Part 2

:00:36. > :00:39.Arromanches on the coast of Normandy. It is a glorious day. We

:00:40. > :00:43.are remembering the events of 70 years ago, on D-Day, when the Allied

:00:44. > :00:48.invasion of Europe changed the course of the Second World War. On

:00:49. > :00:53.that first day, more than 130,000 troops came ashore on five of these

:00:54. > :00:58.enormous beaches along a 50 mile stretch of this coastline, 25 of

:00:59. > :01:05.them -- 25,000 of them right here, at Gold Beach. This week, Normandy

:01:06. > :01:10.that is on their families, in their thousands, have returned to France

:01:11. > :01:15.for this 70th anniversary, to honour the servicemen, thousands of them,

:01:16. > :01:18.who never returned home because their graves are here Normandy. The

:01:19. > :01:22.commemorations started here this morning in Bayeux. That is where the

:01:23. > :01:28.Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall joined veterans for a

:01:29. > :01:32.service at Bayeux Cathedral. One of the high points of the service was

:01:33. > :01:38.when the Prince of Wales was invited to dedicate a new bell which has

:01:39. > :01:45.been installed in the Cathedral at Bayeux.

:01:46. > :02:00.Your royal Highness, which name do you want to give to this bell?

:02:01. > :02:11.Terese Benedicte. That was at Bayeux Cathedral. Not

:02:12. > :02:18.far away from there, Bayeux War Cemetery. The Queen was there, as

:02:19. > :02:23.was the Prime Minister of France, and David Cameron, for the service

:02:24. > :02:27.of remembrance. That was at Bayeux War Cemetery. After that service,

:02:28. > :02:31.lots of nice, informal scenes, as members of the Royal Family,

:02:32. > :02:36.including Prince Charles, really enjoyed chatting with veterans and

:02:37. > :02:40.sharing experiences. The Queen really did take a lot of time to

:02:41. > :02:44.chat and share a few jokes and reminiscences with veterans, as did

:02:45. > :02:51.the Duke of Edinburgh. That was the scene in the sunshine at Bayeux

:02:52. > :03:02.Cemetery. Over at Omaha Beach, President Obama was speaking.

:03:03. > :03:10.God, asked one, give me guts. Whenever the world makes you

:03:11. > :03:20.cynical, whenever you doubt that courage and goodness is possible,

:03:21. > :03:28.stop and think of these men. They are here today, and although I know

:03:29. > :03:34.we gave them a rousing round of applause, along with all of our

:03:35. > :03:39.veterans of D-Day, if you can stand, please stand, if not, please raise

:03:40. > :03:46.your hand, let us recognise your service once more. These men

:03:47. > :03:47.sacrificed so that we might be free. They fought in hopes of a day when

:03:48. > :03:51.we no longer need to fight. We are grateful to them!

:03:52. > :03:55.That was earlier at Omaha Beach, applause for the words of President

:03:56. > :04:00.Obama, and his tribute to the veterans there. This afternoon, we

:04:01. > :04:05.have major ceremonies, which include many of the British veterans who are

:04:06. > :04:12.here in Normandy this week. They work in Bayeux this morning, and

:04:13. > :04:19.today, here in Arromanches, you can see the preparations already being

:04:20. > :04:24.made for the distinguished guests, who include the Duke and Duchess of

:04:25. > :04:26.Cambridge, and they will be joining hundreds of British veterans at the

:04:27. > :04:30.end of today's events. Fewer veterans of course done there were

:04:31. > :04:37.in 2004. There are elderly gentlemen and ladies, many of them very frail,

:04:38. > :04:40.but they will be marching proudly into the main square, overlooking

:04:41. > :04:47.Gold Beach, to start the proceedings. That is a little later.

:04:48. > :04:55.The Normandy Veterans' Association will be formally disbanded later

:04:56. > :04:56.this year. That is a function of age and difficulty of travelling. So,

:04:57. > :04:59.this will be the last formal commemoration for the association in

:05:00. > :05:01.France. That does not mean veterans will stop coming in the years to

:05:02. > :05:02.come, but the association itself will cease to

:05:03. > :05:07.come, but the association itself will exist. It will be an

:05:08. > :05:12.overwhelming experience for a lot of the venture and is under families

:05:13. > :05:15.who have come with them. We are also looking forward to the international

:05:16. > :05:20.event on Sword Beach, which begins very shortly. Once again, Her

:05:21. > :05:24.Majesty the Queen and President Obama will be in attendance,

:05:25. > :05:27.together with President Hollande, Angela Merkel and President Putin of

:05:28. > :05:31.Russia will also be there. We will be crossing over to Ouistreham

:05:32. > :05:36.shortly for that event. Don't forget, you can get in touch with us

:05:37. > :05:41.on Facebook or Twitter or on the live logic. And we will show you

:05:42. > :05:57.those addresses on the screen. You have sent lots of lovely

:05:58. > :06:02.anecdotes and tributes in. I shared some of them this morning, and I

:06:03. > :06:05.will do my best of the day goes on to share some more with you because

:06:06. > :06:10.they are very moving and well worth sending with a big audience. If you

:06:11. > :06:15.want to send some more in, please do that. Dan Snow is with me. He was at

:06:16. > :06:20.the events in Bayeux this morning. You were chatting with veterans -

:06:21. > :06:23.what was your sense of it all? Well, I have been to a few D-Day

:06:24. > :06:27.anniversary is, and it is the best part of my job, the thing I look

:06:28. > :06:32.forward to much in my career each year. Bayeux was a classic example

:06:33. > :06:36.today. Every single one of those old men and women, wearing their medals

:06:37. > :06:42.and advertising themselves if you like, come and chat with me, they

:06:43. > :06:45.all want to tell their story. They want the younger generations to hear

:06:46. > :06:50.their stories. I met a guy who landed here and was shot in the lake

:06:51. > :06:58.by a sniper before he even got to the sand. His mates dragged him up

:06:59. > :07:03.onto the beach, and he was there until five o'clock in the morning.

:07:04. > :07:08.Absolute agony in his leg, he said. The Australians were here as well,

:07:09. > :07:14.in the air, in this case. A Spitfire pilot, not just at dawn, but at dusk

:07:15. > :07:18.as well. The length of the entire D-Day landing zone, he saw a view

:07:19. > :07:23.which most of us could not even imagine. And he did it twice, up and

:07:24. > :07:28.back. He went back over the Channel, and he said he had never seen so

:07:29. > :07:32.many ships. And of course, he is right, it was the largest flotilla

:07:33. > :07:35.ever. They are all here remembering the guys who did not make it a

:07:36. > :07:41.mother comrades they left behind a double thank you very much. We can

:07:42. > :07:46.speak a little bit now about what is coming up. In Ouistreham this

:07:47. > :07:49.afternoon, that is the main international event taking place

:07:50. > :07:54.above Sword Beach. Just to remind us all, it is right at the Eastern end

:07:55. > :07:58.of this 50 mile stretch of Normandy coastline. It is guarding the

:07:59. > :08:02.approach to the city of Caen, vitally important, because the main

:08:03. > :08:06.roads in the region ran through that city. Lots of world leaders will be

:08:07. > :08:08.at the international event, city. Lots of world leaders will be

:08:09. > :08:13.at the international and Sophie Raworth can tell us what is

:08:14. > :08:16.happening. Good afternoon from Ouistreham, which, as you say, is

:08:17. > :08:21.about 20 miles along the coast from Arromanches. It is of course the

:08:22. > :08:26.most easterly beach of the invasion zone on D-Day. Welcome to this

:08:27. > :08:31.enormous arena, which has been specially built for the occasion,

:08:32. > :08:36.here on Sword Beach, as it was known on D-Day. This is where, 70 years

:08:37. > :08:47.ago today, units of the British Third Entrance Fee Division, landed.

:08:48. > :08:49.Heads of state from many different countries will be arriving shortly

:08:50. > :08:54.to join more than 1000 D-Day veterans who have gathered here. At

:08:55. > :08:58.least six on food and 50 of those veterans have come from Britain. All

:08:59. > :09:04.of them now in their late 80s or 90s. There will be a ceremony which

:09:05. > :09:10.will last an hour, including a 45 minute performance which will

:09:11. > :09:16.include some re-enactment, some dance, right on the beach. They will

:09:17. > :09:19.be re-enacting parts of D-Day, and the path to peace which followed

:09:20. > :09:26.afterwards, using archive footage and performers. This of course, the

:09:27. > :09:31.main international focus of today's 70th commemorations, and almost

:09:32. > :09:35.certainly, the last big, international D-Day gathering of its

:09:36. > :09:41.kind. Now, this arena which you can see filling up very fast, it is the

:09:42. > :09:55.size of 15 football pitches. It is built to hold 7000 guests. Veterans

:09:56. > :09:58.are allowed to bring two guests each. There are places for people

:09:59. > :10:08.living in the towns and cities of Normandy. And they will be joined by

:10:09. > :10:11.the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, President Obama, President Putin,

:10:12. > :10:18.the German Chancellor, the leaders of Australia, Canada, New Zealand,

:10:19. > :10:21.and also, the newly elected Ukrainian president, who has been

:10:22. > :10:30.invited at the very last minute, at a personal invitation from the

:10:31. > :10:34.French president. By the end of the day 70 years ago, almost 29,000 men

:10:35. > :10:42.had come ashore here, most of them British. One of the soldiers who

:10:43. > :10:45.fought his way up this beach, Ray Lord, has been talking to us about

:10:46. > :10:58.his memories of Sword Beach on that, the longest of days.

:10:59. > :11:01.I was 19 years old when we went across on D-Day.

:11:02. > :11:03.I was in the 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment.

:11:04. > :11:07.I was a common or garden infantryman.

:11:08. > :11:10.I thought it was a big adventure at the start, until I landed.

:11:11. > :11:13.There was rifle fire, bullets flying about, mortar fire,

:11:14. > :11:23.It stopped me in my tracks when I saw these wounded lads

:11:24. > :11:26.on stretchers, waiting to come back on the ships we'd sailed in on.

:11:27. > :11:29.But we had to leave them as they were because they were looked

:11:30. > :11:40.The first dead body I saw was actually a German who was laid

:11:41. > :11:50.I just glanced down, he looked like he was asleep.

:11:51. > :11:54.They were shooting at us, we were shooting at them,

:11:55. > :12:02.There were some dead cattle and some wounded cattle that had been

:12:03. > :12:07.wounded by artillery fire from our side, and we had to pull

:12:08. > :12:19.Nearly as bad as engaging the enemy, really.

:12:20. > :12:22.I didn't like shooting people - that was it.

:12:23. > :12:28.I knew if I didn't, they'd shoot me.

:12:29. > :12:40.The first man I shot, he was only a lad, about the same age as me.

:12:41. > :12:53.Heroic? No, no, we're not the heroes.

:12:54. > :13:15...with a white slab in front of them.

:13:16. > :13:21.Terrible when you look out at this beach, at Sword Beach, to think of

:13:22. > :13:25.the horrors that veterans like Ray Lord sore right here, 70 years ago.

:13:26. > :13:29.And those of course are the men, those who did not make it up this

:13:30. > :13:32.beach, who we will be thinking about today when we look out during the

:13:33. > :13:38.service, the ceremony, which will take place right here, where Ray

:13:39. > :13:44.Lord landed. Anita Rani has been talking to another veteran, who is

:13:45. > :13:50.attending the ceremony today. He is called Bertie, and he is here with

:13:51. > :13:54.his two grandsons. You were here on Sword Beach 70 years ago, on the

:13:55. > :13:59.landing craft, what does it mean to be back here today? Well, it is

:14:00. > :14:05.difficult to take it all in, because it was such a different experience.

:14:06. > :14:08.This is really marvellous, the way the French have welcomed us and put

:14:09. > :14:13.on this wonderful reception for us. We are most privileged. But on

:14:14. > :14:20.D-Day, of course, you tried to put it out of your mind. When I left the

:14:21. > :14:27.Navy in 1946, I just put it out of my mind completely. But I have been

:14:28. > :14:28.fortunate to meet up with a shipmate, we were only 12

:14:29. > :14:33.fortunate to meet up with a shipmate, we in the crew, and now I

:14:34. > :14:39.meet him and he rings me up every Sunday, ten to seven, every Sunday!

:14:40. > :14:44.How important is that camaraderie? It is so unique. We were young men

:14:45. > :14:53.together, and we depended on each other. Well, and on singing hymns

:14:54. > :14:58.and things like that. And you are here with three generations, your

:14:59. > :15:07.son and your two grandsons. You are teenagers? Yes. There would have

:15:08. > :15:12.been men slightly older than you. Yes, he was just 15 when he went out

:15:13. > :15:16.to D-Day. What do you think about what your grandfather went through?

:15:17. > :15:20.It is amazing, it is such a historical thing to witness. I have

:15:21. > :15:23.been coming here for years, and every time it takes my breath away

:15:24. > :15:27.to see all of these guys who have served our country. We are all very

:15:28. > :15:32.proud of him, and it is great to be here with him. It is hard to

:15:33. > :15:37.appreciate what they went through, because obviously, we have never

:15:38. > :15:39.experienced it ourselves. You can watch as many documentaries and read

:15:40. > :15:45.as many books, but it is not the same. Hopefully you never will

:15:46. > :15:57.witness it, ever. that interview. Very nice to see the

:15:58. > :16:02.young guys being interviewed. And a very telling conclusion. Dan is with

:16:03. > :16:07.me. A telling conclusion from the granddad saying, I hope they never

:16:08. > :16:11.will. Just underlining what he and his comrades went through. It is

:16:12. > :16:15.nice to see that there are lots of young people here and they are

:16:16. > :16:18.curious. People to say to me - how do you get young people interested

:16:19. > :16:22.in history? Have you been to a castle? Go for a day out. It is

:16:23. > :16:28.packed with young people. This beach is packed with young folk and they

:16:29. > :16:31.are fascinated. This international event is interesting for different

:16:32. > :16:34.reasons. We are focussing on D-Day and there are leaders there who were

:16:35. > :16:39.not part of the Allied Forces, obviously. I'm just wondering what

:16:40. > :16:45.we are to make, really, Dan, of when we see people, for example like

:16:46. > :16:50.President Putin of Russia, taking his place with the other leaders. It

:16:51. > :16:54.has been a turbulent, controversial time for him, given what is going on

:16:55. > :16:57.in the Ukraine. What do we make? It was a very important moment at the

:16:58. > :17:02.beginning of the liberation of Western Europe but a few days' time

:17:03. > :17:07.will be the 70th anniversary of one of the most massive offences in the

:17:08. > :17:11.history of the war. The operation had over 1 million Russians who

:17:12. > :17:16.attacked the Germans in Eastern Europe. Warfare on an unimaginable

:17:17. > :17:19.scale. Without that, the fighting here would have taken a different

:17:20. > :17:22.turn. It is impossible to think about one than the other. It is

:17:23. > :17:26.right that the Ukrainians and Russians are here. The Allies, from

:17:27. > :17:29.that war-time coalition are all represented here today at D-Day. The

:17:30. > :17:36.French military band already at work in Ouistreham. All kinds of

:17:37. > :17:39.dignitaries and church leaders and figures are invited to this event

:17:40. > :17:44.today. This really is the global event of the day, if you like. This

:17:45. > :17:48.is where the world community comes together with at least 90 nations

:17:49. > :17:52.represented. Lots of the big screens, you can see, will be part

:17:53. > :17:56.of the visual representation of this event today, and that's starting in

:17:57. > :18:01.a short while. While we are watching these images, Dan, it is worth

:18:02. > :18:06.reflecting, look at the Allied Forces back, 70 years ago, the

:18:07. > :18:10.quality of leadership then was something to behold. Today that's

:18:11. > :18:14.worth reflecting on. There are lessons from history. One, the

:18:15. > :18:17.quality of leadership, and two, the ways in getting strange people to

:18:18. > :18:21.work together. Montgomery the Commander of this landing didn't see

:18:22. > :18:24.eye-to-eye with Eisenhower but somehow they managed to make the

:18:25. > :18:28.relationship work. Churchill himself, he was a brilliant man, but

:18:29. > :18:32.a maverick. He had crazy ideas half the time and he worked closely with

:18:33. > :18:36.his military commanders. There is a lesson not just about the team work

:18:37. > :18:40.going on on the beaches between the vast array of different nations,

:18:41. > :18:45.Americans, Brits, Canadians and many others but also, at the high levels,

:18:46. > :18:49.getting the planning right. Not letting egos overwhelm things. There

:18:50. > :18:54.are brilliant commanders that don't get talked about enough. Admiral

:18:55. > :19:00.Ramsey. The Commander of the entire maritime side. He is the man who

:19:01. > :19:03.oversaw the evacuation from Dunkirk four years before. Almost four years

:19:04. > :19:08.to the day, what a moment that must have been for him, to oversee this

:19:09. > :19:13.vast armada heading out to retake Western Europe. And all sorts of

:19:14. > :19:18.other people at the top who, as I say, managed to work to the and

:19:19. > :19:23.achieve quite remarkable results. Was Montgomery fair in anyway, when

:19:24. > :19:28.he rather sniffly said that "Eisenhower was a nice chap but not

:19:29. > :19:33.a soldier." ? Well, Eisenhower missed combat operations.

:19:34. > :19:38.Montgomeried played a huge part and was badly injured.

:19:39. > :19:44.He wasn't a combat soldier but he was a very brilliant organiser and

:19:45. > :19:48.sometimes in your Commander and chief, that's what you need. You

:19:49. > :19:56.don't need a mad dog on the frontline. The USA had plenty of

:19:57. > :20:00.them. General Patton. The Germans thought he was the best Allied

:20:01. > :20:04.Commander. He was left in Kent, so the Germans would think there would

:20:05. > :20:08.be another invasion from Kent to the Calais area. He was furious about

:20:09. > :20:12.that but I think secretly pleased. A nice little element of deception we

:20:13. > :20:15.haven't touched upon. We will be talking about lots of other elements

:20:16. > :20:19.of strategy of deception and the various things put in place but

:20:20. > :20:23.that's part of it. I think there was something about an actor

:20:24. > :20:28.impersonating Montgomery who turned up in Gibraltar as well to confuse

:20:29. > :20:33.people What is amazing when you study these landings, every single -

:20:34. > :20:36.the Germans had proved themselves such brilliant adversaries that the

:20:37. > :20:42.Allies treated them with enormous respect. They dotted every I and

:20:43. > :20:45.crossed every T. So much so that they focussed so much on getting

:20:46. > :20:54.ashore here, they didn't focus so much on the next section.

:20:55. > :21:02.That's why that following D-day it was so bloody so grim. They were

:21:03. > :21:05.just get ashore. But once they were here they had to beat the German

:21:06. > :21:09.army in the field. Let's look outside for a second. It

:21:10. > :21:13.is a lovely seen here today. We are getting ready for the international

:21:14. > :21:17.event which is just up the coast in Ouistreham but here we are, you can

:21:18. > :21:21.see a real sense now. The fact that we have a crowd of many thousands

:21:22. > :21:25.who have gathered. You can't see all of them on the shot. Lots are on the

:21:26. > :21:28.beachp down to the left. Lots gathering around these landing craft

:21:29. > :21:32.which turned up, I think four or five hours ago but they have been

:21:33. > :21:36.popular venues for people to congregate today. On the long one we

:21:37. > :21:43.can see there, the long platform, people keen to get on to it.

:21:44. > :21:48.# That's as close as many of us will

:21:49. > :21:54.get, luckily, to landing on a hostile beach. It is days like

:21:55. > :21:57.today, especially on this stretch of beach, you need to come along and

:21:58. > :22:01.see what the expanse is right and what it might have looked like from

:22:02. > :22:06.out in the English Channel. You are coming along, lots of these are very

:22:07. > :22:09.high. It must have been an extremely daunting journey to say the least No

:22:10. > :22:15.question. Particularly in the second waves. They could see the bodies in

:22:16. > :22:20.the first waves. Many have said - being in the second wave, the beach

:22:21. > :22:25.was full of smoke and fire and explosions. They thought - what are

:22:26. > :22:30.they do? And they realised it was bodies. The size of Mulberry

:22:31. > :22:35.Harbour, these were ballasted with rubble from London. Medieval London

:22:36. > :22:39.is out here. We are looking at bits of medieval London. They are still

:22:40. > :22:44.there and Prom Nant and powerful reminders of what happened 70 years

:22:45. > :22:53.ago. Let's look to see what is going on in Ouistreham. I think we are

:22:54. > :22:58.right at the moment where some of the main guests are about to arrive.

:22:59. > :23:07.We have lots of military contingents in place. The 70th anniversary it

:23:08. > :23:11.says there. And the French have invested a great deal. They know how

:23:12. > :23:16.important it is. The French have made an important

:23:17. > :23:20.statement a few weeks ago of the importance of this 70th anners

:23:21. > :23:24.havery. France wants to get it right T wants to show it is grateful. That

:23:25. > :23:29.was the great theme yesterday, too. When we saw the esnrents Paris,

:23:30. > :23:34.where the Queen was greeted with great formality, with full military

:23:35. > :23:37.honours, at the Arc de Triomphe, France is really wanting to say

:23:38. > :23:40.thank you. The great theme. That's what we are looking forward to, the

:23:41. > :23:45.international event. Sophie is there for us.

