > :32:08.Veterans' Association gathering here for the last time formally, before

:32:09. > :32:12.they disband. They are elderly gentleman, there are fewer of them,

:32:13. > :32:17.they are increasingly fragile, so they have taken the decision to do

:32:18. > :32:21.something in a dignified and formal way. They will disband the

:32:22. > :32:25.organisation later this year. We are in a position to say this is the

:32:26. > :32:47.last time the association will take part in a formal parade here in

:32:48. > :32:49.Arromanches. That is why the day is so special. And that is why, if you

:32:50. > :32:51.look outside, there are thousands of people who are still gathering here

:32:52. > :33:03.in Arromanches. They are getting ready for the

:33:04. > :33:06.march-past on Gold Beach. A bit of a party atmosphere, really, to be

:33:07. > :33:10.honest. Of course, people are here to pay respects and to show a great

:33:11. > :33:15.deal of admiration for what was achieved 70 years ago. But they are

:33:16. > :33:19.here to enjoy, too. James and Roderick are still with me. When we

:33:20. > :33:23.look at these scenes now, James, it is - there is a bit of a happy

:33:24. > :33:27.atmosphere, too? It is a celebration more than anything else? It really

:33:28. > :33:33.is. I love the fact that there are still a few children down there

:33:34. > :33:43.making sandcastles. That's right. They are not going to be distracted

:33:44. > :33:46.from their sandcastle-making! I'm interesting - I mentioned Gold

:33:47. > :33:51.Beach. There will be lots of people at home who will know all of this -

:33:52. > :33:58.but some won't. It is useful for us to dwell on some of the interesting

:33:59. > :34:08.aspects of how this D-Day scheme was devised, how they got to these names

:34:09. > :34:14.- Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword. How difficult a process was choosing

:34:15. > :34:18.the beaches? They had to find somewhere the Germans wouldn't

:34:19. > :34:22.suspect. They had to find a large enough area where you could land

:34:23. > :34:27.multiple divisions within several hours and you can form a huge

:34:28. > :34:36.lodgement area from which you can push further into Europe. I suppose

:34:37. > :34:41.I would say, cheekily, if it was that obvious the Germans would have

:34:42. > :34:44.clocked it! The Germans are guilty throughout the war of viewing

:34:45. > :34:49.conflict through their own narrow prism of experience. The Germans

:34:50. > :34:54.don't really do amphibious invasions very often. They don't have landing

:34:55. > :34:57.craft so they don't assume landing craft can land enough men and

:34:58. > :35:04.supplies and materials to sustain it. The British get round that, of

:35:05. > :35:09.course, by having the sheer nerve to dream up the enormous Mulberry

:35:10. > :35:13.harbours, the survivor of which we can still see behind us. We will

:35:14. > :35:18.talk more about these harbours later on. You can see them dotted in the

:35:19. > :35:21.background there. These big blocks of concrete which are still there.

:35:22. > :35:24.That is what we mean by - a floating harbour, if you like?

:35:25. > :35:31.That is what we mean by - a floating two that were built. The size of

:35:32. > :35:34.That is what we mean by - a floating Dover - it's a pretty big place.

:35:35. > :35:40.They are floated across the Channel. On top of that, the beaches are so

:35:41. > :35:45.wide, they are so deep that that enables landing craft to come on.

:35:46. > :35:50.Across all the invasion beaches, they dropped temporary breakwaters,

:35:51. > :35:53.Across all the invasion beaches, old unused vessels that they don't

:35:54. > :35:56.longer need, they sink them to create a breakwater. Behind that,

:35:57. > :36:02.you can bring in your landing craft. That is going on at all the invasion

:36:03. > :36:06.beaches. There we have it, when you walk along Gold Beach, that is what

:36:07. > :36:11.you come across. It's a very bulky reminder of what is going on. Let's

:36:12. > :36:13.look at what is going on in Bayeux. We have a special fly-past. What are

:36:14. > :36:30.these, James? These are Spitfires. It's the stuff that brings the hairs

:36:31. > :36:34.on the back of your neck up. I never tire of seeing them. They are just

:36:35. > :36:40.absolutely magnificent. The great thing about the Spitfire is it was

:36:41. > :36:51.there in 1939 and it was still there in 1935. We see it as an important

:36:52. > :36:54.contributor to the ultimate victory and the importance that Britain

:36:55. > :37:00.played in air power throughout the war. I believe we have one which is

:37:01. > :37:05.a fighter, the other took part in photo reconnaissance missions. We

:37:06. > :37:09.should really log the fact that photo reconnaissance played an

:37:10. > :37:14.important part in the run-up to D-Day? Very much so. There were

:37:15. > :37:16.famous photographs taken of the beaches with German soldiers

:37:17. > :37:20.famous photographs taken of the for cover as the aircraft came in

:37:21. > :37:32.very low. These are key for the planning. They are covering every

:37:33. > :37:35.inch of 6,000 miles of coastline from Norway down to the south of

:37:36. > :37:42.France. They did that because they didn't want to concentrate on one

:37:43. > :37:45.area? Germans are going to spot a reconnaissance plane and they want

:37:46. > :37:51.to keep the Germans guessing. Just because you see a reconnaissance

:37:52. > :37:55.plane, it doesn't mean that is where the Allies are going to land, so you

:37:56. > :38:00.have to cover all bases. When you look at the photographs, the detail

:38:01. > :38:04.is incredible. You have brilliant people who are trained to examine

:38:05. > :38:08.these in detail. The detail on the maps that are produced from the back

:38:09. > :38:15.of these photographs, I have seen - the other day I was looking at one

:38:16. > :38:21.of Gold Beach, where 50th Division were landing. Every single

:38:22. > :38:29.machine-gun post, wire mine is all labelled on it. Incredible. It is

:38:30. > :38:36.important as well, Roderick, the whole issue about supremacy in the

:38:37. > :38:39.air, which clearly had been properly established in the Battle of

:38:40. > :38:43.Britain. By D-Day that is crucial. If there had been any threat from