:23:46. > :23:52.SOPHIE RAWORTH: What you are look looking at now are military bands

:23:53. > :23:59.from eight different countries. Scotland, England, Norway, Poland,

:24:00. > :24:05.Belgium and France. We have the military band of the mar chute

:24:06. > :24:08.regiment here taking part in proceedings. -- the military band of

:24:09. > :24:11.the Parachute Regiment. The Queen will be the last to

:24:12. > :24:18.arrive. President Hollande will be the

:24:19. > :24:22.first. I'm joined by Robert hardman, the royal biographer and writer for

:24:23. > :24:26.the Daily Mail who has spent the past week here, talking to many

:24:27. > :24:31.investigate who are here at this ceremony today. It means an awful

:24:32. > :24:37.lot, doesn't it? It really does, Sophie. It is very striking, when

:24:38. > :24:41.you come back here, the extent to however many times these veterans

:24:42. > :24:46.have been coming back, it is still raw in their mind. They are perhaps

:24:47. > :24:52.more emotional, and happy to express emotions than when they first

:24:53. > :24:57.started coming back here. A very great number.

:24:58. > :25:01.The veterans, a large number of them from Britain, have made a huge

:25:02. > :25:05.effort to be here. They are here often about large family groups.

:25:06. > :25:09.They are proud. You don't hear them talking about the word reunion or

:25:10. > :25:13.trip. They talk about a pilgrimage. Out of more than 1,000 veterans who

:25:14. > :25:17.are here at Sword Beach this afternoon, around half of them are

:25:18. > :25:21.from Great Britain, one-quarter from America, the rest from countries

:25:22. > :25:25.like Canada. It is a very big show from Britain, isn't it? It is huge.

:25:26. > :25:31.There have been very touching scenes in the last week on some of the

:25:32. > :25:35.cross-Channel ferries as they have come across today at the Bayeux

:25:36. > :25:42.cemetery. I talked to a gentleman who was on a ship that was sunk not

:25:43. > :25:47.long after D-Day, just off this shore and the cross-channel ferry

:25:48. > :25:51.slowed down to allow him to drop its wreath. They were happy to let the

:25:52. > :25:57.schedule overrun so he could drop his wreath in the Channel there.

:25:58. > :26:00.Have been sights like this all over Normandy, where individual regiments

:26:01. > :26:04.are remembered and here is the President. Any minute now, arriving

:26:05. > :26:14.here at this vast arena will be President Hollande. He is actually

:26:15. > :26:17.just setting off in fact from Chateau De Benouville where they

:26:18. > :26:20.have been having lunch. An extraordinary lunch that must have

:26:21. > :26:24.been taking place there. Yes, of course, we have really the most

:26:25. > :26:29.extraordinary gathering of world leaders they have seen for many

:26:30. > :26:33.years. Often you will get the big G7 leaders gathering but you don't

:26:34. > :26:37.often get them gathering with all these Monarchs and other royalty as

:26:38. > :26:42.well. It is an extraordinary gathering. The protocol has been

:26:43. > :26:45.quite something, not least, of course because President Putin is

:26:46. > :26:50.here and meeting a lot of the leaders who he would otherwise have

:26:51. > :26:53.been meeting at the G7, except he is not invited to that any more. So

:26:54. > :26:57.there is very much a modern narrative in the background here.

:26:58. > :27:02.But for the moment, obviously, it's the events of 70 years ago that are

:27:03. > :27:06.uppermost in the mind. President Hollande on his way. It looks like

:27:07. > :27:11.they are running slightly behind in timings. They were expecting them to

:27:12. > :27:16.be here already by now. The ceremony was going to be starting at about

:27:17. > :27:20.2.00pm UK time President Hollande the first to arrive. The last to

:27:21. > :27:23.arrive, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. She was only originally

:27:24. > :27:27.going to attend this ceremony, wasn't she? But she was very keen to

:27:28. > :27:32.make sure that she was at Bayeux this morning, as well. The Queen has

:27:33. > :27:35.had an extraordinary week when you think about the State Opening of

:27:36. > :27:40.Parliament. She is in the middle of a state visit to France. But there

:27:41. > :27:44.was no way she was going to miss the main gathering at the British

:27:45. > :27:48.cemetery in Bayeux today. And actually President Hollande has made

:27:49. > :27:51.a point, he says, that he organised this event, we are watching now,

:27:52. > :28:03.this was organised here very much with the Queen in mind:. It is

:28:04. > :28:08.partly a tribute to the Queen that we are on this stretch of the battle

:28:09. > :28:12.front. The fact that she is in the middle of a state visit. She is very

:28:13. > :28:17.much the centre of his attention today and tomorrow and she will, as

:28:18. > :28:22.you say, be the last to arrive, according to protocould. I don't

:28:23. > :28:25.think anyone would quarterly with that. The Duke of Edinburgh

:28:26. > :28:32.obviously accompanying here as well. He did see action at World War Two.

:28:33. > :28:35.Very much. He wasn't at D-day but he had already distinguished himself by

:28:36. > :28:40.then, in the Mediterranean. I must tell you about the gentleman you can

:28:41. > :28:49.see here being led along on the stage there. He is a 918-year-old

:28:50. > :28:52.man who landed here on Sword Beach, one of the French -- he is a

:28:53. > :28:57.91-year-old. One of the French commandos who

:28:58. > :28:58.landed here. Huge applause for these veterans as they make their way,

:28:59. > :29:24.slowly, on to the beach. really appreciate. They do. They are

:29:25. > :29:28.always modest, and they always make the point that they are the lucky

:29:29. > :29:34.ones, but nonetheless, I think it is very gratifying, after all these

:29:35. > :29:40.years, that this is still so important to the free world. This

:29:41. > :29:44.amazing complex here sums up the sheer scale of D-Day. This was

:29:45. > :29:48.happening across a 50 mile battlefront, more than 150,000

:29:49. > :29:53.people landing in the first day. More than a million people before

:29:54. > :29:58.the end of June. If you look at these grandstands, they are, dating

:29:59. > :30:03.1000 veterans. It is amazing, the scale of the numbers of people. And

:30:04. > :30:09.some of the veterans have been given top place, haven't they? We saw one

:30:10. > :30:16.American veteran accompanying President Obama as he arrived at the

:30:17. > :30:21.lunch. A number of the veterans have joined the Queen. They have, and the

:30:22. > :30:28.VIPs have taken them under their wing. President Obama took one

:30:29. > :30:32.veteran in his zine and took him to lunch at the chateau with the world

:30:33. > :30:33.leaders. Reply being a bit relaxed with their protocol today, and quite

:30:34. > :30:48.right, too. It has to be said also, it is

:30:49. > :30:53.incredibly hot here today, it is 26 degrees here on Sword Beach. Very,

:30:54. > :30:58.very different to how it was on D-Day, 70 years ago, when there was

:30:59. > :31:02.only just break in the weather which allowed the Allies to land here. It

:31:03. > :31:12.is good to be a long, hot afternoon I think for some of these gentlemen.

:31:13. > :31:17.Yes, I have seen a lot of medics around. There is plenty of shade, I

:31:18. > :31:21.do not think these gentlemen will be expected to stay there all

:31:22. > :31:26.afternoon. Let's hope not! They have got their backs to the stage, for a

:31:27. > :31:32.start. I think as soon as the heads of state start arriving, they will

:31:33. > :31:39.pass by here along the red carpet and take their places in front of

:31:40. > :31:43.the veterans here. As I say, President Hollande, when he arrives,

:31:44. > :31:48.it will be the first sign that they are all on their way. This

:31:49. > :31:59.extraordinary stage that you can see is going to be the place where a

:32:00. > :32:05.performance will take place this afternoon, 45 minutes long, roughly.

:32:06. > :32:10.And it will be a mixture of performers, volunteers, 500

:32:11. > :32:18.volunteers from Normandy who have been chosen to perform in front of

:32:19. > :32:24.some of these veterans, as well as the world leaders. And they are

:32:25. > :32:28.going to be on that stage re-enacting, I suppose you could

:32:29. > :32:36.say, parts of World War II, from the occupation, through D-Day, to the

:32:37. > :32:43.long path to victory. And then, right up to the present day, almost.

:32:44. > :32:48.And at the end of that performance, many of those veterans will go on

:32:49. > :32:55.stage and join some of the performers out on Sword Beach. Yes,

:32:56. > :33:00.this event has a deliberate international flavour. What we saw

:33:01. > :33:07.earlier and what we will see later on today in Arromanches, that is

:33:08. > :33:11.very much a British event come with a British flavour, organised by the

:33:12. > :33:15.Normandy Veterans' Association. This one here has been organised by the

:33:16. > :33:18.French government, and it has to incorporate all strands of World War

:33:19. > :33:24.II, including those on the other side. So it will have a think rather

:33:25. > :33:36.a different tone to what we have seen so far. But it has certainly

:33:37. > :33:47.got the veterans very excited. This is the chateau, where the leaders

:33:48. > :33:57.are waiting to be driven a fairly short distance, four or five miles,

:33:58. > :34:02.to the beach. The veterans very much soaking up the sun, some wonderful

:34:03. > :34:07.medals on display. We also saw the commemorative medal which every

:34:08. > :34:11.veteran returning for this anniversary receives, just to say

:34:12. > :34:15.that they were here, and they have been very proud to have those. Most

:34:16. > :34:22.of them also have the commemorative medals to say that they were here

:34:23. > :34:27.for the 60th, and indeed for the 50th. These commemorations have

:34:28. > :34:31.become an important part of their lives. When you talk to the

:34:32. > :34:36.veterans, as you have done for the past week, I mean, I stood on Sword

:34:37. > :34:40.Beach this morning at the exact time that the Allies came in, that those

:34:41. > :34:44.soldiers fought their way up the beach 70 years ago, for those

:34:45. > :34:52.veterans, those memories are so vivid, aren't they? Absolutely,

:34:53. > :34:57.etched on their minds. I had a fascinating conversation with a

:34:58. > :35:02.gentleman. The minute you say to them, if you would not mind, can we

:35:03. > :35:10.just go back 70 years, and suddenly, the eyes widen and it just comes

:35:11. > :35:14.out. I met a gentleman this morning, in Bayeux, 98 years old, and still

:35:15. > :35:19.wearing his battle dress, he decided he was going to put it on for the

:35:20. > :35:23.occasion. If you think what actually happened on this very beach 70 years

:35:24. > :35:28.ago, right by the town of Ouistreham, it took 2.5 hours for

:35:29. > :35:32.the mainly British troops to fight their way from the shore. They

:35:33. > :35:38.landed just before 7.30 in the morning, I think... And just inland,

:35:39. > :35:44.in the middle of the night, we had had the airborne assault on Pegasus

:35:45. > :35:51.Bridge, just up the canal. That is just to the south of here, Major

:35:52. > :35:56.John Howard and his men, the gliders performing this extraordinary

:35:57. > :35:59.operation on Pegasus Bridge, the first momentous victory of D-Day,

:36:00. > :36:06.that was going on in the early hours. So, inland from here, there

:36:07. > :36:10.were 22,000 airborne troops inland trying to capture those strategic

:36:11. > :36:14.positions, so that these strategic beaches, well, they were still

:36:15. > :36:18.extremely dangerous, but they were less dangerous than they might have

:36:19. > :36:23.been. And there was a German stronghold on this very beach,

:36:24. > :36:31.almost where we are sitting, and that is where the commandos were

:36:32. > :36:44.directed, to take out that stronghold. It is almost sacred

:36:45. > :36:50.French territory, it is where the free French were involved in this

:36:51. > :36:56.extremely dangerous assault on the casino, and on Ouistreham, and they

:36:57. > :37:02.did capture it, but at great cost to themselves and many others. And they

:37:03. > :37:05.had to push on. While this beach has great significance for British

:37:06. > :37:10.troops in particular, it also has enormous resonance with the French,

:37:11. > :37:15.doesn't it, because this is where the first regular French troops

:37:16. > :37:25.landed in Normandy? There were 177 of them. Yes, the French commander

:37:26. > :37:28.was given the honour. For this particular landing, it was very

:37:29. > :37:37.clear that the French should go first, going on to their own soil.

:37:38. > :37:44.Some of them even managed a joke as they came over on their landing

:37:45. > :38:00.craft, saying, a one-way ticket, please, monsieur. The job was then

:38:01. > :38:06.to join up with the sixth airborne division, at Pegasus Bridge. Yes,

:38:07. > :38:12.they were protecting the Eastern flank, to stop the inevitable German

:38:13. > :38:17.counterattack, Rommel's forces were not going to waste much time coming

:38:18. > :38:21.down and trying to push the Allies back into the sea. These people,

:38:22. > :38:25.they were holding the line, they were holding the entire Eastern

:38:26. > :38:30.flank of the entire invasion. If this had fallen, then who knows? I

:38:31. > :38:35.think you can glimpse our first arrivals, and this will be president

:38:36. > :38:39.Francois Hollande, who is very much hosting the day-to-day. He will be

:38:40. > :39:03.welcoming all the leaders and heads of government.

:39:04. > :39:12.Francois Hollande and the French Prime Minister leading the way with

:39:13. > :39:16.two young children. The message today very much about making sure

:39:17. > :39:17.that D-Day is not forgotten, that it is something which is passed on to

:39:18. > :39:39.future generations. It has been striking out a lot of

:39:40. > :39:43.the events that there are a lot of children who have come over from

:39:44. > :39:45.Britain. Parents must have taken their children out of school to come

:39:46. > :39:49.and see something they will never forget. It was very touching

:39:50. > :39:54.yesterday, there were ten children from Dorset at Pegasus Bridge,

:39:55. > :40:02.holding up a sign saying, the young are grateful. I think there are

:40:03. > :40:06.indeed a lot of children in the audience today. Each veteran has

:40:07. > :40:12.been allowed to bring to guests. And here we are. President Hollande

:40:13. > :40:26.greeting and talking to many of the veterans. They have such

:40:27. > :40:31.extraordinary stories to tell, don't they, every one of them? Absolutely.

:40:32. > :40:42.You really do not want to interrupt . it is very interesting watching a

:40:43. > :40:46.lot of VIP events just running over. One gentleman apologising for not

:40:47. > :40:54.standing up. I think we will let him do that!

:40:55. > :41:02.And all of these men, now in their late 80s, at least, early

:41:03. > :41:06.nineties... Yes, most of these were the young ones. And yet, it is

:41:07. > :41:13.extraordinary how resilient some of them are. Yesterday we saw a former

:41:14. > :41:17.paratrooper, aged 89, jumping with the Red Devils, landing at the feet

:41:18. > :41:25.of the Prince of Wales. He stood up, put on his beret and saluted. And

:41:26. > :41:33.you think, well, 70 years on! And there was the American veteran who

:41:34. > :41:39.himself did jump just yesterday. Extraordinary people, although they

:41:40. > :41:53.are so modest. We call them heroes, they say, we are not the heroes. No,

:41:54. > :41:59.they are very quick to correct you. As Ray Lord said, the heroes are

:42:00. > :42:08.very much the ones who did not come home, that is the way they see it.

:42:09. > :42:12.They are very keen to make sure no one gets overlooked, and it is very

:42:13. > :42:16.touching, even some of the smallest cemeteries, to see the little

:42:17. > :42:26.flowers and crosses which have been freshly laid this week. I can hear

:42:27. > :42:29.President Hollande talking about Ukraine and discussing that. Of

:42:30. > :42:36.course, we have the new president of Ukraine here, and Vladimir Putin as

:42:37. > :42:41.well. This veteran very much on the case, asking President Hollande, and

:42:42. > :42:43.will be getting the first word from President Hollande, about the

:42:44. > :42:50.meeting which has been taking place. We understand that the two

:42:51. > :42:59.have spoken at the lunch at the chateau. And here is the president

:43:00. > :43:07.of the Ukraine now. And so, all the VIPs, the dignitaries, the leaders,

:43:08. > :43:10.are going to arrive. The Ukraine president was invited very much at

:43:11. > :43:14.the last minute. He was elected at the end of May, and he has been

:43:15. > :43:19.given a personal invitation from President Hollande, who was very

:43:20. > :43:27.keen to make sure that he was here, taking part today. When we watched

:43:28. > :43:31.the photocall earlier on at the chateau, he was very much in the

:43:32. > :43:35.front row. He was, and he was very keen to shake the hand of the Queen.

:43:36. > :43:40.It has been quite a few weeks for him, to suddenly take office and

:43:41. > :43:50.then to be at this extraordinary gathering of world leaders. But here

:43:51. > :43:57.he is. He will be in the front rank. Protocol applies, it is all done

:43:58. > :44:02.according to when you took office. And as I say, we understand that

:44:03. > :44:06.there has been a meeting. President Hollande was very keen to encourage

:44:07. > :44:11.talks of some kind with the president of Ukraine. Is it

:44:12. > :44:17.significant that he is the first to arrive? Well, it is protocol, but I

:44:18. > :44:19.think it is significant, the amount of applause he is getting. I would

:44:20. > :44:29.have thought many people have never set eyes on him before. It is a

:44:30. > :44:34.reminder of the way the modern is juxtaposed with what happened 70

:44:35. > :44:39.years ago. We are now going to have a succession of arrivals, from 19

:44:40. > :44:45.different countries in total. Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of

:44:46. > :44:50.Australia. Eight Australian Air Force One veterans are taking part

:44:51. > :44:55.today. On D-Day itself, 13 Australians were killed. But there

:44:56. > :45:00.were almost 1 million men and women who served during World War II.

:45:01. > :45:04.Although relatively few of those Australians fought here in Europe

:45:05. > :45:12.during World War II, most of their major effort from 1942 onwards was

:45:13. > :45:22.directed at defeating Japan. Yes, if one goes to, Wealth War Cemeteries

:45:23. > :45:23.around the world, the contribution of Australia is all too sadly

:45:24. > :45:38.obvious. introduce to the Queen this morning

:45:39. > :45:46.at Bayeux, some of the Australian veterans who had made the trip.

:45:47. > :45:53.Familiar faces. Lovely to listen to them greeting

:45:54. > :46:02.the veterans. And as he takes his seat there right in the front row.

:46:03. > :46:08.More arrivals now. Canada, the Prime Minister of Canada arriving.

:46:09. > :46:13.President Harper. And of course, Canada, a huge contribution here on

:46:14. > :46:17.D-day. Not on this very beach, although there were probably some

:46:18. > :46:23.Canadians amongst them, but the majority of Canadians on the next

:46:24. > :46:28.beach along. Juno Beach. The next beach to the west, an extraordinary

:46:29. > :46:33.performance. By the end of this day, the Canadians had got further inland

:46:34. > :46:37.than anybody else. Certainly if you go to any part of Normandy, really,

:46:38. > :46:42.but particularly in the areas around Juno Beach and indeed around here,

:46:43. > :46:49.you see the maple leaf everywhere. They are very much recognised here.

:46:50. > :46:53.A lot of Canadians have come over here especially for this in the last

:46:54. > :47:00.few days. I have seen and met so many. They made an extraordinary

:47:01. > :47:05.effort. I met one Canadian veteran yesterday who came all the way from

:47:06. > :47:09.Hawaii,y, where he lives now. He had a horrible fall in London on the way

:47:10. > :47:14.through but he was patched up. Nothing would stop him. And on Juno

:47:15. > :47:18.Beach, one beach along, terrible casualties. The first wave, 50%

:47:19. > :47:30.casualties, the second-highest of the five beaches on D-Day. On the

:47:31. > :47:34.beaches and inland it was bad for the Canadians. The Canadian cemetery

:47:35. > :47:37.has the highest number of brothers. Nine sets of brothers in just one

:47:38. > :48:01.cemetery alone. Angela Merkel arriving now. I think

:48:02. > :48:06.I'm correct in saying this is the first time she had attended D-Day

:48:07. > :48:10.commemorations right here in Normandy.

:48:11. > :48:14.That's right. These major anniversary started with the 50th.

:48:15. > :48:17.On that occasion the German Chancellor wasn't here. There was a

:48:18. > :48:32.fairly lengthy diplomatic debate about it. But he didn't come. And

:48:33. > :48:38.then for the 60th, Schroeder was the first. Now Angela Merkel walked to

:48:39. > :48:43.her seat. We can't forget the German casualties on D-Day itself. Up to

:48:44. > :48:49.10,000 Germans died. The figures are so big, no-one is entirely sure. We

:48:50. > :48:54.do know the German cemetery, not far up the road at Caen is the largest

:48:55. > :49:04.in Normandy. More than 20,000 in there. Ten times that number died.