:38:44. > :38:49.the Germans, in that sense, it would have looked very different? Yes,

:38:50. > :38:53.absolutely. On D-Day, there was no Luftwaffe presence over the beaches

:38:54. > :38:55.whatsoever. This was partly as a result of a huge amount

:38:56. > :39:00.whatsoever. This was partly as a result of a huge of work that had

:39:01. > :39:06.been done running up to these events. A great deal of work. It is

:39:07. > :39:08.worth putting it in perspective. If you think about the

:39:09. > :39:11.worth putting it in perspective. If Battle of Britain, the bomber force

:39:12. > :39:17.of the Luftwaffe, you are talking about 1,500 aircraft. By the time of

:39:18. > :39:23.D-Day, we have got just shy of 12,000 aircraft in operation on

:39:24. > :39:27.D-Day itself. I once interviewed a German Luftwaffe pilot who flew

:39:28. > :39:33.here. He took off twice on D-Day, about 30 miles inland. He had a

:39:34. > :39:39.quick look around and landed back down in very quick order! There will

:39:40. > :39:43.be a few more fly-pasts later today involving more aircraft from the

:39:44. > :39:47.Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which, obviously, is a very

:39:48. > :39:55.prominent part of lots of these traditional days and when we have

:39:56. > :40:01.the Queen's Birthday Parade next week. The history of the flight, I

:40:02. > :40:06.also find that interesting. It was down to Peter Thompson in the late

:40:07. > :40:12.'50s who single-handedly made it happen. He realised that these great

:40:13. > :40:16.old aircraft were in danger of disappearing, nobody was looking

:40:17. > :40:24.after them. He decided he wanted to create an historical flight. No

:40:25. > :40:29.public money. Amazing. In those days, voluntary effort, no public

:40:30. > :40:38.money. Had it not been for him, in the '50s, we probably wouldn't be

:40:39. > :40:41.seeing them now. There's probably about 50 airworthy Spitfires in the

:40:42. > :40:48.world. There are probably 75 or so that could be flown. It is a hell of

:40:49. > :40:53.a number. The tragedy for me - where is the P47? Where is the

:40:54. > :41:05.rocket-firing Typhoons? It would be wonderful to see one of those. I do

:41:06. > :41:09.remember talking to a great British fighter ace, an incredible man, he

:41:10. > :41:17.said, "Why didn't we box up six of everything?" You can't help sharing

:41:18. > :41:23.that sentiment. Look, they are flying off into the distance. It is

:41:24. > :41:28.not our last glimpse. Later on today, the Spitfires will be back

:41:29. > :41:33.and they will be closer to us at that point. I think, also,

:41:34. > :41:40.gentlemen, we will have a Lancaster, a Dakota, too. So, that is all to

:41:41. > :41:45.come later on today. What I would like to tell you now is

:41:46. > :41:50.the Prince of Wales is still chatting to veterans. That is a

:41:51. > :41:55.lovely scene for us. Really animated, listening intently, the

:41:56. > :41:59.veterans, and he sharing some stories with them. That is a nice

:42:00. > :42:03.feature of today, the relatively informal tone that's been set after

:42:04. > :42:06.the service, obviously, and the service at the Cathedral was

:42:07. > :42:09.properly solemn and calm and tranquil and then we had the

:42:10. > :42:15.dedication of the new bell at the Cathedral. Then, we had those lovely

:42:16. > :42:20.scenes at Bayeux War Cemetery, where the Prince of Wales and the Duchess

:42:21. > :42:25.of Cornwall were there, and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh,

:42:26. > :42:31.too. The Prince of Wales has been underlining his real sense of

:42:32. > :42:36.importance about D-Day. He's wanted to underline the great gratitude

:42:37. > :42:37.that he feels everyone owes to the Normandy veterans and he's been

:42:38. > :42:44.talking to Dan Snow. What do these D-Day anniversaries

:42:45. > :42:51.mean to you? A great deal, I think. They give you a chance to reflect

:42:52. > :42:57.more than anything else on the extraordinary sacrifice and courage

:42:58. > :43:01.and resilience and determination of these remarkable people, and the

:43:02. > :43:08.huge number of course who came in the first days of the D-Day

:43:09. > :43:11.Landings. And the ones who landed, dropped here from The Parachute

:43:12. > :43:16.Regiment, of which I have been Colonel-in-Chief for 37 years or

:43:17. > :43:21.something. So, it is a very special moment, just to salute them and

:43:22. > :43:26.thank them, the ones who survived, how they did, when you think of the

:43:27. > :43:30.amount of lead flying around. Terrifying. But the fact they did is

:43:31. > :43:38.remarkable. The wonderful thing is that others want also to pay their

:43:39. > :43:41.respects, the French, and those who benefitted as a part of their

:43:42. > :43:44.sacrifice. The same thing for the rest of my family, who also have a

:43:45. > :43:49.chance to reflect and pay their respects. Commemorations in Bayeux

:43:50. > :43:53.have veterans at their heart. Are you looking forward to spending time

:43:54. > :43:58.with them? Absolutely. I realised the other day I have been coming for

:43:59. > :44:04.30 years, each ten years starting in '84 and then we came for the 65th

:44:05. > :44:11.and, of course, what is so sad is, having - I was born in 1948. I was

:44:12. > :44:22.lucky to meet a whole lot of people just after the war. Some of the very

:44:23. > :44:27.senior generals and air marshals and admirals, so I met a lot of the old

:44:28. > :44:32.boys who died long ago. But it was always fascinating to hear them talk

:44:33. > :44:36.about, if you could get them to talk about their experiences! But well

:44:37. > :44:40.worth it. Because of the historical context and what we can learn from

:44:41. > :44:46.their experience and so on and so forth. I love seeing them. They are

:44:47. > :44:52.a great generation. Your family have all served and now your sons have

:44:53. > :44:56.served, Harry saw active service in Afghanistan. Have you changed the

:44:57. > :45:03.way you view these ceremonies? Yes. In my case, I served in the Royal

:45:04. > :45:10.Navy 40-something years ago for five years. So I have some idea of what

:45:11. > :45:18.it is like. Then, when you get older - because I was in my 20s then - all

:45:19. > :45:23.these characters are 20, 18 or 19. You view the world a different way,

:45:24. > :45:27.you think you are indestructible. Later on, you get to the stage of

:45:28. > :45:34.being a parent and then, you know, getting older and reflecting and

:45:35. > :45:38.then they go away, my two, Harry was in Afghanistan twice. As a parent,

:45:39. > :45:46.of course, you do, you worry like hell. When you are young, you get on

:45:47. > :45:55.with it. That at least helps me to understand a bit what so many of our

:45:56. > :46:00.families have put up with over the time our forces have been involved

:46:01. > :46:07.in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, yes, it does help a lot to have that sort of

:46:08. > :46:10.closeness of understanding and an involvement, which I have had all my

:46:11. > :46:14.life with the armed forces. The New Zealand veterans at Bayeux are a

:46:15. > :46:19.reminder of the huge coalition of nations that took part on D-Day,

:46:20. > :46:23.many of them in the Commonwealth? And an enormous Canadian effort. I

:46:24. > :46:29.know because I am also Colonel-in-Chief of a large number

:46:30. > :46:36.of Canadian regiments - and I have been for 37 years. I was in Canada a

:46:37. > :46:41.of Canadian regiments - and I have few weeks ago. All that Commonwealth

:46:42. > :46:43.contribution was really remarkable when you think about it. They played

:46:44. > :46:58.such an important part. commemorations, and this is probably

:46:59. > :47:04.the last one for the D-Day landings, does give an opportunity

:47:05. > :47:09.as well to pay tribute to so many of the French people who suffered so

:47:10. > :47:15.much during that invasion. A lot of destruction but they also supported

:47:16. > :47:19.and helped the Allies in so many different ways. And again, in

:47:20. > :47:23.particular, the Resistance who played such a crucial part and

:47:24. > :47:30.sacrificed so much in the course of the war and the horrors they went

:47:31. > :47:34.through. It is really a special opportunity just to remember and say

:47:35. > :47:39.a prayer of thankfulness for all these people and what they

:47:40. > :47:42.contributed to us and our future. Thank you very much, your Royal

:47:43. > :47:48.Highness. The Prince of Wales talking earlier

:47:49. > :47:51.to Dan Snow and reflecting on the significance of this 70th

:47:52. > :47:55.anniversary and talking a little bit about his family perspective and of

:47:56. > :47:59.course, his strong links with the armed forces which go back after

:48:00. > :48:03.century really. And of course, when you think of the Duke of

:48:04. > :48:06.Edinburgh's record as well in the Armed Forces, the link is very

:48:07. > :48:13.strong, the bond is free strong indeed. Here in Arromanches I have

:48:14. > :48:17.to say it is a very warm day. I am not complaining, it is very sunny,

:48:18. > :48:22.but I am thinking of the veterans who will be standing outside for the

:48:23. > :48:28.parade which will take place outside here on the square. In the distance

:48:29. > :48:31.you can see the D-Day Museum here in Arromanches and that is where the

:48:32. > :48:38.Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be visiting a little later on today.

:48:39. > :48:41.They will be taking a salute when the Normandy veterans are on their

:48:42. > :48:45.parade at the end of the day. That will be in the early evening here in

:48:46. > :48:49.Arromanches. That is the thing we are building up to, if you like, at

:48:50. > :48:53.the end of the day. That is after the big international event in the

:48:54. > :49:02.afternoon. We will join Anita Rani now. She is at Ouistreham just above

:49:03. > :49:11.Sword Beach, one of the two British beaches. That is the coastal end to

:49:12. > :49:17.the approach of the city of Caen. David, what does it mean to be here

:49:18. > :49:21.for the 70th anniversary? It is a real experience. I think about what

:49:22. > :49:27.went on in this particular town. We were further up the coast but to

:49:28. > :49:30.think about what happened here. I am most amazed by the friendship and

:49:31. > :49:39.the feeling we are getting from the people. Only in two days, it has

:49:40. > :49:45.made a terrific impact. The people of Normandy are very warm-hearted.

:49:46. > :49:49.Beautiful people. I met a lady today who came up to me and put her arms

:49:50. > :49:54.around me. I think I was more thrilled than she was. She was 92!

:49:55. > :50:01.How does that make you feel when that happens? It warms your heart.

:50:02. > :50:07.Really heart-warming. That will be the highlight in a way. To see and

:50:08. > :50:11.feel the warmth of the people. Tremendous. Here you are now about

:50:12. > :50:17.to watch the ceremony with the Queen and the Prime Minister and a few

:50:18. > :50:21.other heads of state. As long as I do not have to speak to her, it will

:50:22. > :50:27.be all right, because with a northern accent it does not go down

:50:28. > :50:35.well. Northern accents are now! What will go through your mind when you

:50:36. > :50:42.are sitting on Sword Beach? Just to see, there was a lot of carnage

:50:43. > :50:47.around, to think what happened and to see the lives that had been

:50:48. > :50:52.lost. I came in with two more mates. One was badly wounded and one

:50:53. > :51:00.got killed. I think that I was fortunate, I have lived a good life.

:51:01. > :51:04.I have had a good life and that is everything. It has been a pleasure

:51:05. > :51:17.talking to you, thank you. It has been wonderful. In 1943, we started

:51:18. > :51:27.ill doing the Pier head up in Scotland. You were building a

:51:28. > :51:31.Mulberry Harbour? You will see the remains at Arromanches. It has been

:51:32. > :51:38.an experience. It has been good. Thank you.

:51:39. > :51:47.David Hogg there. There's one very significant group

:51:48. > :51:51.whose contribution to the success of D-Day is often overlooked, really,

:51:52. > :51:57.as Winston Churchill underlined in 1945 when he declared the devotion

:51:58. > :52:02.of The Merchant Navy should be recorded. They suffered terrible

:52:03. > :52:08.losses. Over 32,000 died in the Second World War and their sacrifice

:52:09. > :52:13.has only been properly acknowledged in recent years, but the part played

:52:14. > :52:31.by Churchill's "fourth service" on D-Day is not widely known.