:49:05. > :49:08.And very, very clearly there, the theme of reconciliation. I don't

:49:09. > :49:09.think anybody could dispute the fact that she is getting a very warm

:49:10. > :49:20.well. APPLAUSE

:49:21. > :49:26.Will I would say it was correct the work for Mr Schroeder. Time has

:49:27. > :49:29.moved on. Now here is the President of the European Council coming up

:49:30. > :49:35.behind her. They are starting to come in fairly fast now. Obviously

:49:36. > :49:40.everyone has their - when you have airborne parachute drops and

:49:41. > :49:45.flyovers, you have to keep an eye on the time. This is all meant to be

:49:46. > :49:53.starting at 3.00pm. French time French time. You can see the

:49:54. > :50:03.veterans very keen to greet Angela Merkel. The German Chancellor.

:50:04. > :50:07.Everyone being very cordial. Light I think she's pleasantly surprised by

:50:08. > :50:12.the welcome. It is setting the tone for the occasion. There is going to

:50:13. > :50:23.be nothing triumphalist about any of this at all. Still an awful lot of

:50:24. > :50:27.seats to fill. There is the President of the European Council.

:50:28. > :50:31.You see behind the main VIPs, everyone has a seat for their

:50:32. > :50:37.translator, except for one. The Queen has made it clear shep doesn't

:50:38. > :50:47.want a translator because she -- she doesn't want a translator because

:50:48. > :50:54.she speaks French perfectly. Here we have King Phillippe of Belgium and

:50:55. > :51:05.his wife. He took the throne last year after the abdication of his

:51:06. > :51:09.father. As we watch all these arrivals take place, as they make

:51:10. > :51:15.their way along the red carpet, what do you think the veterans will make

:51:16. > :51:20.of the ceremony this afternoon, the spectaculars, the French are calling

:51:21. > :51:24.it, which has been a very closely-guarded secret, I have to

:51:25. > :51:28.say Yes, it has been very hard to find out anything, except that I

:51:29. > :51:33.think that it is going to be very French. Let's put it that way. I

:51:34. > :51:43.think there will be a lot of "interesting" interpretation of some

:51:44. > :51:48.of the darker sides of 20th Century history but I think given the size

:51:49. > :51:52.and scale of it, it is going to be extremely impressive. It will

:51:53. > :51:57.retell, in a fair amount of detail, the events that led up to D-Day, the

:51:58. > :52:02.events afterwards, the battle for Normandy, the path to peace and as I

:52:03. > :52:08.said earlier, very much the theme that people here are very keen to

:52:09. > :52:12.make sure that the younger generations do not forget the

:52:13. > :52:17.terrible sacrifice that was made by so many people And by the locals. I

:52:18. > :52:23.think that's going to be a very strong theme One of these enormous

:52:24. > :52:27.grandstands here is devoted entirely to people who live in this part of

:52:28. > :52:34.Normandy. They really suffered as badly as anybody. 15,000 French

:52:35. > :52:40.people, civilians, died during the bombing operation that led up to

:52:41. > :52:51.D-Day. Terrible stories in and around here. There is thing King and

:52:52. > :53:01.Queen of Holland. Lnchts king which il yem King

:53:02. > :53:07.Willem-Alexander and his Queen. -- King Willem-Alex and de.

:53:08. > :53:28.The veterans have all been given umbrellas.

:53:29. > :53:34.Not surprisingly, its very hot out there. And we are told that

:53:35. > :53:41.President Hollande will be making a speech lasting 15 minutes.

:53:42. > :53:57.Bagpipes play Good to hear the bagpipes there.

:53:58. > :54:01.It is said that quite a lot of people at the time were telling a

:54:02. > :54:08.Piper to shut up because it was drawing attention to him. There is a

:54:09. > :54:14.statue to him. Piper Bill. He was the only man I'm told, wearing a kit

:54:15. > :54:18.on D-Day. He was orderedly Lord Lovit, to come off the landing craft

:54:19. > :54:22.and play the bagpipes and continue until all the soldiers were on the

:54:23. > :54:27.beach. One of the great enduring tales of D-Day. It stuck in the mind

:54:28. > :54:31.of certainly everyone who heard the pipes that day. They have never

:54:32. > :54:37.forgotten it. To do that under fire, quite extraordinary but then Lord

:54:38. > :54:48.Lovitt was one of those leader of men. A great favourite of Churchill.

:54:49. > :54:56.He was known for deer stalking and he was shooting at the enemy. It is

:54:57. > :54:59.said that he heard via captured German soldiers later on that they

:55:00. > :55:03.didn't fire at him as he walked up and down piping at the beach because

:55:04. > :55:08.they thought he was just, he was crazy. They didn't shoot.

:55:09. > :55:16.A wonderful story. Extraordinary story. He piped all the way up to

:55:17. > :55:19.Pegasus Bridge to warm the 6th Airborne Division that they were

:55:20. > :55:22.coming. It certainly cheered them up to know that Lovitt's men were

:55:23. > :55:42.coming. What a hero he was. Here we Have the President of the --

:55:43. > :55:49.here we have the President of the Czech Republic, I think.

:55:50. > :55:54.I think we should point out that this event, 3.25, it was supposed to

:55:55. > :55:59.start, 3.25 in France, it was suppose to start 25 minutes ago. So,

:56:00. > :56:08.quite a lot of seats still waiting to be filled. The Kings of Holland

:56:09. > :56:13.and Belgium. President Hollande checking they are all all right. I

:56:14. > :56:23.think they are all reassuring him that they are just fine.

:56:24. > :56:31.We will see the Queen later. She will be the last to arrive but she

:56:32. > :56:35.has come to so many of these big anniversaries, the commemorations,

:56:36. > :56:42.although not the 6 a 5th. She was here for the -- the 65th. She was

:56:43. > :56:49.here for the 50th. I think one of the most powerful images of her

:56:50. > :56:52.reign, she was stood on the beach at Arromanches and hundreds of

:56:53. > :57:00.thousands of veterans marched past her. She is here today this. Means a

:57:01. > :57:04.lot to her. Here we see President Obama leaving Chateau De Benouville.

:57:05. > :57:07.It is just up the road. It was a maternity hospital during the war.

:57:08. > :57:12.The Resistance used to hide people in the grounds. Today it was the

:57:13. > :57:15.scene of the lunch. President Obama will leave, followed by the Queen

:57:16. > :57:20.and then she will be the last to take her seat. I think it is safe to

:57:21. > :57:27.say, it is going to be a little while before this event starts. Ah,

:57:28. > :57:33.now, Vladimir Putin. A man who is here in the name of something like

:57:34. > :57:39.20 million Russian... Who lost their lives. 27 million Russians, I think

:57:40. > :57:48.in total who lost their lives to the Nazis. Vladimir Putin, who was at

:57:49. > :57:56.the lunch. We know that he has now spoken to the new Ukrainian

:57:57. > :57:59.President. No talks, as we understand it, have taken place

:58:00. > :58:07.between President Obama, though. But he did, just yesterday, meet David

:58:08. > :58:10.Cameron in the Customs area, I understand from Charles de Gaulle.

:58:11. > :58:15.He had a meeting there in the Customs area, before going on to

:58:16. > :58:20.meet President Hollande, who was very keen that the Russian President

:58:21. > :58:23.attend. He was invited before the events in Crimea but then, of course

:58:24. > :58:28.there was a questionmark over whether he would be here but there

:58:29. > :58:31.is applause here, again, as this theme of reconciliation - people

:58:32. > :58:36.want to make it quite clear that some things can be set aside for the

:58:37. > :58:40.day, but as you say there has been a lot of diplomacy on the hoof. The

:58:41. > :58:45.Prime Minister meeting him last night at Charles de Gaulle Airport

:58:46. > :58:50.and no doubt there will be other hastily arranged bilaterals before

:58:51. > :59:04.he goes again. The Governor General of New Zealand.

:59:05. > :59:14.He served in the New Zealand Special Armed Service and he was also Chief

:59:15. > :59:21.of the Defence Force. There is the Queen preparing to get in her car.

:59:22. > :59:27.So probably about five, ten maybe minutes before we see the Queen here

:59:28. > :59:32.on Sword Beach. Of course, minutes before we see the Queen here

:59:33. > :59:38.on Sword Beach. Of there was a famous tussle between her father,

:59:39. > :59:45.the late king, and Churchill, as to who was going to accompany the

:59:46. > :59:53.Allied invasion and both had to tell the other - stay at home, it wasn't

:59:54. > :59:58.worth the risk. But they were both here within days. George #r6 and a

:59:59. > :00:03.few days before him, Churchill, were also on these beaches.

:00:04. > :00:13.You can only bhadge must have been happening at this lunch in Chateau

:00:14. > :00:17.De Benouville. Maybe they were having such intense discussion that

:00:18. > :00:21.is there has ban delay. The protocol people were nervous about how quite

:00:22. > :00:24.to play it with President Putin. Obviously Russia was a very

:00:25. > :00:28.important ally and in the end, President Putin was seated between

:00:29. > :00:33.the Queen of Denmark and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, near the top of

:00:34. > :00:46.the table. The Queen had pride of place between President Obama and

:00:47. > :00:57.President Hollande. And there, the president of Italy arriving, walking

:00:58. > :01:01.along the red carpet. The oldest head of state in Europe, who

:01:02. > :01:07.actually fought with the partisans in Italy towards the end of the war.

:01:08. > :01:14.And as he said very recently, in fact, he was inspired during the war

:01:15. > :01:22.by the example of the Royal Family in Britain. The Queen visited him

:01:23. > :01:27.just two months ago in Rome, and he mentioned that. It is a great honour

:01:28. > :01:32.for these children, I think they are all from this town of Ouistreham,

:01:33. > :01:37.150 of them taking part today. What a moment for them. Extraordinary,

:01:38. > :01:42.this does not happen on your doorstep very often. There are

:01:43. > :01:47.enormous crowds. The security is obviously very, very tight. There

:01:48. > :01:52.are huge crowds on the perimeter, just about half a mile along the

:01:53. > :02:02.shore, trying to get a glimpse of what is going to be taking place.

:02:03. > :02:07.Highland Cathedral being played, which actually was composed by the

:02:08. > :02:20.German musician. Prince Albert of Monaco. And behind him, the

:02:21. > :02:26.president of Greece. He was among the first to join the armed

:02:27. > :02:44.resistance during the Nazi occupation of Greece.

:02:45. > :02:53.These huge stands, packed with journalists and photographers, as

:02:54. > :02:58.you can see. Presenters. 1000 journalists here to cover this. It

:02:59. > :03:03.is a hugely significant international event. Probably the

:03:04. > :03:08.last that we will see of its kind here, certainly with so many

:03:09. > :03:14.veterans. With so many veterans, but at the 60th, there was a valley

:03:15. > :03:20.Victoria feel then. A lot of the speeches made it clear that people

:03:21. > :03:30.expected it to be the last great gathering, and ten years on, I think

:03:31. > :03:35.this could eclipse it. Angela Merkel speaking to President Putin, and we

:03:36. > :03:43.know that she was also at this meeting, I understand, with the new

:03:44. > :03:56.Ukrainian president. And this is the president of the Slovak Republic.

:03:57. > :04:05.These international events have grown and grown over the years. The

:04:06. > :04:11.first one was not even an event, ten years after D-Day, 1954, and the

:04:12. > :04:15.President of the United States, President Eisenhower, who had been

:04:16. > :04:20.the supreme commander on D-Day, he did not visit Normandy but he did

:04:21. > :04:26.release a short statement. He pointedly did not visit Normandy.

:04:27. > :04:33.But the ceremonies to mark what happened here have grown bigger and

:04:34. > :04:38.bigger. That's right. They really started with the 40th anniversary,

:04:39. > :04:46.memories of President Reagan. And here is the Queen. It is interesting

:04:47. > :04:50.that as she appears on the screen, a bit of a cheer goes up. And there

:04:51. > :04:57.she is on her way. She brought the world leaders across in the royal at

:04:58. > :05:04.the 50th anniversary, extraordinary scenes in the Solent. And she was

:05:05. > :05:09.also here for the 60th, obviously. That was held on the cliffs above

:05:10. > :05:14.Arromanches, the international ceremony. This is certainly the

:05:15. > :05:20.largest international ceremony that we have seen on these beaches, in

:05:21. > :05:26.terms of numbers in the crowd. The grand duke of Luxembourg arriving,

:05:27. > :05:33.with his wife. His grandfather was part of the invasion force, grand

:05:34. > :05:38.Duke Henry himself was at Sandhurst. There is the king of Norway, King

:05:39. > :05:46.Harald, who was a boy when Norway was invaded, and spent the war in

:05:47. > :05:52.America, while his grandfather ran the government in exile in London.

:05:53. > :05:56.On D-Day itself I think there were 10-11 Norwegian warships which took

:05:57. > :06:01.part, and one of those was the first Allied vessel to be sunk. That's

:06:02. > :06:08.right. It was right here. There was a trio of German boats which came

:06:09. > :06:16.out to try to take on the Allied fleet, sunk one of them and made a

:06:17. > :06:35.hasty retreat. 37 Norwegians were killed on D-Day.

:06:36. > :06:42.The Queen of Denmark, another very long serving monarch. Recently

:06:43. > :06:57.celebrated her 40th anniversary on the throne. She was seated next to

:06:58. > :06:58.Vladimir Putin over lunch. I am sure she was extremely diplomatic. With

:06:59. > :07:39.more than 40 years on the throne. APPLAUSE THE DANISH QUEEN HAS BEEN

:07:40. > :07:46.ATTENDING A SPECIAL DANISH CEREMONY DOWN AT Utah Beach earlier today.

:07:47. > :07:47.Earlier in Arromanches, the king of Holland was therefore a Dutch

:07:48. > :08:02.parade. And there are of course, we cannot

:08:03. > :08:06.see them, but there is another arena, another stand, just to the

:08:07. > :08:13.left, which is full of people who are from Normandy. Because Normandy,

:08:14. > :08:16.obviously, it paid a terrible price, didn't it, thousands and thousands

:08:17. > :08:22.of civilians who were killed during the bombing? The suffering in some

:08:23. > :08:27.of the towns, where thousands and thousands were killed, it is places

:08:28. > :08:31.that were pretty much destroyed, and yet they have been rebuilt, and they

:08:32. > :08:49.still turn out to thank these veterans. Here we see the royal

:08:50. > :08:55.party arriving, I think. I do not think quite yet, I think we have got

:08:56. > :08:59.President Obama to come. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall

:09:00. > :09:05.arriving. Prince Charles has been taking part in a number of

:09:06. > :09:08.ceremonies and services here. Yes, yesterday, he was at the centre of

:09:09. > :09:20.the airborne events around the Utah bridge, and watched 300 parachutists

:09:21. > :09:24.come in. He saw and met the men of the Sixth Airborne, who were the

:09:25. > :09:46.first to land on D-Day. While Prince Charles and the Queen

:09:47. > :09:50.will be here, we know that later on, Prince William and the Duke and

:09:51. > :09:54.Duchess of Cambridge, will be in Arromanches for what promises to be

:09:55. > :10:00.a very moving moment with the British veterans there. It will, it

:10:01. > :10:06.always is. With the remnants of Mulberry Harbour sticking out of the

:10:07. > :10:12.sea, and the sun going down, it is an incredibly moving backdrop. The

:10:13. > :10:18.Prince has been there many times. He has also spent a lot of time here

:10:19. > :10:24.with Canadian veterans as well. Obviously, as the future king of

:10:25. > :10:36.Canada, the sacrifice on Juno Beach is one which has very correctly been

:10:37. > :10:43.well chronicled by the royal party. As we see President Putin, next to

:10:44. > :10:47.the president of Slovakia. Prince Charles was not at the lunch at the

:10:48. > :11:05.chateau? He was lunching with veterans, before dropping in.

:11:06. > :11:12.Those umbrellas firmly held in place over the heads of the veterans who

:11:13. > :11:22.have lined up here. Because that heat is pretty intense now. So, what

:11:23. > :11:28.will happen once President Obama and the Queen arrived is that President

:11:29. > :11:35.Hollande will make his way out onto that podium that you can see on the

:11:36. > :11:46.sand, and he will address the audience. And then immediately

:11:47. > :11:52.afterwards, the performance begins. And I understand it begins with

:11:53. > :11:57.fireworks. I think it will be quite something to behold. It includes

:11:58. > :12:03.parachute drops. Indeed. Last night, there were various events taking

:12:04. > :12:09.place along the coast, including firework displays. There was an

:12:10. > :12:15.impressive display at midnight over Pegasus Bridge. And there have been

:12:16. > :12:22.many extraordinary scenes here in the last few days. When you see

:12:23. > :12:26.President Putin standing there, the shots of him amongst these world

:12:27. > :12:32.leaders, this is the first time he has been here with leaders, the

:12:33. > :12:37.first time he has met Western leaders since the crisis began. And

:12:38. > :12:40.we have a deeply worrying situation in Ukraine, with fighting and

:12:41. > :12:48.bloodshed on the ground, and here he is, standing for the first time with

:12:49. > :12:52.the new president of Ukraine. We are very much seeing diplomacy taking

:12:53. > :12:58.place right in front of us. I think in many ways, had things not

:12:59. > :13:04.happened in Crimea, he would have been hosting a G8 summit in the last

:13:05. > :13:08.few days in Sochi. But instead, he has been left out of the

:13:09. > :13:17.deliberations of the G7, as it has now become again. But we now know

:13:18. > :13:23.that discussions have taken place. Could D-Day 70 years on be a turning

:13:24. > :13:48.point in the crisis in Ukraine? Indeed. As President Obama pulls up.

:13:49. > :13:56.And so, President Obama about to arrive in front of the 7000 strong

:13:57. > :14:01.audience, and no doubt he will get a very warm reception indeed. He came

:14:02. > :14:11.here for the 65th anniversary, not long after being first elected, and

:14:12. > :14:14.was very warmly received. President Obama's own grandfather landed on

:14:15. > :14:20.the Normandy beaches just six weeks after D-Day. He was part of the

:14:21. > :14:26.drive that carried the Allies across France. A lot of these leaders do

:14:27. > :14:33.have personal connections with D-Day, with the Normandy campaign.

:14:34. > :14:36.Prime Minister David Cameron's grandfather came

:14:37. > :14:40.Prime Minister David Cameron's grandfather ashore here very early

:14:41. > :14:46.on in the Normandy operation, and two days after D-Day was very badly

:14:47. > :14:59.wounded, leading his men into action. So many of the leaders here

:15:00. > :15:09.have stories of ancestors and loved ones who were involved. A great

:15:10. > :15:13.reception for the president. You cannot forget the price that America

:15:14. > :15:18.paid, the lives that they lost. 73,000 troops landed here, but so

:15:19. > :15:25.many casualties on D-Day, particularly on Omaha Beach. Omaha

:15:26. > :15:32.Beach, famously, was the worst of the landing beaches, the killing

:15:33. > :15:40.ground there, where 2500 men it is thought died that morning.

:15:41. > :16:04.Wonderful to see you. Thank you for your service.

:16:05. > :16:10.see you, Sir, thank you so much for your service. President Putin

:16:11. > :16:12.looking on. The two men haven't had any conversations over the last few

:16:13. > :16:29.days. APPLAUSE

:16:30. > :16:36.I've just been told that they did hold a very brief meeting. It wasn't

:16:37. > :16:46.planned, but the two men have spoken. That was at the event today.

:16:47. > :16:53.They were seated literally two or three places apart at lunch.

:16:54. > :16:59.I think they are now aware of the big screen here showing them both

:17:00. > :17:04.together. I think the audience are enjoying this. This is being shown

:17:05. > :17:09.to the audience. President Obama and President Putin will be able to see

:17:10. > :17:15.exactly what is up there, for the world to see.

:17:16. > :17:29.Diplomacy in the making. Taking place 70 years after the landings on

:17:30. > :17:37.Sword Beach. I'm sure Mr Hollande will be happy, if this event has

:17:38. > :17:42.overrun run, that great world events have been taking place behind the

:17:43. > :17:47.scenes. Even so, for some of these veterans, it is very hot and there

:17:48. > :17:51.are lots of other events for them to go to. It is a very tight timetable.

:17:52. > :17:58.It is getting for an hour overdue now. Well, we should see Her Majesty

:17:59. > :18:02.the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arriving shortly. To let you know,

:18:03. > :18:12.that these pictures we are showing you, are being provided to us by our

:18:13. > :18:17.French colleagues. It is very much a French occasion and they are

:18:18. > :18:30.providing the coverage and all the pictures for us.