:52:32. > :52:34.I joined the Merchant Navy at 16 as a radio officer and began

:52:35. > :52:44.I went in the Navy when I was 18 and three days.

:52:45. > :52:48.The reason I went was that I was called up, it was as simple as that.

:52:49. > :52:49.It was conscription, they called it.

:52:50. > :52:53.Everybody had to go when it was their time.

:52:54. > :52:56.The Merchant Navy's role on D-Day was, of course, transport of troops

:52:57. > :53:03.and supplies, ammunition, or oil, everything necessary to land a large

:53:04. > :53:10.I had been courting this girl since we had left school.

:53:11. > :53:15.We'd been together since we were 14.

:53:16. > :53:24.They gave us permission to get married at three o'clock

:53:25. > :53:26.in the afternoon, and I had to be back aboard

:53:27. > :53:35.Our main job was transporting the 51st Highland division,

:53:36. > :53:41.And many of them had come back from North Africa to Britain to

:53:42. > :53:47.I got to know I was going to Normandy when they

:53:48. > :53:51.It would be one o'clock in the morning.

:53:52. > :53:59.And he came out and said, Rumbold, don't forget the enemy are just

:54:00. > :54:04.And I thought to myself, although I never said that, if they

:54:05. > :54:09.were half as frightened of me as I am of them, they'd be going that way

:54:10. > :54:18.When we were passing the White Cliffs of Dover,

:54:19. > :54:21.the sergeant said, as we passed, "Take a good look, boys.

:54:22. > :54:26.Many of you will never see that again."

:54:27. > :54:31.You're going into the unknown, really.

:54:32. > :54:34.I'd never been in a war before. It's all right people saying,

:54:35. > :54:36."You've trained for this and you've trained for that."

:54:37. > :54:46.When we were nearing the beaches, we had a church service on the ship.

:54:47. > :54:50.They read the sermon, and there wasn't many dry eyes,

:54:51. > :54:58.There were bodies floating about in the sea.

:54:59. > :55:02.There were two Americans that we got aboard.

:55:03. > :55:05.They took them to the afterdeck and covered them over.

:55:06. > :55:09.We took them back with us when we went back.

:55:10. > :55:13.But there were bodies we couldn't reach that were floating by

:55:14. > :55:23.We were unable to do much about it, really.

:55:24. > :55:27.You could see the gun flash, and you hear the whine of the shell,

:55:28. > :55:36.As you're the target, you're like a sitting duck.

:55:37. > :55:41.And the blast of the shell going off is absolutely devastating.

:55:42. > :55:49.There were explosions here, there and everywhere on the beaches.

:55:50. > :55:54.There isn't much you can do other than pray.

:55:55. > :56:10.The number of Merchant Navy sailors who died

:56:11. > :56:17.during the landings was 2450 out of a total complement of 25,000.

:56:18. > :56:27.Them who say they were brave and all that, well, let them say it.

:56:28. > :56:48.I did what I had to do, and I was happy with that.

:56:49. > :56:54.That is what today is about. It is about underlining the achievements

:56:55. > :56:58.of all those who took part 70 years ago. With me, someone rather

:56:59. > :57:03.special, Peter Thompson. I can say that Mr Thompson is celebrating his

:57:04. > :57:08.89th birthday today, a very happy birthday. Thank you very much. Now,

:57:09. > :57:12.you were 19 on D-Day. I was. Serving with the Royal Navy, delivering

:57:13. > :57:14.troops to Sword Beach. I should tell viewers that you and your wife

:57:15. > :57:18.established the annual service here viewers that you and your wife

:57:19. > :57:23.in Arromanches in 1984. You are responsible for this great tradition

:57:24. > :57:26.here. Thank you for coming to talk to us. What does today mean to you?

:57:27. > :57:30.here. Thank you for coming to talk It means a lot to me.

:57:31. > :57:31.here. Thank you for coming to talk birthday for one thing! It is the

:57:32. > :57:41.30th year that birthday for one thing! It is the

:57:42. > :57:45.we have built camaraderie between us and the local people. Today is extra

:57:46. > :57:49.special. I have never seen it like this before. It is remarkable. Take

:57:50. > :57:54.us back to '84 and what led up to you making the decision to get

:57:55. > :57:58.us back to '84 and what led up to together? What prompted that? We

:57:59. > :58:03.came here and there was nothing to indicate that even troops landing

:58:04. > :58:07.here. I came here once and there was a lady with two children playing on

:58:08. > :58:18.the beach. I went up to them and said, "Do you know that soldiers

:58:19. > :58:20.were on this beach and getting killed?" And they didn't know

:58:21. > :58:27.anything about it. This is what anything about it. This is what

:58:28. > :58:31.brings it back to you. Soldiers were shot dead on the beaches. I saw them

:58:32. > :58:37.running up the beach and falling over, being shot. This is the very

:58:38. > :58:41.thing in my mind. I go to sleep over, being shot. This is the very

:58:42. > :58:45.wake up in the middle of the night and even then, I sometimes think

:58:46. > :58:49.wake up in the middle of the night myself something about it, you know.

:58:50. > :58:56.How vivid are those memories? Very vivid. They come back quite

:58:57. > :59:02.frequently. If I can't - I'm a poor sleeper at the moment being 89. I

:59:03. > :59:07.don't sleep very well. I wake up and think, I start off thinking about

:59:08. > :59:12.something else and it leads to thinking about what I did, or what

:59:13. > :59:19.happened, or what didn't happen. Tell us about what we can expect to

:59:20. > :59:32.see later today in the Parade in the Square here? We form up at 5.30pm

:59:33. > :59:44.and they march us on to the Square. Then we have Mandy Reynolds, she

:59:45. > :59:48.gives a hymn and a prayer. That is the sort of thing of it. You may get

:59:49. > :59:53.a few words from the Duke of Cambridge today? We'd like that.