:18:31. > :18:53.President Hollande making his way back to the point where the last of

:18:54. > :18:56.the dignitaries will arrive. They have been playing a long time those

:18:57. > :19:00.military bands, haven't they? They have been here for about three hours

:19:01. > :19:05.now. They will be feeling the heat. I think everyone just takes the view

:19:06. > :19:09.that given what really went on, on these beaches, a little bit of

:19:10. > :19:11.sunshine and standing on one's feet a little longer than expected, isn't

:19:12. > :19:39.really much to ask. There are four of these enormous -

:19:40. > :19:43.almost like hangars, really that have been einvestigated here. Well,

:19:44. > :19:47.they have put them up very, very - well in the last month. They will be

:19:48. > :19:52.familiar to viewers who have taken the cross-Channel ferry that comes

:19:53. > :19:56.in alongside this particular spot. All cross-Channel ferry traffic has

:19:57. > :20:00.been barred from this section of the French coast today, along with most

:20:01. > :20:03.of the traffic but security has been extraordinary. It is understandable,

:20:04. > :20:08.I suppose, but it has caused problems for some of the veterans as

:20:09. > :20:14.they have tried to get around. It is to be expected. A lot come here year

:20:15. > :20:17.after year, when there isn't a big anniversary on, and drive around

:20:18. > :20:21.wherever they like, but this year they have all had to get special

:20:22. > :20:25.passes and security clearance. I think some of them have found it a

:20:26. > :20:29.little stressful, as particularly some of the passes only very

:20:30. > :20:34.recently arrived. There have been logistical problems today. I spoke

:20:35. > :20:40.to one Normandy Veterans Association organiser this morning who suddenly

:20:41. > :20:46.discovered ten coach loads of his victims and families had been

:20:47. > :20:51.despatched to the American cemetery, not the British one. This things

:20:52. > :20:55.happen. Well, this delay is learning plenty of time for some more

:20:56. > :20:57.diplomacy. We saw Angela Merkel there, talking to Vladimir Putin.

:20:58. > :21:03.Very important what is happening in front of us right now. I'm afraid my

:21:04. > :21:16.lip-reading and Russian aren't great but something is being discussed, an

:21:17. > :21:20.earnest discussion. I think we can safely say - I hope we can safely

:21:21. > :21:22.say that any minute now the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be

:21:23. > :21:36.arriving. The Queen and President Hollande

:21:37. > :21:40.will be meeting again this evening, because she is in the middle of her

:21:41. > :21:46.state visit tonight. When all of this is over she has to get back to

:21:47. > :21:50.Paris because there there is a state banquet at the Elysee Palace this

:21:51. > :21:54.evening with speeches and toasts and tomorrow she has a busy day in

:21:55. > :21:58.Paris. She has probably had the busiest week since her Diamond

:21:59. > :22:03.Jubilee this week, with her State Opening of Parliament. She has had

:22:04. > :22:06.to host a garden party for 8,000 people in London and then the

:22:07. > :22:11.following day another one for 2,000 people in the British Embassy

:22:12. > :22:15.guardens in Paris. She's going on a walk-about in the middle of Paris

:22:16. > :22:19.tomorrow, going to see the mayor. Great excitement there. They are

:22:20. > :22:27.even going to name a market in Paris after her. Certainly the French

:22:28. > :22:32.media have devoted large amounts of space in recent days to the long

:22:33. > :22:39.relationship, the long history of friendship the Queen has and

:22:40. > :22:46.obviously as a fluent French speaker, because of her Canadian

:22:47. > :22:55.subjects. There is a great fondness towards the Queen. And her father

:22:56. > :22:59.came to the beaches shortly after D-Day. Yes and not only that, he

:23:00. > :23:03.broadcast to the nation. Churchill thought it was a matter for him but

:23:04. > :23:07.he did T he said "Our nation stood alone against an overwhelming enemy

:23:08. > :23:13.with backs against the war. We survived the test and now once more,

:23:14. > :23:17.a supreme test has to be faced." Powerful words which captured the

:23:18. > :23:23.mood that day and 12 days later, here he was on these beaches. He

:23:24. > :23:30.wanted to come sooner, didn't he? He did. Churchill said - it is not on.

:23:31. > :23:36.And the king had to say the same to Churchill but they both didn't waste

:23:37. > :23:43.any time coming over here and for the Queen, these are her father's

:23:44. > :23:48.men, that she sees before her. For them, it's - we saw it this morning

:23:49. > :23:54.at Bayeux, it matters a huge amount, you know, that the King is

:23:55. > :23:58.represented. Here is the Queen, the Queen who was a Princess at the

:23:59. > :24:01.time, who was growing up around all the plans for D-Day, and who would

:24:02. > :24:04.have been just as worried as everybody else. Who knew what they

:24:05. > :24:11.all went through and here finally comes the royal party. The Queen

:24:12. > :24:17.spent most of World War Two in Windsor, didn't she? Windsor Castle,

:24:18. > :24:24.she did. Towards the end of the war she was in uniform. 1945, she joined

:24:25. > :24:33.the ATS. She was very much out and about on public engagements before

:24:34. > :24:36.that. I'm sure she is going to get a big cheer.

:24:37. > :24:51.CHEERING AND APPLAUSE She will meet President Hollande

:24:52. > :24:53.again today, who, as you say, is hosting her over this three-day

:24:54. > :25:11.state visit. This obviously means a lot, as well,

:25:12. > :25:17.to the Duke of Edinburgh. Not only did he see action during World War

:25:18. > :25:25.Two but his uncle, Lord Mountbatten. He was involved in the early Manning

:25:26. > :25:30.of D-Day. And the Duke himself, he wasn't here, but he certainly has

:25:31. > :25:35.always been extremely interested, and when he talks to the veterans

:25:36. > :25:44.here. This morning he met a veteran who served alongside him in the

:25:45. > :25:47.Mediterranean. The Queen has met so many veterans already today. At

:25:48. > :25:54.Bayeux this morning they were... They were all around her. I think

:25:55. > :25:59.the protocol went a little astray. There was this wonderful sort of

:26:00. > :26:06.throng and everyone wanted to have a picture and shake her hand. It's a

:26:07. > :26:11.real sense that, you know, she is one of us. She is the only head of

:26:12. > :26:17.state here who was in uniform in the war, as these gentlemen were and

:26:18. > :26:25.there is a bond there. They are of the same generation.

:26:26. > :26:31.David Cameron there, whose own father was on the Normandy beaches,

:26:32. > :26:35.injured in action. His grandfather. Grandfather, rather. He was there

:26:36. > :26:55.with the Reconnaissance Regiment, not far from here.

:26:56. > :27:02.She really does look delighted to be here. It means an awful lot for her

:27:03. > :27:07.to be taking part in something of - that gives so much recognition to

:27:08. > :27:10.these veterans. Very much so. I think the 50th anniversary,

:27:11. > :27:16.particularly, was - I think the memories of that have made it all

:27:17. > :27:21.more special today. The memory when once she had 10,000 veterans

:27:22. > :27:26.marching past her, and today a few hundred. But, the enthusiasm, the

:27:27. > :27:38.warmth of the reception is just the same. Well, now that all the heads

:27:39. > :27:46.of state and leaders of the 19 countries have finally arrived, and

:27:47. > :27:51.are seated, on Sword Beach, the proceedings will begin. The veterans

:27:52. > :27:56.there. The chosen few who were taken out on to the beach to greet them,

:27:57. > :28:01.being led back to their seats. And we have here, on stage, these

:28:02. > :28:10.military bands from eight different countries. Among them, the Military

:28:11. > :28:19.Band of the Parachute Regiment. They, no doubt, are about to perform

:28:20. > :28:21.again before President Hollande. That will be before President

:28:22. > :28:40.Hollande takes to the podium. The veterans being applauded back to

:28:41. > :28:50.their seats. Quite rightly, so, after a rather longer than

:28:51. > :28:53.expected... Hot work for them out there but I'm sure they enjoyed

:28:54. > :29:26.every moment. centre stage. He will, of pay

:29:27. > :29:30.tribute today to all the men and women who helped liberate France

:29:31. > :29:33.during the Normandy invasion. He is also expected to pay tribute to all

:29:34. > :30:41.those who lost their lives. THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIFE HERE IN

:30:42. > :30:44.NORMANDY ON D-DAY, because there were thousands and thousands of

:30:45. > :30:54.civilians who were killed, French civilians, 2000 or so, just in the

:30:55. > :31:00.city of Caen, just a few miles inland from here. And many more who

:31:01. > :31:13.lost their lives in the Battle of Normandy, which ensued. Yes, just up

:31:14. > :31:16.from here, in example, nine Parachute Regiment came in to land,

:31:17. > :31:22.several of them were dropped in the wrong place and were rescued from

:31:23. > :31:28.flooded fields by a French farmer, and the farmer and all his farm

:31:29. > :31:43.hands were later captured and executed.

:31:44. > :32:29.Flags from all of the nations who are attending today.

:32:30. > :32:41.And now the military bands making their way of this stage, the great

:32:42. > :32:46.map of Europe. That is where the performance will take place shortly.

:32:47. > :32:50.Many of these leaders already wearing their headphones for the

:32:51. > :32:58.translation, because during this performance, there will be quite a

:32:59. > :33:03.lot of commentary over the events, explaining what some of the archive

:33:04. > :33:20.footage that we showed on those big screens means.

:33:21. > :33:26.ROBERT HARDMAN: An indication in the background of the substantial naval

:33:27. > :33:36.presence that we have got here. British forces helping with this

:33:37. > :34:03.ceremony. Thousands of French troops helping in various ways.

:34:04. > :34:27.And so, President Hollande being told who the military bands were,

:34:28. > :34:33.who have been playing for the last few hours here on the beach. And

:34:34. > :35:03.good applause for them. It is a spectacular sight, right

:35:04. > :35:46.here on this beach. PRESIDENT SPEAKS FRENCH.

:35:47. > :35:55.TRANSLATION: You represent your 19 countries, all united with France in

:35:56. > :36:00.order to celebrate reconciliation, reunion, and the tribute we must pay

:36:01. > :36:08.to all the other truants who are here with us today. And first I wish

:36:09. > :36:11.to welcome our veterans, because they are the living witnesses of

:36:12. > :36:27.what happened here on the 6th of June 1944.

:36:28. > :36:38.This ceremony of the 70th anniversary is absolutely unique

:36:39. > :36:41.because of its magnitude. You can see for yourself that it is also

:36:42. > :36:49.exceptional because of the extraordinary fervour it has been

:36:50. > :37:00.creating. And it is exceptional at the very time when we are meeting

:37:01. > :37:10.together. It is a duty of memory for all the victims, whether military or

:37:11. > :37:29.civilian, whether Allied or also, even here, the German victims of

:37:30. > :37:34.Nazism. But we also wish to convey a message through this ceremony

:37:35. > :37:39.today, and flew the persons participating in this ceremony - it

:37:40. > :37:42.is a message of peace, it is a requirement for the United Nations

:37:43. > :37:53.that it intervenes wherever necessary for collective security.

:37:54. > :37:59.It is a message sent to Europe, Europe at peace, after having been

:38:00. > :38:06.the continent at war throughout the first half of the 20th-century. 70

:38:07. > :38:12.years ago today, before this very beach, this beautiful beach,

:38:13. > :38:29.thousands of young soldiers jumped in the water... They were 20, take

:38:30. > :38:37.or leave a year or two, and at that time, who could ever dare say that

:38:38. > :38:44.being 20 was the best time in life? 20 was the age of duty, the age of

:38:45. > :39:06.commitment, the age of sacrifice. They were cold, they were afraid.

:39:07. > :39:09.The air of today, in 1994 was obscured in the heat of battle. The

:39:10. > :39:16.great waters which we see today were filled with the froth of the landing

:39:17. > :39:26.barges and red and by the blood of the first fighters. What did these

:39:27. > :39:34.young men have in mind in the face of this fear and this trial? They

:39:35. > :39:42.surely had in mind their loving mother, they're worried father,

:39:43. > :39:48.their childhood, which was so close in their life, which was still so

:39:49. > :39:56.short and whose horizon was blocked by war. However, these young men in

:39:57. > :40:03.this hail of fire did not hesitate a second, they moved forward. They

:40:04. > :40:09.moved forward on French soil, they defied bullets and shells, they

:40:10. > :40:18.moved forward, risking their life, in order to shatter a diabolical,

:40:19. > :40:30.evil regime. They moved forward. And they kept moving forward to free

:40:31. > :40:42.us, to free us at long last. Among them were the members of the Kieffer

:40:43. > :40:50.Battalion, a small battalion of 177 brave men, who enabled France to

:40:51. > :41:02.free France. They were headed by Philippe Kieffer, and they made up

:41:03. > :41:12.the fourth commando of the First Special Brigade. Of 177, more than

:41:13. > :41:17.100 would be killed or injured in Normandy. They were small in numbers

:41:18. > :41:23.though great in value. A bit further, though much higher in

:41:24. > :41:31.numbers, was the Third Infantry Division. They were in charge of

:41:32. > :41:39.taking over the beach which was known as Sword Beach. Further on, we

:41:40. > :41:46.had the Canadian troops, leading the assault, and then, further west, the

:41:47. > :41:53.American forces led by General Bradley, which paid a heavy tribute

:41:54. > :42:03.to Operation Overlord, when they landed on Omaha Beach. It was said

:42:04. > :42:08.that each soldier who steps foot on the 6th of June 1944 on Omaha Beach

:42:09. > :42:14.was a hero. Yes, all of them were heroes, all these soldiers who kept

:42:15. > :42:27.on moving and moving forward for the sake of our freedom. We are in

:42:28. > :42:36.Normandy. The battle which took place throughout the summer of 1944,

:42:37. > :42:47.it was the greatest sea air battle in history, 140,000 soldiers, many,

:42:48. > :42:56.many ships and aircraft. On the 6th of June, 3000 soldiers perished,

:42:57. > :42:59.3000 were killed, but these soldiers coming from the sea had basically

:43:00. > :43:08.succeeded, they had stepped foot on French soil. And on the 6th of June

:43:09. > :43:16.1944, they started liberating France. As the sun was setting on

:43:17. > :43:24.the longest day, a bright light of hope rose on an enslaved Europe. On

:43:25. > :43:30.these beaches of Normandy still lingers the memory of a very harsh

:43:31. > :43:39.and uncertain struggle, a decisive struggle. On these peaceful beaches

:43:40. > :43:45.of Normandy still lingers the sole of the fighters who gave their lives

:43:46. > :43:53.to free Europe. On these peaceful beaches, on these quiet beaches,

:43:54. > :43:59.still blows, regardless of the passing of time and regardless of

:44:00. > :44:08.the changing seasons, the wind of freedom, and it still blows today.

:44:09. > :44:13.This is why I wish on behalf of France that the beaches of the

:44:14. > :44:31.Allied landing be listed among the UNESCO world Heritage. Because here,

:44:32. > :44:39.we are standing on a global Heritage site, and we want to recall the

:44:40. > :44:48.sacred nature of these places, and we want to preserve them for ever,

:44:49. > :44:53.and to be able to welcome new generations, which will want to

:44:54. > :44:57.visit these places, and they will want to understand how things

:44:58. > :45:03.happened, how their fate was actually decided on the 6th of June

:45:04. > :45:13.1944. Veterans, survivors, they are here with us today. In the very spot

:45:14. > :45:16.where they landed 70 years ago, where they jumped with their

:45:17. > :45:26.parachutes, where they fought, where they struggled, where they were

:45:27. > :45:31.wounded. On behalf of France, I want to fraternity welcome all the

:45:32. > :45:37.veterans who are present today. Thank you, thank you for being here

:45:38. > :45:44.in the summer of 1944, thank you for still being with us on the 6th of

:45:45. > :45:51.June 2014. And you will still be with us here in our mind and soul,

:45:52. > :46:03.you will always be on these beaches of the Allied landing.

:46:04. > :46:11.to all fighters who have left us. American, British, Canadian,

:46:12. > :46:15.Australian, Polish, Belgian and all citizenships and nationalities which

:46:16. > :46:24.fought side-to-side with the Allies. They all served mankind. If you can

:46:25. > :46:29.actually live in peace today, if we can live with security, if we can

:46:30. > :46:34.live in sovereignty, protected by the laws we decided and we voted, it

:46:35. > :46:40.is thanks to these men who gave their lives. And I want to affirm

:46:41. > :46:42.this, on this very beach, the gratitude of the French Republic

:46:43. > :47:00.will never die. Will never wither. When coming here, regardless of how

:47:01. > :47:06.old or young we are, regardless of who we are, regardless of where we

:47:07. > :47:11.are from, we are all very struck by the same emotion. What still strikes

:47:12. > :47:16.us today, when we move from place to place and sometimes from cemetery to

:47:17. > :47:22.cemetery, is actually the courage of the soldiers who fought here. The

:47:23. > :47:29.courage of paratroopers who jumped in the middle of the night to

:47:30. > :47:39.prepare the attack. The courage of the people who took over the hock.

:47:40. > :47:45.The courage of British soldiers, who silenced the Melville guns. The

:47:46. > :47:49.courage of the general who landed his men on Omaha Beach who were

:47:50. > :47:53.nailed in the sand by the violence of German fires. The courage of all

:47:54. > :47:58.these young men, who came from all over the world to conquer, metre

:47:59. > :48:03.after metre, inch after inch, the beaches and the dunes and also the

:48:04. > :48:08.courage of French Resistance who facilitated the success of the

:48:09. > :48:13.operation. The courage of the French, the free French who joined

:48:14. > :48:17.General gall gull's appeal and the courage of -- General de Gaulle's

:48:18. > :48:22.appeal. And the courage of civilian populations in Normandy who suffered

:48:23. > :48:26.the bombing, who suffered considerable losses and who didn't

:48:27. > :48:35.know whether they should share pain or joys. The pain for losing their

:48:36. > :48:40.dear ones, or the joy also, for having reconquered their freedom.

:48:41. > :48:48.And here, I want to pay tribute to the courage of the Red Army which,

:48:49. > :48:59.far from here, in the face of 150 German divisions, was able to push

:49:00. > :49:04.them back and to defeat them. And once again, and this can never be

:49:05. > :49:11.overstated, I want to emphasise the decisive contribution of the peoples

:49:12. > :49:27.of what was called the Soviet Union. We also must acknowledge what these

:49:28. > :49:29.people did, and for the Vic trim against narcissism.

:49:30. > :49:36.-- the victory. Lastly, I really wish to tribute the

:49:37. > :49:40.courage of the Germans who were the victims of the Nazi war. They were

:49:41. > :49:46.led into a war which wasn't theirs, which should never have been theirs

:49:47. > :50:02.and today we really want to pay homage to all the victims of Nazi

:50:03. > :50:14.rule. To quote General Eisenhower, this recalls a simple truth which we

:50:15. > :50:18.should always keep in mind, in always circumstances, "Freedom is

:50:19. > :50:24.not something that should be taken for granted as some people seem to

:50:25. > :50:29.believe, freedom is not as natural as the air we breathe. Some people

:50:30. > :50:33.think we shouldn't even think about it, however, freedom is always a

:50:34. > :50:41.struggle. It is never to be taken for granted. There will always be

:50:42. > :50:46.men and women who must stand up to detend or conquer freedom." 70 years

:50:47. > :50:51.after D-Day, freedom is still threatened in many countries and by

:50:52. > :51:01.too many regimes on this planet. Here, on 6th June, 1944, on the

:51:02. > :51:06.Normandy beaches, 70 years ago, democracies united to fight for a

:51:07. > :51:15.just cause. This just cause is still ours today. Today, it is no longer

:51:16. > :51:23.the Allied Forces which should stand up to fight for freedom against

:51:24. > :51:27.forces which threaten it, it is the United Nations which are in charge

:51:28. > :51:31.of peace. But the United Nations should be up to the missions they

:51:32. > :51:37.were entrusted with, after the war. And they should really ensure our

:51:38. > :51:44.security, our collective security. I refer to the courage of the

:51:45. > :51:49.soldiers, fighters, Resistance and civilian populations at the time.

:51:50. > :51:55.Courage is something in war and it is necessary in war but courage in

:51:56. > :52:06.peace is just as crucial. Soldiers who landed here 70 years ago - what

:52:07. > :52:10.really motivated them, certainly their patriotic duty but also they

:52:11. > :52:14.were motivated and pushed by an idea that they all had in common and

:52:15. > :52:21.shared, regardless of their nationality. When they stepped foot

:52:22. > :52:31.on these beaches, on this soil, they had a dream in their midst. In 1944

:52:32. > :52:35.that dream seemed out of reach because it was borne from the bottom

:52:36. > :52:38.of the abyss but it shed light on their consciousness. What was this

:52:39. > :52:43.dream about it? It was about the promise of a world free from tyranny

:52:44. > :52:50.and war but it was also the dream of a society that would be more just

:52:51. > :52:57.and more fraternal. This particular ambition had been worded two years

:52:58. > :53:03.before by two heads of war, the two heads of war, who decided the war

:53:04. > :53:09.operation, Winston Churchill and Roosevelt. On a ship in the Atlantic

:53:10. > :53:14.Ocean they both wrote the Atlantic Charter. The Atlantic Charter

:53:15. > :53:20.recalled what was the point of this war - to free Europe, to reach

:53:21. > :53:25.peace, to defeat Nazism but also the charter we recalled the

:53:26. > :53:29.determination to achieve complete collaboration between all nations in

:53:30. > :53:36.the field of economics in order to guarantee for all, economic progress

:53:37. > :53:49.and Social Security. On 5th May, 1944, a month before the Allied

:53:50. > :53:57.landing, they had adopted the Philadelphia Declaration which said

:53:58. > :54:02.that all human beings have a right to pursue material things, spiritual

:54:03. > :54:06.development, with dignity and equal chances. This message still is an

:54:07. > :54:16.obligation for us. The heroic campaign that was fought here bore a

:54:17. > :54:20.dream and a determination ie, to eradicate evils which had been

:54:21. > :54:24.playing mankind ever since its beginning. Poverty, injustice,

:54:25. > :54:31.oppression, everything that produces war. Ladies and gentlemen, all of

:54:32. > :54:38.us, heads of states and heads of governments, selected officials,

:54:39. > :54:46.veterans, civilians, yes, we still have to do our duty. We still have

:54:47. > :54:52.to keep and preserve this heritage that was given in our hand. We still

:54:53. > :54:56.have to ensure the progress of the peoples of the European Union. We

:54:57. > :55:03.have to strengthen the role of the United Nations. We have a duty to

:55:04. > :55:08.say to it that human rights are not violated, are complied with and

:55:09. > :55:12.especially the rights of women were enslaved and harmed all over the

:55:13. > :55:18.world and that is of the concern for all of us.