:59:54. > :00:00.They will be here later on. When you look around you today - and you see

:00:01. > :00:04.these incredible crowds and the people are really making a big

:00:05. > :00:08.effort to commemorate what happened. Oh yes. In some cases, to celebrate

:00:09. > :00:11.what happened because it was a liberation. What are your thoughts

:00:12. > :00:15.when you see the extent of this event today? It is terrific. It is

:00:16. > :00:22.terrific. Especially trying to get into here! That is a challenge! The

:00:23. > :00:27.police were very good to us. They led us through quite easily. I saw

:00:28. > :00:30.the other people waiting there to get in. We can see on the beach -

:00:31. > :00:35.there will be a big display later on today. They have cleared a big area

:00:36. > :00:40.of Gold Beach and there will be lots of wartime vehicles on the beach

:00:41. > :00:46.later on. I was mentioning earlier that lots of your fellow veterans,

:00:47. > :00:52.who have been chatting to us, everyone remarks on this, Peter, are

:00:53. > :00:58.very modest. They don't want to be called "heroes" they want to be seen

:00:59. > :01:07.as "doing their best". That modesty is a moving thing to see? It is very

:01:08. > :01:15.moving. It is true. "Hero" to me is somebody who puts their life on the

:01:16. > :01:26.line for King and Country. Athletes are not heroes. You saying that, it

:01:27. > :01:31.is one of those things that is unexplainable. You get there in the

:01:32. > :01:34.end. I mentioned to viewers earlier that for reasons we all understand,

:01:35. > :01:38.the Normandy Veterans' Association will disband later this year. So I

:01:39. > :01:42.have been saying that this is the last formal commemoration for the

:01:43. > :01:46.Association, but that doesn't mean that veterans won't be coming back?

:01:47. > :01:57.Oh no. We have already made arrangements. In the Mess, they

:01:58. > :02:01.said, "If you get down to four veterans, give us a buzz on the

:02:02. > :02:06.phone." It's a great honour to talk to you. Thank you for coming in and

:02:07. > :02:10.happy birthday. Thank you very much. Great honour to be here. It is nice

:02:11. > :02:14.to see you. For D-Day to be successful, there were a number of

:02:15. > :02:18.vital targets which had to be captured or destroyed. Allied

:02:19. > :02:21.intelligence had identified a German gun battery at Merville which had

:02:22. > :02:26.the potential to devastate the landings at Sword Beach. Fred Glover

:02:27. > :02:29.remembers the night he was dropped into occupied territory to complete

:02:30. > :02:34.one of the most daring missions of D-Day and it also involved an act of

:02:35. > :02:37.humankindness which changed Fred's life.

:02:38. > :02:40.I was a member of the 9th Parachute Battalion.

:02:41. > :02:45.My involvement was to be part of a special force who would crash-land

:02:46. > :02:55.As we circled the battery, the flak guns started firing.

:02:56. > :03:04.I could feel as my legs kicked out. When we crashed down,

:03:05. > :03:10.we crashed almost on top of a German patrol

:03:11. > :03:16.that was coming up to reinforce the battery.

:03:17. > :03:20.I went into a bomb crater, crawled to the top and was firing

:03:21. > :03:28.And it wasn't until after it stopped and the Germans had

:03:29. > :03:33.withdrawn that I remembered that I had got wounds, as it were.

:03:34. > :03:41.My boots were beginning to fill up a bit with blood.

:03:42. > :03:44.We decided that I couldn't go on with them,

:03:45. > :03:46.I couldn't hold them up, which is fair enough.

:03:47. > :03:51.So I was left, at that point, with two wounded Germans.

:03:52. > :03:54.Technically, these two Germans were my prisoners.

:03:55. > :04:00.They weren't armed, though I was, of course.

:04:01. > :04:03.The older of the two Germans had a stomach wound

:04:04. > :04:15.I was in possession of morphine to treat my own wounds,

:04:16. > :04:22.so I decided to give him the morphine.

:04:23. > :04:34.I was really a soldier and not a murderer, I suppose.

:04:35. > :04:37.Just at that moment, coming across the field towards us

:04:38. > :04:39.is a German patrol, and I realise I've still got the

:04:40. > :04:47.They took the fighting knife out, didn't look too pleased.

:04:48. > :04:54.Then they found the gammon bomb and that seemed to worsen the situation.

:04:55. > :04:58.And then the youngest of the two Germans called out,

:04:59. > :05:04.pointing to his comrade, and I can only presume that

:05:05. > :05:12.he told them that I'd given them morphine and shared what I had.

:05:13. > :05:18.And the whole atmosphere at that point changed.

:05:19. > :05:26.My life could have been hanging by a thread.

:05:27. > :05:35.I think about how an act of human kindness at that time

:05:36. > :05:55.changed lots of men's lives. If you are interested in hearing more from

:05:56. > :06:06.the veterans, the BBC is publishing a free interactive book on D-Day.

:06:07. > :06:11.Together, these accounts build-up a remarkable account of D-Day bringing

:06:12. > :06:20.the details of the day to life 70 years after the day itself. How do

:06:21. > :06:23.you get it? To download the e-book, go to www.bbc.co.uk/dday70 and the

:06:24. > :06:31.link should be clearly marked on the page and you can click the link and

:06:32. > :06:34.download the e-book. With me in our warm studio is one of the Honorary

:06:35. > :06:37.Members of the Normandy Veterans' Association, someone whose link with

:06:38. > :06:42.the veterans started ten years ago. Association, someone whose link with

:06:43. > :06:47.It is Eddie Izzard. Thank you for coming in. Thank you for inviting

:06:48. > :06:51.me. It is good to be here. I was touring America and I said I have to

:06:52. > :06:56.come here for two days. I am always here. When I mentioned the ten years

:06:57. > :07:02.ago, what happened? How did that link get established? Trevor Beattie

:07:03. > :07:07.started a foundation, he started working out we have to raise money

:07:08. > :07:10.to get people back. Then, there was a Governmental thing that came in

:07:11. > :07:14.for one year and there was this argument of people being let down.