:55:19. > :55:23.? STUDIO: A spectacular backdrop there.

:55:24. > :55:26.Sword Beach. President Hollande delivering his

:55:27. > :55:29.address and really making several very powerful points during that

:55:30. > :55:33.speech. All of those world leaders listening there. But coming to the

:55:34. > :55:35.end of that, striking a chord because there was loud applause for

:55:36. > :55:37.when the President mentioned because there was loud applause for

:55:38. > :55:42.when the President the role of Germany. And we saw Chancellor

:55:43. > :55:44.Merkel was given a very warm welcome when she arrived here.

:55:45. > :55:48.Merkel was given a very warm welcome when I must say, much warmer than

:55:49. > :55:53.the welcome for previous German leaders 10 and 20 years ago. A

:55:54. > :55:56.different field to the convenient. Chancellor Merkel given a very warm

:55:57. > :56:00.welcome. We want to talk a little bit more about that theme. That

:56:01. > :56:04.event, by the way in Ouistreham carrying on for a short while that.

:56:05. > :56:08.Magic red button you have on the handset at home. If you want to keep

:56:09. > :56:11.on watching that, you can press the red button. In the meantime we are

:56:12. > :56:16.looking ahead to the very important event we have coming up here in

:56:17. > :56:20.Arromanches. On that theme, very important theme of the German

:56:21. > :56:24.perspective, rather unexpected store we have to share with you now, it

:56:25. > :56:31.really is a very powerful story. A German citizen who came to London

:56:32. > :56:37.before the war, joined the RAF as a pilot and went on to become one of

:56:38. > :56:40.the world's most successful film production designers. He is a

:56:41. > :56:55.remarkable man. It is a remarkable tale.

:56:56. > :57:00.I was born in 1921 in Berlin, and my name was really Klaus.

:57:01. > :57:06.I was Jewish and there wasn't much hope for me there.

:57:07. > :57:08.I wasn't sorry to leave Germany, because every corner,

:57:09. > :57:17.It wasn't the Germany that I grew up in, unfortunately.

:57:18. > :57:29.The only unit I could join was the Pioneer Corps.

:57:30. > :57:32.I became part of the training staff there.

:57:33. > :57:37.And I had quite a good time, all the time trying to get

:57:38. > :57:46.And much to my and everybody's surprise,

:57:47. > :57:57.On the 200th victory of 609 Squadron, I joined the squadron,

:57:58. > :58:07.I worked with the squadron until the end of the war.

:58:08. > :58:13.I had some of my best friends in the RAF, and the relationship

:58:14. > :58:24.The extra motivation of anger was, if I don't get them, they'll get me.

:58:25. > :58:32.All the more so when we heard that some of our

:58:33. > :58:39.relatives, cousins and so on, had been sent to concentration camps.

:58:40. > :58:44.That was all the motivation for me to fight, so I did.

:58:45. > :58:46.NEWS REPORTER: Here's one of our newest weapons,

:58:47. > :58:50.the rocket-firing Typhoon, known to the RAF as their flying artillery.

:58:51. > :58:56.The Typhoon had eight rockets, so they are very powerful.

:58:57. > :59:06.There was no question that you had a thrill, but you also had fear.

:59:07. > :59:10.I wasn't a naturalised British subject or anything until later, so

:59:11. > :59:23.if the Germans would have caught me, it would have been very unpleasant.

:59:24. > :59:29.As we were coming in over the French coast on 11th May,

:59:30. > :59:34.we attacked the RDF station at Bruneval.

:59:35. > :59:40.One of our pilots was hit in the radiator.

:59:41. > :59:43.You always knew someone was hit in the radiator because you got

:59:44. > :59:52.If you bailed out but did not get into a dinghy, then tough luck.

:59:53. > :00:00.There was a terrific battle, and once that had been secured,

:00:01. > :00:05.all our armoured columns broke through, and that was really

:00:06. > :00:19.You had to take off and fly towards Caen

:00:20. > :00:27.That was one of the most terrifying memories I had

:00:28. > :00:48.Such powerful evidence there, from Sir Ken Adam, who has led a

:00:49. > :00:52.remarkable life. There we have the lovely blue skies, above

:00:53. > :00:56.Arromanches. Indeed above all the Normandy coastline toad. 50 miles of

:00:57. > :01:01.it, the five D-day beaches. We are here remembering the events of 70

:01:02. > :01:13.years ago when the D-Day invasion happening. The historian Helen Fry

:01:14. > :01:19.is with me. Extraordinary story. Yes, he is full of charisma, and

:01:20. > :01:22.typical of the 10,000 Germans, men and women, who served in our Armed

:01:23. > :01:31.Forces. It is an extraordinary story.

:01:32. > :01:37.It is the passion that this was their war, and they were not going

:01:38. > :01:40.to sit back. The extraordinary thing was that they could not be

:01:41. > :01:45.conscripted some like British men and women, they had to volunteer,

:01:46. > :01:49.which adds a next Redeye mentioned to their willingness to fight and

:01:50. > :01:55.their lives on the line. He said he had applied to go in the RAF, and he

:01:56. > :01:58.says, to my surprise, and everyone else's surprise, I was accepted. And

:01:59. > :02:08.of course, he made an incredible contribution. From being perceived

:02:09. > :02:11.as an alien to being a war hero, lots of people might find it

:02:12. > :02:17.difficult to grasp. What was it about the way they fitted into

:02:18. > :02:25.society, and convinced people that actually, they were onside? Yes, and

:02:26. > :02:29.90% of were Jewish. They experienced no anti-German or anti-Jewish

:02:30. > :02:35.feeling in the British forces, and they were prepared to do their bit.

:02:36. > :02:39.They knew what we were up against with Nazi Germany. You mentioned it

:02:40. > :02:45.was not a Germany which he had grown up in, that is what he said. Let's

:02:46. > :02:49.think about the Germany that he left behind, and the young men who then

:02:50. > :02:56.came to this part of the world, to defend this region - what were

:02:57. > :03:00.conditions like for German soldiers at that time? Incredibly difficult.

:03:01. > :03:05.There are stories of desertions at this time in the German Army. The

:03:06. > :03:11.system was much more strict for Germans, they were basically shot or

:03:12. > :03:16.sent to concentration camps. So, incredibly difficult for them. What

:03:17. > :03:21.they had left behind in Germany, when they were fighting here, was a

:03:22. > :03:26.regime, there was no democracy, sometimes we lose sight of that,

:03:27. > :03:31.throughout the war years. This was a Germany which needed to feel proud

:03:32. > :03:36.again, and that is why Hitler was so successful in the early years, and

:03:37. > :03:40.then it was too late. The whole militarisation gave Germany a

:03:41. > :03:46.much-needed pride. Just in terms of the make-up of the forces here,

:03:47. > :03:49.because you imagine terrifying, efficient, brutal German military

:03:50. > :03:52.machine, and yet when you start reading the accounts of D-Day, of

:03:53. > :03:56.course there were efficient units around, but you start reading the

:03:57. > :04:01.accounts of who was actually defending, conscripts from different

:04:02. > :04:06.parts of central and Eastern Europe, lots of them with dreadful injuries,

:04:07. > :04:11.so it was a very mixed picture, really? Absolutely, and a lot of

:04:12. > :04:16.very, very young German soldiers, which we forget. They were hurried

:04:17. > :04:21.in at the last minute because of the casualties and losses, and they had

:04:22. > :04:27.had no real training. And some of them had served on the Russian

:04:28. > :04:32.front, and that was horrific. So, they had a difficult war, and I

:04:33. > :04:36.think it is important to acknowledge that. And it was interesting to see

:04:37. > :04:40.the reception for Chancellor Merkel today. It was different to what we

:04:41. > :04:47.have seen in the past. It is a signal that 70 years on, people have

:04:48. > :04:51.a slightly more distant perspective, in some ways, with the march of

:04:52. > :04:56.time, and they are thinking, we are in the 21st century, and Germany is

:04:57. > :04:59.such a powerful member of the European Union, Chancellor Merkel

:05:00. > :05:04.represents something very, very different in terms of political

:05:05. > :05:10.power. I think it is more than that, because German has -- Germany has

:05:11. > :05:13.done masses, particularly in the last decade, to look at the

:05:14. > :05:21.difficult past, to see what went wrong. Europe was fighting Nazism,

:05:22. > :05:25.and not Germans per se. That is a very important difference. Germans

:05:26. > :05:31.have been very honest about the past, and making gestures of

:05:32. > :05:37.reconciliation. It is I can see the square filling up behind us, because

:05:38. > :05:44.we have got a great view. This is the centre of Arromanches, but just

:05:45. > :05:48.around to this side, you can just see, they are filling up for this

:05:49. > :05:53.British event, which is taking place at the end of the afternoon. We are

:05:54. > :05:57.looking forward to Normandy that is parading through this square for the

:05:58. > :06:00.last time before their association is disbanded at the end of this

:06:01. > :06:09.year. JoCo and Duchess of Cambridge will be here. -- the Duke and

:06:10. > :06:16.Duchess of Cambridge. We were speaking about Sir Ken Adam, one of

:06:17. > :06:20.many RAF pilots who would protect the invasion force in the weeks

:06:21. > :06:24.after the 6th of June. But there were many other ways in which they

:06:25. > :06:31.contributed to the success of D-Day. We spoke to two members of squadrons

:06:32. > :06:34.which were based at a top-secret RAF base in Bedfordshire. Their main

:06:35. > :06:37.Judy was taking vital supplies to resistance groups, who worked

:06:38. > :06:44.mentioned by President Hollande just now, across Nazi-occupied Europe, on

:06:45. > :06:48.the night of the 5th of June, when the invasion fleet was crossing the

:06:49. > :06:49.Channel. At the same time these squadrons were taking part in the

:06:50. > :06:56.most daring deception operations. It was strong.

:06:57. > :06:58.You could bounce it about on a French field without it breaking to

:06:59. > :07:02.pieces, and it got you there and it got you

:07:03. > :07:06.home, which was much more important. We were told that we were going to

:07:07. > :07:10.a camp called Tempsford to join a squadron, 13 Squadron. This was to

:07:11. > :07:15.be a special duties squadron. one of the biggest secrets of the

:07:16. > :07:21.war. It was from here that

:07:22. > :07:23.hundreds of agents and supplies by the tonne were

:07:24. > :07:26.delivered by air to occupied Europe. Tempsford had an activity in

:07:27. > :07:29.every country that had been We were soon enlightened that this

:07:30. > :07:35.was not a bomber station. We were flying bomber aircraft, they

:07:36. > :07:38.were called the Halifax. Tempsford never had any

:07:39. > :07:45.intention of bombing anything. We were there to be surreptitiously

:07:46. > :07:50.supporting the Resistance In fact, you could have a girlfriend

:07:51. > :08:00.and she thought when that aircraft took off,

:08:01. > :08:04.it was going to bomb Germany. She had no idea that there were live

:08:05. > :08:11.agents on board, men and women, and that we were dropping

:08:12. > :08:14.ammunition, guns, cameras, wireless sets to the freedom

:08:15. > :08:18.fighters. We were doing everything that we

:08:19. > :08:21.could to remain unobtrusive. At Tempsford, I hadn't heard

:08:22. > :08:28.the word D-Day itself, because a supply of

:08:29. > :08:35.strange little figures arrived. And they were called Ruperts, these

:08:36. > :08:39.dummy parachutes, and they were loaded onto

:08:40. > :08:42.the aircraft which I was due to fly in that evening.

:08:43. > :08:49.The operation's name was Titanic. We understood we were dropping

:08:50. > :08:52.window, very light strips of metal which

:08:53. > :08:57.were released in handfuls. I never understood why it

:08:58. > :09:01.was called window, but it was reflecting strips.

:09:02. > :09:06.It certainly mucked up the radar. The idea of an airman circling ten

:09:07. > :09:09.feet over the waves, you are in the range of hope

:09:10. > :09:15.when you do those things. And the fact that they

:09:16. > :09:20.worked was a miracle. The purpose of operation Titanic

:09:21. > :09:23.was to get troops safely into France without too much

:09:24. > :09:29.damage being inflicted on them. Those people on the beaches could

:09:30. > :09:34.probably land safer some would make a noise

:09:35. > :09:44.like a machine gun to divert the fire to the Ruperts instead of

:09:45. > :09:49.onto our chaps. My personal overriding thoughts are,

:09:50. > :09:54.thank God for Churchill. Who else could have inspired us

:09:55. > :09:58.young fellows to not give in and to do everything that we

:09:59. > :10:04.were asked by him? He was an inspiration, and we would

:10:05. > :10:11.have done anything for him. I'm especially

:10:12. > :10:14.proud of being at Tempsford. I'm extremely proud

:10:15. > :10:18.I was a part of operation Titanic. I know the rest of my crew

:10:19. > :10:42.were as well. Fascinating insight into the secret

:10:43. > :10:47.world of everything that they were up to at RAF Tempsford. You have

:10:48. > :10:51.been sending us lots of messages. This one from John says, I am

:10:52. > :10:56.remembering my late uncle, our hero, he says, Albert. On D-Day, he was a

:10:57. > :11:05.21-year-old radio operator with four commando. The unit suffered many

:11:06. > :11:10.casualties, the soldiers bravely fought their way onwards towards

:11:11. > :11:15.Pegasus Bridge. As for Albert, he lived to the grand age of 80, was

:11:16. > :11:20.loved by everybody who knew him, sadly died in November 2003. Nice to

:11:21. > :11:26.be able to recognise that. And Christina from Exeter in Devon, I am

:11:27. > :11:30.just scanning this, because I think this is another one about Pegasus

:11:31. > :11:34.Bridge. You are enjoying the broadcast today, you say. Very

:11:35. > :11:47.emotional as a family because your father was a major in four Commando.

:11:48. > :11:52.She says, later my father was shot in the leg and spent time in

:11:53. > :11:55.hospital before coming back home. She says they are pleased they are

:11:56. > :12:02.being honoured in this way, and deservedly so, she says. So, just

:12:03. > :12:05.two contributions there. I just want to say thank you very much for

:12:06. > :12:09.taking the trouble to send them in, because it does add to what we are

:12:10. > :12:13.saying, and helps us to understand even more that even when we are

:12:14. > :12:17.talking about veterans who have sadly passed away, families are

:12:18. > :12:24.still honouring their story and their achievements. Now, Roderick

:12:25. > :12:28.and James and Dan are with me in the studio, and we are looking forward

:12:29. > :12:31.to a rather busy time now, because we are expecting William and Kate,

:12:32. > :12:35.if I can be informal, to join us soon. Dan will be playing a formal

:12:36. > :12:41.part in that, welcoming people to the square. So he will be leaving us

:12:42. > :12:46.in a few minutes just but we are also waiting for the fight past. I

:12:47. > :12:57.would like to pick up on that fascinating film about RAF

:12:58. > :13:02.Tempsford, and I would like to touch on the kind of deception strategies

:13:03. > :13:08.and other work they were up to, and how vital it was, in the planning

:13:09. > :13:12.for D-Day? The RAF played many different roles, reconnaissance,

:13:13. > :13:15.deception and so on. But RAF Tempsford in particular, that was

:13:16. > :13:20.supporting SOE operations, Resistance operations, for years

:13:21. > :13:27.running up to D-Day, dropping in supplies and equipment, everything

:13:28. > :13:35.to prepare for D-Day. Looking across the English Channel and here they

:13:36. > :13:38.come, they are coming from the direction of Ouistreham, actually.

:13:39. > :13:42.This is the fly past which we have been promised, just before the

:13:43. > :13:49.British event. And it involves a glorious Lancaster and a Dakota, I

:13:50. > :13:53.think, and two spitfires. James, what do you reckon, it is a great

:13:54. > :14:03.site? It is wonderful to see them together. The Memorial Flight do us

:14:04. > :14:13.proud in these circumstances. Where is the Dakota?! But the Lancaster

:14:14. > :14:18.was the finest heavy bomber of the war, certainly for the first few

:14:19. > :14:23.years, before the B-29 comes in. They are coming right overhead now.

:14:24. > :14:31.Passing over some of the troop carriers and landing craft on the

:14:32. > :14:35.beach. This is really a feature of the modern age, every single camera

:14:36. > :14:43.and mobile phone is being raised to the sky! The fly past, in terms of

:14:44. > :14:47.its impact here, is just part of the tradition. When we do the Queen's

:14:48. > :14:54.Birthday Parade, for example, it is a very important part of that as

:14:55. > :15:03.well. It is central to everything. A hugely important thing. But the

:15:04. > :15:07.heavy bombers on the day of D-Day did not do as much damage to the

:15:08. > :15:15.German defences on these beaches as many people hoped? Most were coming

:15:16. > :15:19.straight across the Channel and they overshot. You have to let them off

:15:20. > :15:25.at exactly the right minute and often it was too late. The key point

:15:26. > :15:31.about that is the air power and the work they were doing in the weeks

:15:32. > :15:35.leading up to it and in the months leading up 197 tonnes of bombs were

:15:36. > :15:42.dropped by Allied Air Forces on target in France, Marshalling yards,

:15:43. > :15:49.ammunition stores, railways, bridges and so on. 18,000 tonnes of bombs

:15:50. > :15:53.dropped on London, during the blitz, and 1 the 97 tonnes in France and

:15:54. > :15:59.the low countries in the run-up to D-Day. The black and white stripes?

:16:00. > :16:06.Those are invasion marks. Here they come. Unbelievably low. Fantastic.

:16:07. > :16:09.You have six Rolls-Royce Merlin engines-upping away there in one go.

:16:10. > :16:15.Those stripes are now really vibrant. Look at them. Aren't they

:16:16. > :16:22.just. That's so friendly forces don't shoot them. The The Luftwaffe

:16:23. > :16:26.on D-Day, very little presence. Not a single Allied plane was shot down

:16:27. > :16:31.on D-Day. Another role that should be kept in mind is the transport

:16:32. > :16:34.role, dropping the parachute Division into Normandy. They went

:16:35. > :16:39.back and resupplied it two or three times during the day. A lot of

:16:40. > :16:43.casualties suffered. One of the great ironies is the demrieder

:16:44. > :16:51.pilots, for example n dropping the airborne troops, there was great

:16:52. > :16:57.pride in being a glider pilot. You were train as an infantryman as

:16:58. > :17:00.well. The American troops, they were the most highly-trained most

:17:01. > :17:03.motivated troops in the US Army, yet they are dropped by the least

:17:04. > :17:07.experienced pilots. That's one of the reasons why it is so chaotic

:17:08. > :17:11.when they come over in the early hours of 6th June but the Lancaster

:17:12. > :17:17.is just about to do an absolutely sensational turn there. We are

:17:18. > :17:24.waiting. It is about to... Oh! Wow. Look at that. The impact here, I

:17:25. > :17:29.mean I have to say, the impact here is just amazing. There was real

:17:30. > :17:34.controversy amongst the strategic Air Force commanders. What I mean by

:17:35. > :17:39.that is the bombers that were operating independently of any other

:17:40. > :17:44.ground forces. So in our case RAF Bomber Command the US 8th Air Force

:17:45. > :17:50.and they wanted to carry on hitting targets deep into Germany. The

:17:51. > :17:55.Supreme Allied Commander wanted the strategic Air Forces to attack into

:17:56. > :17:58.much more direct support and, you know, the Supreme Allied Commander

:17:59. > :18:02.got his way. That's what happened. Then there is the tactical Air

:18:03. > :18:08.Forces, those supporting the ground troops. That's your fighter pilots,

:18:09. > :18:15.your fighter planes, also adapted to drop bombs as well. And,

:18:16. > :18:26.rocket-firing typhoons and must ans and thunder bolts and so on.

:18:27. > :18:34.Mustangs. Here we G the DB-385. The Lancaster. Flown by 617 Dambusters

:18:35. > :18:40.and flown 234 dePEPs mission, Operation Taxable Indeed. That was

:18:41. > :18:43.to try to persuade the Germans that an invasion fleet was crossing the

:18:44. > :18:46.tightest part of the Dover straits between Dover and Calais. The idea

:18:47. > :18:56.was to deceive them over the real location of the Normandy invasions

:18:57. > :19:01.here. The Spitfires again It involved the 617 Dambuster squadron

:19:02. > :19:05.dropping tin foil and moving slowly in the direction of the French coast

:19:06. > :19:10.T confused the German radars and made them think it was an invasion.

:19:11. > :19:15.-- it confused them. They Sitting there. All the tin foil being

:19:16. > :19:20.dropped. They came to the conclusion something massive was on the way. It

:19:21. > :19:25.worked did it? Well, the jury is out. It is a reminder here, the

:19:26. > :19:31.Lancaster is most famous for its role in the famous Dambuster raid.

:19:32. > :19:36.It was 60 feet over the dams, the reservoirs behind the dams, and low

:19:37. > :19:42.over these beaches, amazing One of the pilots the dams raid was a New

:19:43. > :19:51.Zealand, Les Munro. He was operating in... Oh, look at that. Squadron

:19:52. > :19:58.Leader mason and Flight Lieutenant Anthony Parkinson. They are based at

:19:59. > :20:03.an RAF station and they aring giving the crowd a treat. It is an

:20:04. > :20:07.interesting thing to remark on. The dramatic show they are giving us. I

:20:08. > :20:10.can see people right high on the hill over there. It is not just the

:20:11. > :20:15.crowd down here in Arromanches. There is a big crowd on top of the

:20:16. > :20:18.hill who are getting a very, very good view of this. The Spitfires are

:20:19. > :20:24.now just tightly turning another corner. Was that the final pass, do

:20:25. > :20:28.we think? They are heading north, aren't they? They are coming back.

:20:29. > :20:38.It is just magnificent. Here they come again. Wow.

:20:39. > :20:47.I spent time with a Battle of Britain Memorial flight. People like

:20:48. > :20:53.Parky and Mason. They enjoy it. They will be loving this as much as

:20:54. > :20:59.anyone on the beach. It is not a job for them My point about Les Munro,

:21:00. > :21:03.he flew on the dams and then his copilot was Leonard Cheshire who

:21:04. > :21:08.trook over command of 617 Squadron and turned the into that elite

:21:09. > :21:12.Squadron that it became and the one it is still famous for being. Well,

:21:13. > :21:16.that was a treat, wasn't it? A lovely fly-past. We missed the

:21:17. > :21:20.Dakota, but the Lancaster was very impressive and the two Spitfires,

:21:21. > :21:24.too. The crowd here at Arromanches gathering for this final event at

:21:25. > :21:27.the end of the afternoon. Sian Williams, my colleague who was in

:21:28. > :21:36.Bayeux this morning, is here with us now in Arromanches. She is down in

:21:37. > :21:40.the town square. If Sian can hear what we are saying I'm going to say,

:21:41. > :21:44.hello Sian, welcome to Arromanches and over to you.

:21:45. > :21:48.I'm here with Ted and his son David and you have been watching the

:21:49. > :21:55.fly-past Oh, yes. What do you think? I think they are fantastic. One

:21:56. > :22:00.thing I will say - you would never get me up there or on the water. I

:22:01. > :22:04.like my feet on hard ground. You had your feet on hard ground, didn't

:22:05. > :22:09.you? Yes, I did when I was wounded, I'm pleased to say. Tell us about

:22:10. > :22:15.which beach you landed on? On Gold Beach two days after my 19th

:22:16. > :22:20.birthday. As I say, I was one of the lucky ones. I didn't last very long.

:22:21. > :22:27.I was lucky but I was unlucky in respect that I had to leave the

:22:28. > :22:31.fellows who I had been trained with and now I come back every - I have

:22:32. > :22:38.been coming back every year for the last 20-odd years. I feel that I

:22:39. > :22:44.come back because there is line after line of the People that are

:22:45. > :22:52.buried and I feel I should go back just to pay my respects. And you

:22:53. > :22:57.were with the Highlanders, of course? Yes, the Glasgow

:22:58. > :23:02.Highlanders. Do you see names you recognise? Yes, one in particular.

:23:03. > :23:06.And there is a small cemetery a little way from Bayeux Cemetery. We

:23:07. > :23:15.were in there and looking and there was a stone there Marked Joe

:23:16. > :23:22.Barbetsky. That's a name that not everybody has. He was a particular

:23:23. > :23:26.friend of mine. So, every year now, I make crosses with poppies on and

:23:27. > :23:31.the names of the people and I put one on his grave every year. I used

:23:32. > :23:35.to come here - when I first came here with another pal who was with

:23:36. > :23:41.me. He was in my company during the war. And we came together for what,

:23:42. > :23:46.eight years. Unfortunately he died. He wanted his ashes brought back and

:23:47. > :23:50.laid at hill 112, where he was wounded and where I was wounded.

:23:51. > :23:57.Every year I lay a cross on his ashes. You know, I feel I should do

:23:58. > :24:03.it. And this year, for the first time, your son David has come with

:24:04. > :24:10.you. Stephen has been coming with me now for a few years. Since my mate

:24:11. > :24:16.Joe died, Stephen has been coming with me. Your other son. The eldest

:24:17. > :24:28.son. And my younger son here, David, he has come over from Australia just

:24:29. > :24:33.for this year. I was so pleased and so happy. Not only to see him, but

:24:34. > :24:38.the fact he has come over and is seen it. What was it like for you,

:24:39. > :24:42.David? What has the past few days been like Fantastic. It is lovely to

:24:43. > :24:47.be with the family on any occasion. Look at the guys around. You owe

:24:48. > :24:51.them so much. I'm so proud of my dad. It's been wonderful. Did your

:24:52. > :24:56.dad talk much, when you were growing up, about what had happened around

:24:57. > :25:00.D-Day? Not that much. A lot of the time we not exactly dragged it out

:25:01. > :25:05.of him. But there were odd little things that you would find like a

:25:06. > :25:09.safe hand grenade in the cupboard and bits and pieces like that, that

:25:10. > :25:14.I guess gave the game away. Lovely to meet you. Ted, a real privilege

:25:15. > :25:23.to meet you, too. A pleasure speaking to you, my love. Where are

:25:24. > :25:28.you from? We are on the BBC already.

:25:29. > :25:32.Well Sian has given them a clear answer. We certainly are from the

:25:33. > :25:36.BBC. We have the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arriving. You won't have

:25:37. > :25:42.missed the fact that they were probably teasing us earlier. We did

:25:43. > :25:45.see the great Dakota flying past Arromanches afterall. It came a few

:25:46. > :25:50.minutes after. We had some lovely shots of that. So here we have the

:25:51. > :25:54.Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arriving because what they are going

:25:55. > :25:58.to be doing, is meeting some of the veterans and talking to some of

:25:59. > :26:02.those British veterans who are here. But let me tell you who they are

:26:03. > :26:05.meeting now. There is a welcoming party now with the Mayor of

:26:06. > :26:11.Arromanches there. He is in the background. Well the Mayor of

:26:12. > :26:17.Arromanches is very busy, as you can imagine, organising some very big

:26:18. > :26:21.events here for D-Day. While the fly-past is continuing, I will tell

:26:22. > :26:26.you that is's his granddaughter first in line. She is seven. Then

:26:27. > :26:32.another of mayor's granddaughters, I think who has presented flowers and

:26:33. > :26:38.then we have some Italian children because Arromanches is twinned with

:26:39. > :26:44.an Italian town, so there is a big Italian contingent here today,

:26:45. > :26:50.including two children, two seven-year-olds and they are there,

:26:51. > :26:55.just in the centre of the row. Then we have an 11-year-old - I think

:26:56. > :27:03.just coming up now, one of the mayor's grandsons and then we have a

:27:04. > :27:08.17-year-old and we have the Italian culture delegates. So quite a mixed

:27:09. > :27:16.range of people there. And, of course, they will be welcomed too by

:27:17. > :27:20.Captain Crawford and Sergeant Mieret who will be taking them into the

:27:21. > :27:24.tent. There is a veterans' tent around the corner from where we are

:27:25. > :27:31.and nice bits of cake and lots of tea being supplied by the crew of

:27:32. > :27:36.HMS Bull washing. That's the great Navy -- HMS Bullwark, the great Navy

:27:37. > :27:41.ship out in the Channel. The crew there will be supplying the tea and

:27:42. > :27:44.cake this afternoon, so Kate and William can enjoy, well possibly

:27:45. > :27:48.half an hour or so, maybe less, of chat with the veterans. And Dan and

:27:49. > :27:53.James, just as we look at these images, you know, this is the young

:27:54. > :27:56.generation. What we have seen today, three generations today, haven't we?

:27:57. > :28:01.The Queen and the Prince of Wales and now we see Prince William. And

:28:02. > :28:04.this, the strength of the royal presence here today, does tell you

:28:05. > :28:09.something about the perspective they have on D-Day. Absolutely. I think

:28:10. > :28:15.Prince Phillip of course is a veteran, the Queen served during the

:28:16. > :28:20.war. Prince Phillip very, very close, to the mentor, Mountbatten

:28:21. > :28:24.was close to him in the build-up to D-Day and the operations that went

:28:25. > :28:27.on. There is a real family connection, and previous operations,

:28:28. > :28:32.with what happened here 70 years ago. But of course, William has

:28:33. > :28:36.served as well. It is something that - and his brother has been in the

:28:37. > :28:43.combat zone twice. So, that family know what it is like to serve. I

:28:44. > :28:49.like the story -- an account of what happened, James, you know, when

:28:50. > :28:52.George #r6 and Churchill and Churchill wanted a particular

:28:53. > :28:58.advantage point of D-Day. -- George VI. You will tell the storey. Well

:28:59. > :29:03.Churchill, he relished war and all its different facets. He absolutely

:29:04. > :29:07.was itching to be a part of it. He was a nuisance in the run-up tow

:29:08. > :29:11.D-Day being on his private train in the south coast, fussing around and

:29:12. > :29:15.being larger than life, good most of the time but sometimes you need to

:29:16. > :29:20.put it in check. He was desperate it get out here as quickly as possible

:29:21. > :29:26.and be in the sea and the Channel for the invasion. No-one, General

:29:27. > :29:29.Brooke, the chief and the top man in the Army couldn't dissuade

:29:30. > :29:35.Churchill, so he had to have a word with the King and asked him to do

:29:36. > :29:40.it. He wrote a beautiful letter, saying "Do you not think I, as an

:29:41. > :29:45.ex-naval officer be delighted to be out there myself and I have made the

:29:46. > :29:49.ultimate sacrifice agreed I shouldn't go and I'm a younger man

:29:50. > :29:57.than you." And on hearing that, Churchill conceded. Even Churchill.

:29:58. > :30:00.George VI was involved in the First World War and in real changer at

:30:01. > :30:03.that battle. Those are the scenes. There we are. A nice chat

:30:04. > :30:06.that battle. Those are the scenes. There we are. A nice going on and

:30:07. > :30:10.the Duchess of Cambridge, sat down with the veterans and their families

:30:11. > :30:15.to enjoy some tea. And we saw William chatting as well earlier on.

:30:16. > :30:21.This is going to go on for a short while. I should say, viewers, so

:30:22. > :30:24.they won't be surprised, you, Dan, will be taking part in the event

:30:25. > :30:35.that the Duke and Duchess will be attended. Tell us what you are

:30:36. > :30:35.doing. I am introducing the important event here,

:30:36. > :30:36.doing. I am introducing the important which has been

:30:37. > :30:38.doing. I am introducing the important event such a source of

:30:39. > :30:39.strength doing. I am introducing the

:30:40. > :30:41.important event such a source of to the veterans over the years.

:30:42. > :30:48.Tragically or perhaps poignantly, this year marks the disbandment. It

:30:49. > :30:51.will not be continuing. Individually veterans will still come and we do

:30:52. > :30:55.not forget about them and continue to support them in our different

:30:56. > :30:56.ways and communities. I will be giving a little

:30:57. > :31:00.ways and communities. I will be giving a speech to welcome them and

:31:01. > :31:12.the Duke and Duchess and get everything under we will enjoy that.

:31:13. > :31:17.I am just looking at the veterans here. With your background in the

:31:18. > :31:25.armed forces, what does it mean to the elderly to have the young royals

:31:26. > :31:29.here? I think it is just the ongoing commemoration and appreciation which

:31:30. > :31:32.is key. They never tire of that. They know very well what they have

:31:33. > :31:36.done. They have been very honest about it of course. The fact it is

:31:37. > :31:42.recognised on an ongoing basis means a lot. It is interesting. The reason

:31:43. > :31:45.they come here and put on the fine clothes and medals is not to show.

:31:46. > :31:52.It is part of the way they cope with what they been through. It makes

:31:53. > :31:55.them happy to see the lands that they liberated. The royal family

:31:56. > :32:00.talk to them and they think maybe it was worth it. It is part of their

:32:01. > :32:04.strategy to get through the rest of their lives having seen some nasty

:32:05. > :32:08.things. And if you have fought for your country, the chances are for

:32:09. > :32:12.most people that he will be very patriotic and will feel a stronger

:32:13. > :32:16.bond to your nation than perhaps you might otherwise do. Royal family are

:32:17. > :32:21.the head of that nation and it means a great deal to them to meet them. I

:32:22. > :32:27.have not yet seen a veteran who is not utterly delighted to have a few

:32:28. > :32:31.words with Prince Charles or Prince William. You will remember this.

:32:32. > :32:36.Prince William will be addressing the veterans later on. Obviously

:32:37. > :32:41.people will pay great attention to what he has got to say that it will

:32:42. > :32:46.remind some of us, certainly those that were here ten years ago, one of

:32:47. > :32:50.the most moving addresses, when the Queen addressed the veterans ten

:32:51. > :32:54.years ago. She struck a very personal note and made it very

:32:55. > :33:05.evident that she felt very strongly that it was her duty to convey the

:33:06. > :33:09.banks of everyone in the UK. -- the thanks. It was one of the most

:33:10. > :33:18.moving things last time so it will be interesting today. The Queen

:33:19. > :33:23.herself served along with 200,000 others and also Prince Philip. He

:33:24. > :33:27.was a proper war hero. He passed out first at Dartmouth and was in the

:33:28. > :33:35.last great fleet action of the Royal Navy. Then he saved his ship in an

:33:36. > :33:40.operation involving the invasion of Sicily and later witnessed the

:33:41. > :33:44.surrender of the Japanese in 1945. If not the youngest, certainly one

:33:45. > :33:52.of the youngest first Lieutenant in the Royal Navy at the age of 21. As

:33:53. > :33:55.Dan says, there is a really long tradition of military service in the

:33:56. > :34:01.royal family, but not just military service. Really doing the hard work,

:34:02. > :34:08.too. That is a nice image, kneeling by the table and chatting to them.

:34:09. > :34:11.It gives a sense of... I suppose there has been an informality about

:34:12. > :34:19.the exchanges today, which is something you do not see very often.

:34:20. > :34:23.The scrum in Bayeux was great. We were trying to do a line-up of the

:34:24. > :34:27.Queen and there was no line-up. It was just a scrum around the Queen

:34:28. > :34:32.and she was having a great time. Luckily she was wearing vibrant

:34:33. > :34:38.green so we had no trouble spotting her. You get that sense that it

:34:39. > :34:41.means everything to them. This will go on for the next few minutes. Then

:34:42. > :34:45.the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will make their way from that

:34:46. > :34:49.hospitality tent with the Normandy to in and they will come down here

:34:50. > :34:54.to the square. Let's have a quick look at the square. Just see what is

:34:55. > :34:59.going on because I would like to get my bearings. You can see lots of

:35:00. > :35:06.people on the beach and on the embankment here. It is leading off

:35:07. > :35:10.to the prom on the other side. And then there is a section of the crowd

:35:11. > :35:21.already gathered and in place. Most have taken their seats, I can see,

:35:22. > :35:25.facing the D-Day Museum in Arromanches. And you can see the

:35:26. > :35:30.podium where Dan will be in a short while, addressing the crowd and the

:35:31. > :35:34.Duke and Duchess as well. Earlier on today we had some very interesting

:35:35. > :35:39.guests, including Eddie Izzard. But we have the more interesting guests

:35:40. > :35:45.now. Sian Williams is in the square with somebody.

:35:46. > :35:52.Yes, I have Chris Tarrant with me. How are you? All right. I have my

:35:53. > :35:57.dad's military tie on in his memory. I want to come back late in the year

:35:58. > :36:03.when it is quieter. It is an extraordinary year, and the

:36:04. > :36:06.atmosphere is wonderful. Very different to the service of

:36:07. > :36:15.remembrance from by a cathedral. And they are treating all the veterans

:36:16. > :36:19.with huge respect, as they should. You are wearing your father's type.

:36:20. > :36:24.Basil passed away a few years ago. Would he tell you about his wartime

:36:25. > :36:27.experiences? He would not. We were very close and he was very extrovert

:36:28. > :36:32.and he was certainly my best friend but the war was a no-go area. Not

:36:33. > :36:37.just dad, but most of them. Most of them that saw the bad stuff here, at

:36:38. > :36:46.Dunkirk, right into Germany, they did not want to talk about it. They

:36:47. > :36:49.closed the book in 1945 and got on with their lives, glad to be alive.

:36:50. > :36:53.It is very frustrating for me wanting to find things out now. He

:36:54. > :36:58.was on Juno Beach. Did you know that? I knew he was at D-Day and I

:36:59. > :37:03.did not even know that he had gone to Dunkirk at the age of 19. It must

:37:04. > :37:08.have been horrific. He came back and became an officer. Then he came

:37:09. > :37:12.here. A load of the guys that he was with would have been 18 or 19,

:37:13. > :37:19.probably never been abroad before. It must have been hell, just awful.

:37:20. > :37:24.I have found five old soldiers who have fought with my dad. Wonderful

:37:25. > :37:31.old boys, all 90 plus. Bless them, all still alive. They talk about

:37:32. > :37:35.finding the dead bodies of Canadians washing up at their feet, as young

:37:36. > :37:40.men. One of the first casualties died getting off the landing craft.

:37:41. > :37:43.He literally fell in and drown. They walked into the wall of machine gun

:37:44. > :37:50.fire and for dad it went on to the end of the war. He just closed it up

:37:51. > :37:55.and bottled it away like a lot of them did. So how did you find out

:37:56. > :37:59.about it? It started with a documentary that I did and they told

:38:00. > :38:08.me a certain amount, just enough to whet my appetite. Then when mum

:38:09. > :38:12.died, he found -- I found a diary that dad had left. I wanted to put

:38:13. > :38:17.it together, more than anything for my kids. This is dad's war, this is

:38:18. > :38:23.a book about your grandad. They have been ringing me in tears, and it is

:38:24. > :38:28.very emotional. What they went through, all of them, was just

:38:29. > :38:33.horrific. And you have got six children and your youngest is 22,

:38:34. > :38:37.which means your dad was fighting a few years younger than that. You

:38:38. > :38:43.can't get your head around it as a parent. I would absolutely dread it.

:38:44. > :38:49.When you look at the crosses on the graves here and in Holland and on

:38:50. > :39:01.the edge of Germany, as I have done, 18, 17, 16, 20 is almost old. And

:39:02. > :39:04.the awful known only unto God, meaning they just found some bones.

:39:05. > :39:08.We must remember them and thank them for what they did to give us the

:39:09. > :39:14.freedom that we have got. They made horrific sacrifices. When you were

:39:15. > :39:19.putting on that tie today, remind me what regiment he was in? Royal

:39:20. > :39:26.Berkshire. I don't know why. It reminds me of the look of my dad and

:39:27. > :39:30.I got quite teary. I have really genuinely loved writing about it. It

:39:31. > :39:33.has been tough and some of it is emotional but I have learned so

:39:34. > :39:38.much. Now of course dad is gone and he has been gone for a few years. I

:39:39. > :39:42.thought I had had the last conversation but now there is so

:39:43. > :39:46.much I want to ask him about. You are having conversations with him

:39:47. > :39:51.still. I talked to him at the graveside. Why did you not tell me

:39:52. > :40:00.this and that? He was a hero. So many of them are heroes. You are

:40:01. > :40:05.talking to Eddie Butler and Huw Edwards later, so we will hear more

:40:06. > :40:10.from you then. Thank you. A lovely contribution from Chris

:40:11. > :40:14.Tarrant. We will hear more from them in the parade gets under way. The

:40:15. > :40:18.parade gets under way. With the normative and the Duke and Duchess

:40:19. > :40:28.are just swapping places to chat to the maximum number of people. -- the

:40:29. > :40:40.tea is still going on within Normandy to. This is such a British

:40:41. > :40:44.event. Is it a good moment to ask the question whether in the writing

:40:45. > :40:50.of history the balance has been right between what the Americans

:40:51. > :40:55.achieved, what the British achieved? Is that credit and debit tally

:40:56. > :40:59.correct or not? I think there is a perception that D-Day was an

:41:00. > :41:05.American show and we were in some way the junior partner. The reason

:41:06. > :41:12.for that is predominantly because of films like Saving Private Ryan. And

:41:13. > :41:18.they landed with more wartime photographers and film-makers. But

:41:19. > :41:22.it is completely misguided. We are making such an effort with the

:41:23. > :41:27.veterans. We are so happy to see them out here and we want to give

:41:28. > :41:32.them their due and pat them on the back. We pat them on the back for

:41:33. > :41:36.their bravery but we should also do so for another reason, which is

:41:37. > :41:40.recognising that actually D-Day itself was predominantly a British

:41:41. > :41:44.show, rather than American. All three chiefs were British. The

:41:45. > :41:48.deputy Supreme Allied Commander was British. Two thirds of the air

:41:49. > :41:52.forces were British. The naval forces. Yes.