:07:15. > :07:18.He stepped in and said let's start a charity thing to get ALL the

:07:19. > :07:24.veterans back that want to come. I saidly do whatever I can to help. So

:07:25. > :07:28.I helped in that way. Ten years ago, what was your experience of coming

:07:29. > :07:32.over? What happened on that trip? Well, it's just great to be able to

:07:33. > :07:40.help veterans, to be able to see veterans, to be right up close is

:07:41. > :07:46.amazing. I saw the Battle of Britain fly-past, that blew my mind. It is

:07:47. > :07:48.amazing. My Dad brought me here many years ago, Arromanches, and the fact

:07:49. > :07:52.the Mulberry harbour is out there. years ago, Arromanches, and the fact

:07:53. > :07:55.come back, I come and run marathons around here.

:07:56. > :07:58.come back, I come and run marathons here. It was also where William the

:07:59. > :08:02.Conqueror was based so history came here. It was also where William the

:08:03. > :08:05.and went away and he went and did this conquering thing. We come back.

:08:06. > :08:12.and went away and he went and did You need to not forget the Russians,

:08:13. > :08:16.though. We do forget this. 25 million Russians died in that war,

:08:17. > :08:19.500,000 British people, 500,000 Americans and 25 million Russians.

:08:20. > :08:25.Without them, we would not have won the Second World War. Because of all

:08:26. > :08:29.the events in Ukraine, certainly in France there were some calls for

:08:30. > :08:34.President Putin not to be invited here, but the French President

:08:35. > :08:36.saying you need to remember what Russia did in the Second World War

:08:37. > :08:40.and the people they lost and, for that reason, the President of Russia

:08:41. > :08:46.should be here. His presence tells us that. It is a Head of State time.

:08:47. > :08:51.We need to understand that Ukraine, there are problems there, but this

:08:52. > :08:56.is history. What the Russian people went through, 25 million. We thought

:08:57. > :09:00.we had a very tough time. They had an unbelievably tough time. People

:09:01. > :09:04.knew it at the time. What's impressed you most when you meet

:09:05. > :09:07.veterans, those you have had dealings with? You have been very

:09:08. > :09:15.generous in your support. What impresses you about them now? Youth.

:09:16. > :09:22.Their youth, youth of mind. That is the thing you need to keep. They

:09:23. > :09:29.still really want to be acting like they were just landing. I landed at

:09:30. > :09:36.one point - I will say this because I want to get in touch. There was a

:09:37. > :09:41.veteran and his wife and they were at Ouistreham. Was it the 60th? He

:09:42. > :09:47.was speaking French. A lot of people don't speak French. I do. He was

:09:48. > :09:51.trying to hire a car. I said don't worry, I will give you a lift. They

:09:52. > :09:55.took a photograph. And then they lost the photograph. It was really

:09:56. > :09:59.nice to be able to help a veteran. They were going to get a car the

:10:00. > :10:04.next day. That is the tiny - he went past the place - I came up here, he

:10:05. > :10:10.said. "I came up here." I was driving the car. My Dad is going,

:10:11. > :10:15."What is going on?" I said I'm giving a lift to this guy and his

:10:16. > :10:21.wife. Those moments are great. What are you doing the rest of the day? I

:10:22. > :10:24.will turn up at whatever commemorations I can, Trevor Beattie

:10:25. > :10:28.is here again. He is a wonderful cheerleader for the veterans. And

:10:29. > :10:36.the Normandy Veterans' Association. Then I will do three shows in three

:10:37. > :10:42.languages in three hours. That all(?) I will do my show in German,

:10:43. > :10:50.English and in French. Does it change? It is the same show. I am

:10:51. > :10:59.giving all the money to charity, including a charity in Germany. This

:11:00. > :11:05.German artist is making bronze stones. He puts their name on the

:11:06. > :11:08.stone, and all across Europe he is doing this. That will be there

:11:09. > :11:12.forever. Their name will be remembered forever. One stone and

:11:13. > :11:16.one name. That is a beautiful idea. That is what I am doing for the

:11:17. > :11:20.German charity. Lovely to talk to you. Enjoy the rest of the day. Good

:11:21. > :11:24.luck with the shows. Thank you. Thank you very much. Eddie Izzard

:11:25. > :11:29.there. Great to have him here with us.

:11:30. > :11:33.Now, as soon as D-Day came, and as soon as the invasion started, there

:11:34. > :11:39.were casualties, of course. Thousands of them had to be cared

:11:40. > :11:42.for. And the Queen Alexandra's Nursing Corps, along with many

:11:43. > :11:46.colleagues from the Red Cross, they were given the task of caring for

:11:47. > :11:54.Allied casualties and for injured prisoners of war. We spoke to two

:11:55. > :11:56.remarkable ladies. Edwina Evans and Mary about their experiences of

:11:57. > :12:10.D-Day. As soon as I joined the Army nurses,

:12:11. > :12:14.we didn't have any nursing to do. They were just strengthening us

:12:15. > :12:17.so that once we landed in France, The locals called as the lady

:12:18. > :12:23.guerillas because of all our tin hats on and all our equipment

:12:24. > :12:26.on our backs and suchlike. As a Red Cross VAD, you had to do 64

:12:27. > :12:29.hours' voluntary service in a hospital so that when the war

:12:30. > :12:35.came, we were really sharpened up. And when we got ready

:12:36. > :12:40.for the invasion, we knew then that We were in this big vessel with

:12:41. > :12:52.a lot of troops. When we got to France, we had to

:12:53. > :12:56.climb over the side of this ship, got into the landing craft and were

:12:57. > :13:07.brought up onto the beaches. This is the English side

:13:08. > :13:11.of the Channel. Tank landing craft are brought

:13:12. > :13:17.the wounded to our southern ports. Anything that floated,

:13:18. > :13:20.they put patients on. We had them coming off tugs

:13:21. > :13:22.and everything. Then they were brought up to

:13:23. > :13:24.our hospital, We took in 3725 men in one day, and

:13:25. > :13:33.that was just the beginning of it. When we got finally to

:13:34. > :13:36.the old chateau that they took over, we hadn't been there long

:13:37. > :13:39.before casualties were coming in. And fortunately,

:13:40. > :13:44.we had some of the first big wards You got on until the work was

:13:45. > :13:53.done and all men were seen to. And you can go to sleep standing up,

:13:54. > :14:00.because I fell on top of a patient! We took it in turns to get a bit

:14:01. > :14:04.of sleep. Then when the bugle went -

:14:05. > :14:09.I can almost hear that now - If we'd gone to sleep, everybody

:14:10. > :14:14.had to get up and cope with the As soon as we got them operated on,

:14:15. > :14:21.we got them back to England straight away to leave space

:14:22. > :14:25.for the next lot coming in. We had a German brought in,

:14:26. > :14:28.and he was only about 19, I put my hand on his knee and then I

:14:29. > :14:36.realised he was going. So I put my hand under

:14:37. > :14:40.the pillow and brought And I think he tried to say auf

:14:41. > :14:49.wiedersehen, but of course, I thought, here is this young lad,

:14:50. > :15:03.in a strange country, You just get on with it

:15:04. > :15:11.and do the best you can for them to If you're busy doing that, you can't

:15:12. > :15:16.be weeping over things like that. You've got to get

:15:17. > :15:21.on with getting them better. You'd see an English chap

:15:22. > :15:24.holding the hand of a German. They might have been trying to kill

:15:25. > :15:28.one another a few hours beforehand, but now they are comforting one

:15:29. > :15:32.another, which shows you the futility of war,

:15:33. > :15:36.really, when you think about it. I wanted to nurse,

:15:37. > :15:42.and I was glad was able to do so, They were wet, sandy, dirty,

:15:43. > :15:50.wounded, tired, And you had to get right through all

:15:51. > :15:57.of that lot with a quiet smile and say, you're all right,

:15:58. > :16:01.Jack or Tommy. And you just squeezed

:16:02. > :16:07.their hand or gave them It was the small things then

:16:08. > :16:34.that were very important. In the weeks and months that

:16:35. > :16:39.followed, we had contributions. The act of caring for people who are

:16:40. > :16:46.injured and in fact staying with people who are in the process of

:16:47. > :16:50.losing their lives and, really, very moving testimony there. We have been

:16:51. > :17:04.joined by Dr Helen Fry, who has written several books on the Second

:17:05. > :17:13.World War and Eddie and James are with us, too. That's something I

:17:14. > :17:17.wanted to talk to you about. We do tend to think of women having

:17:18. > :17:21.traditional roles. What's rather pleasing is that historians are now

:17:22. > :17:25.uncovering the stories of women who are doing extraordinary stuff,

:17:26. > :17:32.including intelligence duties, if they had a knowledge of language,

:17:33. > :17:38.particular skills, they were involved. When you delve into their

:17:39. > :17:44.stories, they were doing highly top secret stuff. And also, of course,

:17:45. > :17:48.we know the women who were involved being dropped behind enemy lines or

:17:49. > :17:53.helping Allied pilots out of Europe. In England, too, there were women

:17:54. > :18:00.playing a vital contribution - it may be in Bomber Command. When you

:18:01. > :18:05.think in terms of factories and munitions - I know I had lots of

:18:06. > :18:10.letters last year from people in the Bridgend area in South Wales, where

:18:11. > :18:13.my grandmother is from. There was a big arsenal in Bridgend and many,

:18:14. > :18:19.many women, thousands, were employed there. They felt maybe the

:18:20. > :18:23.contribution played by women in places like that has not been

:18:24. > :18:35.properly recognised because that's just as much a part of the war

:18:36. > :18:40.effort as anything else? This year, the women are incredibly modest.

:18:41. > :18:45.There has been a shift in women beginning to claim what they did and

:18:46. > :18:49.to feel proud. They think that they have to be extraordinarily brave to

:18:50. > :18:53.be dropped behind enemy lines and to be recognised. I am really pleased

:18:54. > :18:59.to see this shift and it's long overdue. It's a nice thing for us to

:19:00. > :19:03.reflect on a day like this. We are seeing lots of parades, but it is a

:19:04. > :19:07.dimension that, in the past, we have not paid enough attention to?

:19:08. > :19:16.Throughout history, women have been written out of history. Women were

:19:17. > :19:21.ferrying the Spitfires and Hurricanes backwards and forward.

:19:22. > :19:25.Women can fight and if they were fighting for their country, they

:19:26. > :19:30.would go for it. If the Nazis had landed, British women would have

:19:31. > :19:35.gone for it. I was given a handbook that was given to GIs when they

:19:36. > :19:38.joined the war. It was written by someone who was English and

:19:39. > :19:45.American. He said, "Women have been in this war for some time." And he

:19:46. > :19:50.said, "No woman has ever left her post." That is an amazing record.

:19:51. > :19:58.That was written in this book. A brief thought, James. On the role of

:19:59. > :20:02.women and intelligence. That is something that's been slightly

:20:03. > :20:08.understated? Absolutely. The role is so wide. If you think that today's

:20:09. > :20:15.army is around 80,000 men. There were 467,000 women in the Armed

:20:16. > :20:19.Services alone on D-Day 1944. 1.6 million in various metal industries,

:20:20. > :20:24.most of whom were doing aircraft. Aircraft was a priority for

:20:25. > :20:31.manpower, which included womenpower, up to the spring of 1944. My step

:20:32. > :20:43.mother was SAS Brigade, she was brilliant at signals. She was doing

:20:44. > :20:46.that '44 and '45. Every year, the annual pilgrimage is a fixed

:20:47. > :20:50.commitment in the diaries of many people. Yes, veterans and their

:20:51. > :20:55.families and friends, but increasingly it is nice to see a new

:20:56. > :20:59.younger generation walking around, standing silently among the rows of

:21:00. > :21:03.headstones, realising that many of the fallen lost their lives before

:21:04. > :21:08.they had even reached the age of 20. We met three veterans who explained

:21:09. > :21:17.with great feeling why they returned to Normandy every year.