:41:53. > :41:57.forces were British. The naval forces. 1213 warships were involved,

:41:58. > :42:03.including 200 American and 892 British. Perhaps the most surprising

:42:04. > :42:09.statistic is that out of the 4126 landing craft, well over 3000 were

:42:10. > :42:15.British. We think of landing craft as being American but on D-Day that

:42:16. > :42:19.was not the case. The battle that continued, the 77 day Normandy

:42:20. > :42:25.campaign, was an incredibly brutal, tough, bitter fight, in which

:42:26. > :42:30.average daily casualties were around 6500, which is the equal of anything

:42:31. > :42:34.in the First World War. It is important to recognise that there

:42:35. > :42:42.were British servicemen on every single beat. Commandos landing at

:42:43. > :42:46.Juno Beach and even on the American beaches there were British

:42:47. > :42:51.servicemen as well. Good point. Let's talk about this speech, shall

:42:52. > :42:56.we? Gold Beach. No visitor to the port of Arromanches will miss that

:42:57. > :43:00.most striking feature of the bay. We mention it earlier in passing, that

:43:01. > :43:07.massive floating Harbour built to help the Allies bring vital supplies

:43:08. > :43:12.ashore. I am of course talking about the Mulberry Harbour. There were two

:43:13. > :43:16.and this is the only one left. The Mulberry Harbour at Gold Beach at

:43:17. > :43:23.Arromanches. It seems a good moment to tell you a bit more about the

:43:24. > :43:27.story of the splitting harbours. -- floating harbours.

:43:28. > :43:29.The success of D-Day could only be maintained with

:43:30. > :43:31.the landing of large numbers of troops

:43:32. > :43:34.and huge quantities of supplies to support the break-out from Normandy.

:43:35. > :43:40.it's landing ammunition to keep the army going, food and fuel.

:43:41. > :43:47.The answer was to build a harbour on the French coast line,

:43:48. > :43:51.so Churchill issued the challenge. "Piers for use on beaches.

:43:52. > :43:54."They must float up and down with the tide.

:43:55. > :43:59."Let me have the best solution worked out.

:44:00. > :44:05."the difficulties will argue for themselves."

:44:06. > :44:08.My grandfather was Brigadier Bruce White, who was an eminent civil

:44:09. > :44:13.engineer, and he was given the task of leading the operation.

:44:14. > :44:17.And it was my father, Alan Beckett, who was handed

:44:18. > :44:23.the task for coming up with the piers and the anchoring system.

:44:24. > :44:26.The scale of the mission was absolutely huge.

:44:27. > :44:31.And one of the problems was that the time frame was very short.

:44:32. > :44:36.There was actually only eight months to construct the whole thing.

:44:37. > :44:39.The end result was they came up with the Mulberry Harbour.

:44:40. > :44:41.In fact, they came up with two harbours.

:44:42. > :44:43.There was Mulberry A, the American one,

:44:44. > :44:48.each of them the size of Dover Harbour.

:44:49. > :44:53.and gathered together in pieces around the south coast of England.

:44:54. > :44:57.One of the most remarkable things is the fact that it was kept secret.

:44:58. > :45:01.They had something like 750 firms building it.

:45:02. > :45:05.They all had drawings of the bit they were building,

:45:06. > :45:10.but they didn't have the whole story.

:45:11. > :45:13.I was a corporal in the Royal Engineers.

:45:14. > :45:16.It was our job to identify stores on board ships

:45:17. > :45:19.and make sure they got to the engineers stores base depot

:45:20. > :45:25.We arrived in the early hours of D plus one, laid off during the day

:45:26. > :45:28.and watched the bombardment, of course.

:45:29. > :45:31.We didn't know what we were waiting for.

:45:32. > :45:34.Although, when ships started arriving, then we knew, yes,

:45:35. > :45:40.The first bits that went over were the block

:45:41. > :45:42.ships, the gooseberries, as they were code-named.

:45:43. > :45:45.These were old merchant ships which went over under their own steam

:45:46. > :45:48.and were sunk to make the breakwaters in shallow water.

:45:49. > :45:53.Following on that, the concrete breakwater units were towed

:45:54. > :45:56.overand then sunk, then the floating roadways were brought in

:45:57. > :46:00.and the pierhead put up on the beach.

:46:01. > :46:05.And then the tanks started rolling ashore.

:46:06. > :46:10.until the harbour really got constructed.

:46:11. > :46:13.And as soon is the harbour was up and working, even in a limited way,

:46:14. > :46:20.Unfortunately, after a few days, there was an unusually large summer

:46:21. > :46:26.storm which caused some damage, particularly to the American harbour

:46:27. > :46:29.There was wreckage all over the place.

:46:30. > :46:33.The beach was littered with everything - ships, cases -

:46:34. > :46:35.but ours was reparable, thank God. Their Mulberry

:46:36. > :46:41.was much more exposed to the weather than ours was.

:46:42. > :46:47.Many people think that it was the most outstanding engineering

:46:48. > :46:53.My grandfather received a knighthood in recognition of his achievements.

:46:54. > :46:57.My father has a monument to his memory at Arromanches,

:46:58. > :47:02.overlooking the remains of Mulberry B.

:47:03. > :47:05.Some of the elements were taken from there

:47:06. > :47:10.and dropped off around the coast of the UK for use as sea defences.

:47:11. > :47:13.And some of them are still visible today on the beach

:47:14. > :47:21.I think it was possibly one of the great engineering

:47:22. > :47:26.I don't think, in fact - this may be pushing it a bit - but I don't

:47:27. > :47:36.think we could have got the victory we did without Mulberry harbour.

:47:37. > :47:44.A miracle, an engineering wonder, the remains there of Mulberry

:47:45. > :47:56.Harbour behind us. There is a handy guide on the BBC website. They cover

:47:57. > :48:01.food, natural, history, and they are useful. You can find the link at

:48:02. > :48:06.www.bbc.co.uk/dday70. That is where you will find the D-Day ones anyway!

:48:07. > :48:13.Have a look at them. They give you a good, handy guide to some of these

:48:14. > :48:16.features again. We are waiting for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to

:48:17. > :48:20.make their way to the Parade here in Arromanches. My guests are still

:48:21. > :48:24.with me. I would be crazy not to mention the Mulberry Harbours, given

:48:25. > :48:33.we have talked about them. Now that the tide is coming in, the power

:48:34. > :48:39.that they convey and you see the breadth of it here, you realise it

:48:40. > :48:47.was a mad thing to think you could do? A terribly exposed section of

:48:48. > :48:51.coast. One of the Mulberry Harbours was destroyed by the weather, so a

:48:52. > :48:55.huge gamble required by this brilliant strategic idea which is

:48:56. > :49:00.not seizing a port before going inland from the beachhead.

:49:01. > :49:06.Brilliant. I'm a big fan of Operation Pluto which was laying the

:49:07. > :49:10.pipeline under the ocean. It was the longest undersea pipeline in the

:49:11. > :49:17.world at the time. If you go to Sussex, you see the pump houses and

:49:18. > :49:27.the facilities there, disguised as suR -- suburban houses. Also on the

:49:28. > :49:35.Isle of Wight. Millions of litres of oil pumped to provide fuel for the

:49:36. > :49:43.war machine. Eisenhower said the Mulberries were amazing, but he

:49:44. > :49:47.wanted to focus on the pipeline. A great example, the pipeline of

:49:48. > :49:52.military technology being innovators, like rocket engines

:49:53. > :49:56.going on in Germany. It had a huge impact on post-war history. Those

:49:57. > :50:04.are clearly things - they are innovative things. They are

:50:05. > :50:09.incredibly forward-looking things. I want us to look at some other things

:50:10. > :50:13.here. Have a look at these. Tell us a bit more about what we can see

:50:14. > :50:17.here. What do these represent? For lots of people, they are jokey

:50:18. > :50:27.things. But they performed a great thing on D-Day? This is a DD tank,

:50:28. > :50:35.it has this watertight cape around it. The hard nuts have been through

:50:36. > :50:40.the western desert. The last thing they want to do are underwater

:50:41. > :50:44.escape practises. They put propellors on to the back of them.

:50:45. > :50:48.It is fraught with risk. It is hard to believe, but they do float. They

:50:49. > :50:54.do float. As long as the wave conditions aren't too bad, they will

:50:55. > :51:01.float to the shore. Particularly on Omaha, a lot of the tanks were lost

:51:02. > :51:06.purely because of that reason - it was too rough. The point is, a

:51:07. > :51:11.30-tonne tank, you don't want to be sending it out in the water at 7,000

:51:12. > :51:16.yards out. The ones that were dropped fairly close to the coast,

:51:17. > :51:19.they tended to do a lot better. This is about getting serious war

:51:20. > :51:24.material to the coast as quickly as possible. That is the number one

:51:25. > :51:27.priority on D-Day, to get as much men and material out of the sea, on

:51:28. > :51:32.to the land, so that that counterattack, if and when it comes,

:51:33. > :51:37.can be repulsed. I love this one. It is not quite what it seems. These

:51:38. > :51:43.are these inflatable vehicles. This is all to do with a deception and

:51:44. > :51:50.decoy. I like the fact that this is all to do with the invention that,

:51:51. > :51:56.as a kid, you would find incredibly exciting. Decoys have always been a

:51:57. > :51:59.massive part of military history. What is fascinating about World War

:52:00. > :52:03.Two is everybody had a role. There was a role for the media people.

:52:04. > :52:07.They got involved with the propaganda side of things. Actors

:52:08. > :52:13.and set designers got involved building these fake armies in North

:52:14. > :52:16.Africa... And magicians. It was total war. There was a job - even we

:52:17. > :52:23.could have got a job doing something! I doubt that! Me, not

:52:24. > :52:30.you! I love the sense of adventure of that. People at home inventing

:52:31. > :52:34.little bits and bobs which turned out to work. That's part of the

:52:35. > :52:40.celebration of the British contribution to what happened?

:52:41. > :52:45.Absolutely. Also, there is a massive investment in research and

:52:46. > :52:52.development at every single level. Have a look at these. These are the

:52:53. > :53:00.rocket-propelled grappling hooks? Yes, there were also landing craft

:53:01. > :53:05.tanks that fired rockets as well. So they could fire these vast salvoes

:53:06. > :53:12.of rockets. When we talk about the funnies that were invented by Percy

:53:13. > :53:17.Hobart, were the Americans a bit sniffy about them? They were. But

:53:18. > :53:22.the Americans are not shy about being flexible and open-minded about

:53:23. > :53:30.things. A few weeks into the campaign comes the famous hedge

:53:31. > :53:35.cutter where a Sergeant in the 29th Infantry hits on this idea of taking

:53:36. > :53:40.the German beach obstacles, cutting them up and putting forks on the

:53:41. > :53:44.base on the under side of the front of a Sherman tank and uses those to

:53:45. > :53:55.lift the hedgerows so they can get through the hedgerows and operate in

:53:56. > :53:58.co-ordination with the infantry. So, they are fantastically inventive. I

:53:59. > :54:03.don't think it is that they are sniffy about it. It is that they are

:54:04. > :54:07.suspicious about these inflatable Shermans being released far out to

:54:08. > :54:12.sea. Frankly, they have a reason to be. Let's touch base with what is

:54:13. > :54:18.happening with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge again. We are expecting

:54:19. > :54:22.them to be making their way with the veterans here very soon to go down

:54:23. > :54:27.to the main square on the seafront here in Arromanches. We are going to

:54:28. > :54:32.take another few minutes before they do that. We will catch up with them

:54:33. > :54:38.straightaway. That is the Square in Arromanches. Everything is set for

:54:39. > :54:42.the event there. James, you mentioned something which I think -

:54:43. > :54:47.we have not discussed it, we have been focussing on D-Day and the

:54:48. > :54:52.invasion. As soon as you get into the terrain, behind these cliffs,

:54:53. > :54:59.and as soon as you start to think about not just D-Day Plus 1, 2 and

:55:00. > :55:02.3, we often lose sight of the fact there was some ferocious fighting

:55:03. > :55:12.that happened - this was just the start here. What happened afterwards

:55:13. > :55:16.was more terrifying? For the most part of the 77-day campaign, it

:55:17. > :55:20.never got much beyond 15 miles inland from here. It is only in the

:55:21. > :55:25.last final phase, the last three weeks of the campaign that it really

:55:26. > :55:29.starts to burst forward. That is what the Allies command are

:55:30. > :55:33.predicting before the invasion. They think the Germans will retreat in

:55:34. > :55:38.stages because that is what they have done in North Africa, in Sicily

:55:39. > :55:43.and in southern Italy, albeit very stubbornly. They stand and fight and

:55:44. > :55:47.then move back 15 or 20 miles, stand and fight again. They don't. Hitler

:55:48. > :55:51.says you have to fight for every yard. They fight very close to the

:55:52. > :55:54.front. The reason for that is, unlike in the eastern front, where

:55:55. > :56:00.you can exchange space for time, you can't really do that here because

:56:01. > :56:08.Hitler has the V1 rockets going off, and also the U-boats on the Atlantic

:56:09. > :56:17.coast. Up in Ouistreham, we have the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

:56:18. > :56:22.leaving that International Event. There we have President Hollande

:56:23. > :56:27.saying farewell to President Obama, who spoke so powerfully earlier

:56:28. > :56:35.today at the American event at Omaha Beach. The Queen, who I have to say

:56:36. > :56:38.has been on a crazy timetable since Wednesday, the State Opening of

:56:39. > :56:43.Parliament and then, of course, a series of big garden parties in

:56:44. > :56:52.Buckingham Palace, and then this three-day State Visit to France. It

:56:53. > :56:56.would be punishing for anyone, let alone an 88-year-old. I think full

:56:57. > :57:01.marks for stamina and full marks for commitment. It is a remarkable thing

:57:02. > :57:04.to be witnessing, Dan. It is extraordinary. The way she went

:57:05. > :57:09.through that service in Bayeux today, the way she interacted with

:57:10. > :57:14.the veterans. She has been coming to these for years and yet she still

:57:15. > :57:19.has the energy to - it is like it is the first time she's been here. So,

:57:20. > :57:23.as the Queen is leaving Ouistreham and the International Event, there

:57:24. > :57:30.we have the Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess just following there, on

:57:31. > :57:38.their way down from the veterans' enclosure, down to the main square.

:57:39. > :57:45.It is a short distance. As I said earlier, Captain Crawford

:57:46. > :57:51.accompanying the Duke and Duchess. They will be met by one of our first

:57:52. > :57:58.guests today, the very distinguished historian Antony Beevor was here.

:57:59. > :58:02.He's been chosen to meet the Duke and Duchess and to give them a

:58:03. > :58:07.briefing, not that they need a briefing, to give them more detail

:58:08. > :58:12.maybe on what happened on D-Day and certainly here at Arromanches above

:58:13. > :58:17.Gold Beach. They will be visiting the museum. It is a very good

:58:18. > :58:20.museum, by the way. If you are wondering whether you would like to

:58:21. > :58:24.visit this part of the world, I'm allowed to take my impartial BBC hat

:58:25. > :58:28.off and say it is a great part of the world to visit! It is a nice

:58:29. > :58:34.part of France. People are very friendly. The museum in Arromanches

:58:35. > :58:39.is worth seeing. They have a great representation of the D-Day beaches.

:58:40. > :58:43.It does explain to you in fairly simple, straightforward terms, what

:58:44. > :58:47.the challenges were and, indeed, what was achieved on that day

:58:48. > :58:52.because you can read volumes about it - and there are excellent volumes

:58:53. > :58:56.around - but, you know, it is not until you see it represented in that

:58:57. > :59:02.kind of graphic way that you realise the extent of it. Here is the Duke

:59:03. > :59:07.of Cambridge making his way down and on their way down to the main area

:59:08. > :59:11.here. A real sense of expectation in the Square in Arromanches, too. They

:59:12. > :59:14.know what is coming. People have now made their way up from the beach.

:59:15. > :59:20.Lots of the people don't have take ets, they are not -- tickets, they

:59:21. > :59:23.are not allowed into the central square themselves. They are around,

:59:24. > :59:25.many thousands of people are packed around the Square and around the

:59:26. > :59:45.museum itself. historian. Can we listen into what

:59:46. > :59:49.is on? -- what is going on? The Germans thought the seas would be

:59:50. > :59:53.too rough for an invasion and so the warships were not out on the night

:59:54. > :00:02.of the fifth and sixth. Admiral was terrified... He is saying something

:00:03. > :00:11.about the emplacements. Let's try again. The main landings for Gold

:00:12. > :00:19.Beach were actually further up the coast from here. The commandos

:00:20. > :00:37.landed here. They were going to go further over to join up with the

:00:38. > :00:41.Americans further down the coast. Altogether we have 25,000 British

:00:42. > :00:48.soldiers arriving. They did very well. Americans faced up to the fact

:00:49. > :00:54.that the British were going to save Omaha Beach because the main German

:00:55. > :01:03.battle group from the division was actually getting rather lost. It was

:01:04. > :01:07.destroyed. They were trying to get back to Omaha Beach, so they were

:01:08. > :01:11.fortunate, the Americans. The fighting here was not desperate at

:01:12. > :01:20.the beginning. The hope was to try to save or preserve Arromanches.

:01:21. > :01:26.They were moving in here before advancing inland. What was really

:01:27. > :01:30.dangerous was that with the rough waves, those people in the swimming

:01:31. > :01:35.tanks, and imagine how terrifying it but I've been to be the driver

:01:36. > :01:42.underwater, just this canvas keeping it afloat, many of them did drown.

:01:43. > :01:49.They managed to get some drivers out. The Rangers managed to come in

:01:50. > :01:58.pretty clothes so not all of them were lost. -- pretty close. And this

:01:59. > :02:07.is Mulberry Harbour? Yes, all remnants. On the 19th of June, two

:02:08. > :02:11.weeks later, there was a storm. We look back in history and think that

:02:12. > :02:18.something is our inevitable because they succeed, but in fact if

:02:19. > :02:21.Eisenhower had decided to postpone again, which you might have done

:02:22. > :02:26.because the meteorological information was not very exact, that

:02:27. > :02:31.would have taken the whole fleet into one of the worst storms. One

:02:32. > :02:38.can imagine the horrors if that had happened. If we had delayed much

:02:39. > :02:44.longer, would they have reinforced more heavily? Rommel had realised it

:02:45. > :02:48.was going to be Normandy. Hitler thought it would be Normandy and

:02:49. > :02:55.then he said Calais. In his typical way. They realised it was more

:02:56. > :02:58.likely to be Normandy than Calais. If the invasion had failed, what

:02:59. > :03:05.would have been the alternative later? One realises that the whole

:03:06. > :03:15.of the postwar world may well have changed. Although people say, was it

:03:16. > :03:18.the turning point in the war? The outcome of the war was already

:03:19. > :03:25.certain that it was certainly the big turning point for the liberation

:03:26. > :03:36.of Western Europe. It was the moment really for reassessing what the

:03:37. > :03:41.post-war map would be. We landed on the airfield on day one. Yes, the

:03:42. > :03:52.Canadians were supposed to get there. Their role was rather... That

:03:53. > :03:56.was a bit of fun experience. A personal briefing on D-Day from the

:03:57. > :04:00.distinguished Antony Beevor for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It

:04:01. > :04:06.was nice to be able to listen to some of that. That was all to do

:04:07. > :04:13.with preparing them and adding some context to what we are going to do

:04:14. > :04:16.in the parade today. The Normandy Veterans' Association will be

:04:17. > :04:22.parading for the last time before it is disbanded later this year. In all

:04:23. > :04:28.senses, it is significant and it is a special event. It will be a very

:04:29. > :04:32.emotional and intense event for everybody taking part, really. There

:04:33. > :04:39.will be some words from the Duke of Cambridge a little later on as well.

:04:40. > :04:45.That event will start in just a few minutes. My colleague Eddie Butler

:04:46. > :04:49.is going to be guiding us through this last big event of the day as a

:04:50. > :04:59.normative to and is prepared for the final commemoration. -- the Normandy

:05:00. > :05:05.vet and is prepare. It is very much the occasion of the veterans,

:05:06. > :05:09.especially the British. They have waited patiently. They have had to

:05:10. > :05:19.take their place in the teeming crowds of Arromanches. When they

:05:20. > :05:27.applied the most gentle of pressure, a pathway has opened up.