:21:18. > :21:21.I go back not because it is good to go back,

:21:22. > :21:30.but it's my duty as a veteran to go back and pay my respects.

:21:31. > :21:38.When I meet their graves, all the memories flood back to me.

:21:39. > :21:43.We all were willing to lay down our lives for each other, and

:21:44. > :21:50.for those who did die, in fact, we do owe them a duty of remembrance.

:21:51. > :21:59.While I was standing there, three young girls

:22:00. > :22:05.about eight years of age came up to me and they said, here, monsieur.

:22:06. > :22:10.And they gave me this card with all the hearts.

:22:11. > :22:14.And on it, it said, thank you for our freedom.

:22:15. > :22:20.When I see children do a thing like that, it was better than going up to

:22:21. > :22:23.the Queen and getting one of those golds.

:22:24. > :22:35.I look at that card, it came from children's hearts.

:22:36. > :22:38.I lost my best friend, Archie Ellis,

:22:39. > :22:44.The vehicle but he was in made it to the far bank when a shell

:22:45. > :22:51.Archie Ellis was killed along with two others who

:22:52. > :22:56.My vehicle was showered in shrapnel at the time.

:22:57. > :22:59.A bit came through my windscreen and grazed the side of my head

:23:00. > :23:02.and stuck in the rifle rack at the back of my head.

:23:03. > :23:06.That's the piece of shrapnel I've got today.

:23:07. > :23:09.Every year, I go with my group of veterans to the Ranville cemetery

:23:10. > :23:17.I place flowers at his grave as well as those of the two other

:23:18. > :23:25.I do wish that his family could know that we still look

:23:26. > :23:30.after his grave, knowing that someone still looks after him.

:23:31. > :23:34.I don't suppose there is a night I go to bed that I don't think

:23:35. > :23:42.As far as I'm concerned, time will never heal.

:23:43. > :23:45.When I walk through and look at these graves

:23:46. > :23:51.and see these unknown soldiers, the first thing that I do is place

:23:52. > :24:11.I'm a bit of a softhearted chap, I suppose.

:24:12. > :24:18.I lie in bed at night and start thinking and wondering whether this

:24:19. > :24:23.one is alive or that one is alive, people that were in the regiment.

:24:24. > :24:36.But I knew that once we got home I would probably never see them again.

:24:37. > :24:40.We were only kids. 19. Most of us 19.

:24:41. > :24:43.And your life is taken away from you at 19.

:24:44. > :24:47.Their lives live on in our memory, and our memories must never die.

:24:48. > :24:51.It must always be there, preserved forever.

:24:52. > :24:56.God willing, I will go as long as I can, whilst I'm able to.

:24:57. > :25:01.Myself and my two friends, in particular, we've made a pact

:25:02. > :25:18.The eternal commitment to remember and we couldn't put it more

:25:19. > :25:22.powerfully, could we? After lunch, we will have the big international

:25:23. > :25:25.event, lots of Heads of State and Government will be there. That is

:25:26. > :25:31.taking place in Ouistreham. Keeping an eye on the preparations there for

:25:32. > :25:35.us is Anita Rani. Preparations are well under way here. They have been

:25:36. > :25:40.for over a month. That's how long it's taken to erect this entire

:25:41. > :25:45.venue, which is the equivalent of 15 football pitches. 2,000 people have

:25:46. > :25:51.been involved. 500 military musicians alone. You can hear one of

:25:52. > :25:54.the bands playing behind me. 150 local schoolchildren and veterans

:25:55. > :25:58.have been arriving all morning. I have spoken to quite a few of them.

:25:59. > :26:02.A number have mentioned just how warmly they have been welcomed by

:26:03. > :26:06.the people of Normandy and are every single year. That is reflected here.

:26:07. > :26:12.2,000 seats have been set aside for them. What will happen next? We will

:26:13. > :26:15.be expecting the VIPs to begin arriving, hundreds are already

:26:16. > :26:18.arriving the streets. The Queen will take her seat. President Hollande

:26:19. > :26:26.will make a speech and the ceremony will begin. There is a real sense of

:26:27. > :26:30.occasion here. Occasion and expectation. That is

:26:31. > :26:35.all coming up. Eddie is still with me. Helen is still with me. And

:26:36. > :26:39.James, too. A quick few thoughts before we pause over the lunch

:26:40. > :26:43.break. Eddie, some thoughts on what the afternoon could bring,

:26:44. > :26:46.especially this final parade of the Normandy Veterans' Association?

:26:47. > :26:50.Well, I think it will be very moving. Everyone here understands

:26:51. > :26:52.it. There's people around the world who don't remember. We need to cope

:26:53. > :26:56.fighting for everyone to remember this so we do end up all getting on

:26:57. > :27:02.in the entire world. We have to make this entire world work. That will be

:27:03. > :27:14.moving. Five years later, there will still be, even if veterans have

:27:15. > :27:20.passed away and unfortunately - I think this will go on. Helen? I have

:27:21. > :27:25.been walking around chatting to some of the veterans. There's a sense of

:27:26. > :27:28.humility. They don't see themselves as having done something

:27:29. > :27:35.particularly brave. They are here with their families. James?

:27:36. > :27:41.Absolutely. I echo that. They are the survivors of that incredible

:27:42. > :27:44.moment in world history, not just in European history. The way they are

:27:45. > :27:49.being handled and treated is fabulous. They are being treated

:27:50. > :28:06.like film stars and football stars. Amen to that. We can all say amen to

:28:07. > :28:10.that. Lots more to come on this 70th Anniversary. Before all of that, we

:28:11. > :28:16.are going to take a little break. There is coverage on the Red Button.

:28:17. > :28:19.We will be back at 1.30pm here in Arromanches for what promises to be

:28:20. > :28:22.a memorable and, I think, a moving afternoon. Thank you for watching.

:28:23. > :28:26.See you later on. Goodbye for now.