:05:28. > :05:32.The old and the young are here. The veterans representing the senior

:05:33. > :05:36.ages but the young are present as well. There is a cinema cup on the

:05:37. > :05:44.hill, the modern building on the right. It was full yesterday morning

:05:45. > :05:48.of Spanish schoolchildren. Spain was neutral in the Second World War but

:05:49. > :05:52.they were spellbound by the landings. At the end, they burst

:05:53. > :05:57.spontaneously into applause. This touches everybody who comes here. Of

:05:58. > :06:01.course the veterans will have their march, and that is when they will

:06:02. > :06:08.totally take over the events here in Arromanches. It does not matter

:06:09. > :06:10.whether they are sitting silently or on the move, everybody parts for

:06:11. > :06:25.them. And here we have the story of one of

:06:26. > :06:28.them. Gold Beach was in the middle of the invasion coasts with

:06:29. > :06:33.Americans to the West and Canadian and British troops to the East.

:06:34. > :06:42.Almost 25,000 British troops came ashore to capture the beachhead on

:06:43. > :06:47.June six, at 4:30am Ken Cooke was woken in the Channel, given a corned

:06:48. > :06:50.beef sandwich, porridge and run, and told he would be transferred to a

:06:51. > :07:04.landing craft that would take him ashore.

:07:05. > :07:07.to the 7th Battalion Green Howards,

:07:08. > :07:10.the best regiment in the British Army, according to the officers.

:07:11. > :07:14.I should say we were what they call cannon fodder.

:07:15. > :07:16.We'd had no training as regards going on the beaches,

:07:17. > :07:19.and there was quite a few, I should say thousands,

:07:20. > :07:24.who never, ever had any training to go on the beach.

:07:25. > :07:29.Most of them had never been on a beach before.

:07:30. > :07:32.The first time I saw a beach was at Skegness

:07:33. > :07:35.when I was about six or seven years old.

:07:36. > :07:37.I had a bucket and spade at Skegness.

:07:38. > :07:45.I didn't have a bucket and spade on D-Day.

:07:46. > :07:49.We landed on Gold Beach, and as soon as the ramp went down,

:07:50. > :07:53.we were told to get off the landing craft.

:07:54. > :07:58.I stepped into about 16 inches of water.

:07:59. > :08:03.My socks were wet through. All that carry-on - rockets going,

:08:04. > :08:08.battleships firing and machine gun bullets flying about -

:08:09. > :08:10.all I was bothered about was wet socks.

:08:11. > :08:14.You didn't know where you were going,

:08:15. > :08:18.only what the officer had told you. They wanted to clear the beaches

:08:19. > :08:23.for the rest of the stuff that was coming in.

:08:24. > :08:27.And we had to get off as quick as possible,

:08:28. > :08:38.and just watch yourself, keep your head down, that sort of thing.

:08:39. > :08:41.When I've thought about it over the years,

:08:42. > :08:47.I'm a bit angry that we didn't get any training for it.

:08:48. > :08:53.And we might have done a little bit better, you know,

:08:54. > :08:56.if we'd been a bit more organised, because there was things happening,

:08:57. > :09:00.there was mayhem all over the beach. People were bumping

:09:01. > :09:03.into different things. They shouldn't have been

:09:04. > :09:11.bumping into each other. Odd times, when I'm sat reading

:09:12. > :09:20.the paper or the television and something crops up,

:09:21. > :09:28.and it touches something, you know...

:09:29. > :09:34...I try to hide it, like, but sometimes it...

:09:35. > :09:56.Ken Cooke talking to us there. Roderick and James are still with

:09:57. > :10:01.me. They have been studying this part of history and talking to

:10:02. > :10:06.veterans for many years. The modesty. I am always struck by the

:10:07. > :10:11.modesty of these gentlemen. We had it there. The second thing I would

:10:12. > :10:22.say, there is an intense sense of not wanting to be made a fuss. It is

:10:23. > :10:26.part of the modesty thing, the military thing. It was in that film

:10:27. > :10:31.and it is very strongly here today as well. What is that about? They

:10:32. > :10:36.know who did not come back as well, and that is important. The survivors

:10:37. > :10:40.are there to carry on the memory. As someone said earlier on, the heroes

:10:41. > :10:47.were left behind, the veterans and survivors that are here today. I

:10:48. > :10:50.would echo that. Over the last dozen years I have interviewed a lot of

:10:51. > :11:00.second war veterans, from all over the world, including Maori who

:11:01. > :11:04.fought bravely in Italy, as well as Australians and South Africans and

:11:05. > :11:09.Americans and Germans. And they all fulfil the national stereotype in a

:11:10. > :11:13.curious way. Americans are great to interview because they tend to give

:11:14. > :11:19.a bit more, quicker to weep, always call you by your first name. Let me

:11:20. > :11:23.tell you, Jim! It has been a great privilege to meet them all and I

:11:24. > :11:29.would include the German veterans as well. That was fascinating. They

:11:30. > :11:35.have a different experience. Are they ready to talk and open up? Not

:11:36. > :11:39.very. A lot of them are fanatical Nazis and a lot of them were not. A

:11:40. > :11:43.lot of them were very young men fighting for much the same reason as

:11:44. > :11:48.our young men, for their families, the safety of their homeland, their

:11:49. > :11:53.friends. They are not patted on the back and told that they are heroes.

:11:54. > :11:59.They don't have victory parades. They do have veterans associations

:12:00. > :12:03.but they are under the shroud. I remember talking to one guy and he

:12:04. > :12:09.completely broke down recounting his memories of the retreat in Italy at

:12:10. > :12:13.the end of the war in 1945. I kept saying, don't feel you have to tell

:12:14. > :12:21.me, and he said that he wanted to. He's confessed that he has never

:12:22. > :12:24.spoken to anybody about it, never mind his family. It must be awful

:12:25. > :12:27.for the Germans that fought in the war on the German side and have not

:12:28. > :12:32.been able to come to terms with it in a way that a lot of Allied

:12:33. > :12:36.veterans probably can. Good to get that point of view on the 70th

:12:37. > :12:41.anniversary. We are really looking forward to the event that is about

:12:42. > :12:44.to start. The Normandy Veterans' Association parade in the presence

:12:45. > :12:48.of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, taking place here in

:12:49. > :12:54.Arromanches on the 70th anniversary of D-Day. It will be great, moving

:12:55. > :12:57.and memorable. In the lead up to the event I am going to join Sian

:12:58. > :13:03.Williams again to speak to one of those special gentlemen who is here.

:13:04. > :13:11.This is Fred. You were a stoker in the boiler room on a ship that was

:13:12. > :13:11.1.5 miles off the coast on D-Day. Did you

:13:12. > :13:16.1.5 miles off the coast on D-Day. Did know what was going on at the

:13:17. > :13:21.time? Not until I came off the watch at eight o'clock in the morning.

:13:22. > :13:26.That was the first I had heard of the bangs and whistles and shells

:13:27. > :13:32.going over the top. Shells landed around the ship and fortunately we

:13:33. > :13:38.never got hit. I was a little bit surprised to see so many dead

:13:39. > :13:46.soldiers in the sea, which was a bit frightening. I did not realise for

:13:47. > :13:51.some time exactly what was going on. After a while, we did come round and

:13:52. > :14:02.we were told to keep inside and be ready for any sort of emergency. And

:14:03. > :14:06.that is what we did for 18 days before we got bombed. The ship was

:14:07. > :14:12.bombed them, hit by a German bomb at 12 o'clock at night. We had nine

:14:13. > :14:20.killed and 26 injured. Fortunately the ship tipped over onto its port

:14:21. > :14:24.side which stopped us thinking. We had a hospital ship alongside at

:14:25. > :14:28.four o'clock in the morning to take the wounded off, and then a tug boat

:14:29. > :14:33.came along and put us in tow and towed us back to the Isle of Wight.

:14:34. > :14:41.On the way back to the Isle of Wight, we buried our dead at sea.

:14:42. > :14:45.Can you tell me why you are marching today? You are with your colleagues

:14:46. > :14:49.and you have been in Arromanches for several days. Why is it important

:14:50. > :14:53.for you to do the march? The important thing is to remember those

:14:54. > :15:00.that are not with us. That is my thought. Every time I come here, I

:15:01. > :15:05.remember those poor lads we buried. And all the soldiers that I saw

:15:06. > :15:09.dead. That is why I like to come back every year. And I like to bring

:15:10. > :15:11.my children and grandchildren back. I have got eight of them with me

:15:12. > :15:21.today. You have eight grandchildren with

:15:22. > :15:24.you? I have two grandchildren and eight family members. It will be a

:15:25. > :15:26.special moment walking with your colleagues in a few moments. Thank

:15:27. > :15:40.you very much. Thank you very much. One of the great connections between

:15:41. > :15:46.the past, the past of the veterans, and the present is that in this town

:15:47. > :15:51.dominated by this vast crowd, youngsters pore in in their little

:15:52. > :15:58.haven, their tent of little luxuries. The veterans are looked

:15:59. > :16:03.after by 20 student nurses, all very young, all volunteers. That crowd is

:16:04. > :16:11.full of people who have simply no memory of the war. Another

:16:12. > :16:17.connection would be that that hospitality is provided by HMS

:16:18. > :16:22.Bulwark, the flagship of the Royal Navy and Bulwark was here yesterday,

:16:23. > :16:25.it's gone to Sword Beach for the International Ceremony. It is

:16:26. > :16:27.heading back this way. There is a landing craft from Bulwark. There

:16:28. > :16:43.she is. How different it is that Bulwark

:16:44. > :16:48.lowers its stern into the sea, and out come these landing craft

:16:49. > :16:53.carrying men and Viking armoured vehicles. At low tide, the crowds

:16:54. > :16:59.have been thronging around all the landing crafts that have been there.

:17:00. > :17:04.It is just what the Army and all the other services could do back in 1944

:17:05. > :17:30.and what they do now. STUDIO: It is quite a good moment to

:17:31. > :17:35.use a little more of the messages you have been sending us. I read out

:17:36. > :17:41.a few earlier on. I find them very moving. I am grateful to people for

:17:42. > :17:47.sharing their views with us. I shared some personal stories

:17:48. > :17:54.earlier. Lots of these are quite simple. They are like this. "We owe

:17:55. > :17:59.many of the freedoms we enjoy to these brave soldiers." Mark says,

:18:00. > :18:03."To those we lost and those that are still alive, we want to thank you."

:18:04. > :18:10.Lots of messages of gratitude and thanks. Chris tells us, "There was

:18:11. > :18:19.an extraordinary tale of bravery from a local man this morning on BBC

:18:20. > :18:23.Good Morning Ulster. He lied persistently about his age to

:18:24. > :18:29.enlist." Chris was very moved by that. Jane telling us, "On D-Day

:18:30. > :18:35.remembering with fondness their Uncle Philip who was there on the

:18:36. > :18:42.day." Helen, "I feel very humbled by the D-Day reports." We all do. Jane

:18:43. > :18:47.saying, "My Dad landed in Normandy 70 years ago today fighting for a

:18:48. > :18:51.better world." Clive, "I want to say a big thank you to all the D-Day

:18:52. > :18:57.veterans and all those who supported them from back home." That is a very

:18:58. > :19:00.important point, Clive. The support effort at home absolutely crucial,

:19:01. > :19:09.involving millions of people. A very good point to make. Kenny, "I think

:19:10. > :19:15.this is if anything a better celebration." This is nice, "70

:19:16. > :19:23.years ago my granddad jumped out of a plane into the middle of D-Day. He

:19:24. > :19:30.is 92 now. And still a very big character!" It is nice to get that.

:19:31. > :19:36.Elin, "Enjoying the coverage, very moving." We have heard so many

:19:37. > :19:41.moving and very poignant stories today, seeing some of the archive

:19:42. > :19:47.footage too. "We owe them a great debt." I could go on. You get the

:19:48. > :19:51.gist. A lot of gratitude, a lot of respect. And a lot of admiration. I

:19:52. > :19:56.would like to thank all of you for sending in the messages, too. It is

:19:57. > :20:02.nice to be able to share them with you. Very soon, we will be in the

:20:03. > :20:07.Square for the Parade to start. I'm wondering whether we can have a

:20:08. > :20:14.quick look inside the Town Square. Let's have a look. We will get a

:20:15. > :20:20.better sense of it then. OK. I can see in the distance that Dan Snow is

:20:21. > :20:25.preparing to do the honours. He's centre stage. He will be introducing

:20:26. > :20:28.the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in a short while. The main body of the

:20:29. > :20:33.Square now is packed. All the seats are full. These are the invited

:20:34. > :20:40.guests and principally, we are talking here about veterans and

:20:41. > :20:41.their families and the other guests looking on from the area around the

:20:42. > :20:52.Square. Let's join Eddie. There was no direct assault on the

:20:53. > :20:57.town of Arromanches off the beaches on D-Day, even though it is at the

:20:58. > :21:03.western end of Gold Beach. The town was taken late in the afternoon and

:21:04. > :21:11.secured at 9.00pm that night. The town came into its own immediately

:21:12. > :21:14.afterwards with the construction of the Mulberry Harbour out there and

:21:15. > :21:18.those are the remains of the Mulberry Harbour. It is hard to

:21:19. > :21:26.imagine that hundreds of thousands of tonnes of supplies came in and it

:21:27. > :21:30.was the only Mulberry Harbour in operation, Mulberry Harbour A off

:21:31. > :21:37.Omaha Beach was destroyed in the storm. This was the harbour, the

:21:38. > :21:44.port, Port Winston they called it, that kept the Army on the move.

:21:45. > :21:48.After that, of course, Arromanches became very much the centrepiece of

:21:49. > :21:56.the whole Normandy experience. They talked about building a museum here

:21:57. > :22:02.as early as 1945. It was opened finally in 1954, so the museum on

:22:03. > :22:08.the right is celebrating its 60th birthday. It is not the most

:22:09. > :22:15.handsome building in town. It's there and it is the museum of the

:22:16. > :22:20.landings. And the crowds come here every year and especially this year,

:22:21. > :22:32.the 70th year, to celebrate the events of so long ago. Here they

:22:33. > :22:35.are. This is THEIR show. Those that can move will be marching.

:22:36. > :22:42.Throughout the day, they have been saying whether they were in Bayeux,

:22:43. > :22:47.or at the International Ceremony, they wanted to be in Arromanches.

:22:48. > :22:49.And there, to kick-off the proceedings on the steps of the

:22:50. > :23:29.museum, is Dan Snow. Distinguished guests, good

:23:30. > :23:33.afternoon, everybody! Member s s of the Normandy Veterans' Association

:23:34. > :23:39.-- members of the Normandy Veterans' Association, veterans, carers, my

:23:40. > :23:43.Lords, Ladies, boys and girls, welcome to this wonderful sunny day

:23:44. > :23:49.which is hard to believe that 70 years ago the ground we are standing

:23:50. > :23:53.on was part of a battlefield. All around us, 150,000 men were

:23:54. > :23:59.disembarking from landing craft, wading through this cold, then

:24:00. > :24:05.choppy waters along 60 miles of coastline. 70 years ago last night,

:24:06. > :24:10.more than 20,000 men had jumped from aircraft or landed, well,

:24:11. > :24:17.crash-landed, in flimsy gliders across a wide area inland, slightly

:24:18. > :24:22.wider than intended. Facing unimaginable terror, they had one

:24:23. > :24:26.mission - to start the liberation of Western Europe. They faced

:24:27. > :24:30.determined resistance from Germans in strong defensive positions. It

:24:31. > :24:37.took huge courage and a bit of blind luck for a soldier just to survive

:24:38. > :24:45.on these very streets 70 years ago. The 6th June, 1944, saw the most

:24:46. > :24:50.colossal, daring, coordinated amphibious and airborne operation

:24:51. > :24:54.ever attempted. It was a vital step towards ending a war that had

:24:55. > :24:59.enveloped the globe. Of course, it is easy for us to focus on 6th June.

:25:00. > :25:04.Many of the veterans joining us today landing after the 6th, but the

:25:05. > :25:08.odds they faced were just as great, if not greater, than the men who

:25:09. > :25:13.landed on D-Day itself. Casualties during the fighting that followed

:25:14. > :25:18.were equivalent to anything seen in a typical First World War battle on

:25:19. > :25:22.the Western Front. The Normandy Campaign was also built on the

:25:23. > :25:28.bravery and hard work of personnel beforehand. Plans were being refined

:25:29. > :25:32.for months, as early as New Year's Day of 1944, under cover of

:25:33. > :25:35.darkness, a daring story, Major Scott-Bowden and Sergeant

:25:36. > :25:39.Ogden-Smith swam ashore to collect a variety of sand and soil samples.

:25:40. > :25:44.Giving planners the vital information as they made the

:25:45. > :25:48.decisions about D-Day. 70 years on, we are still reminded of the sheer

:25:49. > :25:53.scale of the task standing here. Here at Gold Beach, look out across

:25:54. > :25:57.the water, you can see the remains of Mulberry Harbour B. An

:25:58. > :26:01.engineering feat so enormous that when completed, it was able to

:26:02. > :26:05.handle 7,000 tonnes of supplies every single day. Without these

:26:06. > :26:10.Mulberry Harbours, this one in particular, maintaining that flow of

:26:11. > :26:15.supplies, the Normandy battle could never have taken place let alone

:26:16. > :26:19.been won. For nearly 100 days, the troops fought inland, grinding down

:26:20. > :26:23.enemy forces at terrible cost. And it is those men, and their families,

:26:24. > :26:30.that we have been remembering today at events in Bayeux, Ouistreham,

:26:31. > :26:35.Ranville, and Caen - and now here in Arromanches. Many of us have been

:26:36. > :26:40.lucky enough to attend several of these an verses. None of us will

:26:41. > :26:45.forget today. Today marks the final time that this band of brothers will

:26:46. > :26:49.officially commemorate the achievement and remember their

:26:50. > :26:54.fallen comrades. The year that we commemorate the 70th Anniversary of

:26:55. > :26:58.D-Day also sees the Normandy Veterans' Association disband. The

:26:59. > :27:03.Normandy Veterans' Association, which has tried to rekindle and

:27:04. > :27:09.maintain the spirit of 1944, irrespective of rank and position.

:27:10. > :27:13.During 33 years, at its peak uniting 16,000 members, the Association has

:27:14. > :27:17.enabled veterans to keep in touch and keep alive the memories of the

:27:18. > :27:22.Normandy Campaign. The current membership is just 600. We need to

:27:23. > :27:27.support those veterans who are left. They have shared their memories with

:27:28. > :27:32.us. Let's pass that inheritance on. The world must never be allowed to

:27:33. > :27:40.forget what they did here. How could it? When you have characters here

:27:41. > :27:46.today like Walter Fuller from the Royal Tank Regiment who came ashore

:27:47. > :27:53.on a tank landing craft. Or Stoker Fred Lee who was positioned just off

:27:54. > :27:57.the coast here at Gold Beach. He remained here until 24th June when

:27:58. > :28:04.his ship was struck and towed back to the UK. My friend's grandPa, Glyn

:28:05. > :28:10.Jenkins remembered the tragedy on Omaha, his destroyer was desperate

:28:11. > :28:15.to help the troops, came in so close, it grounded on several

:28:16. > :28:18.occasions. They fired at German defenders until they ran out of

:28:19. > :28:24.ammunition, unwilling to be seen to abandon the infantry they stayed and

:28:25. > :28:29.fired their blanks. As always, these D-Day days are a giddy mix of raw

:28:30. > :28:33.emotion and a time for fun. I learnt ten years ago, that if you saw a

:28:34. > :28:36.bloke with a chest full of medals, and bought him a beer, you could get

:28:37. > :28:41.your notebook out and learn a huge amount about D-Day! I'm glad to see

:28:42. > :28:46.nothing has changed. Today, we have had young people, thronging these

:28:47. > :28:51.streets, people on the beach, it's been a wonderful commemoration and

:28:52. > :28:55.also dare I say, a celebration of what you achieved. As a youngish

:28:56. > :29:00.member of society, I want to talk to the veterans directly and say thank

:29:01. > :29:03.you, we remember you and we are grateful. So, let us get under

:29:04. > :29:16.way... So, the warm-up is over. Let's get

:29:17. > :29:18.under way the most exciting part of the afternoon. Please welcome the

:29:19. > :29:22.representatives of the British military, the French and British

:29:23. > :29:28.Governments and of course the Normandy Veterans' Association.

:29:29. > :30:20.of Arromanches with his wife together with their Royal Highnesses

:30:21. > :32:31.the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The band of the royal yeomanry lead

:32:32. > :32:44.the way with the veterans not far behind. Alongside me, Chris Tarrant,

:32:45. > :32:49.the son of basil. Bless his memory today. He would have loved this.

:32:50. > :32:58.Wonderful old boys are very modest, aren't they? William and Kate

:32:59. > :33:03.watching. Her grandfather Peter was a fighter pilot in the war. He

:33:04. > :33:17.fought on the ongoing home front, flying Mosquitoes, chasing down V1s

:33:18. > :33:24.heading for London. They used the wings of the Mosquitoes to turn each

:33:25. > :33:32.V1 of course. They have been moving slowly, but you knew, Chris, that

:33:33. > :33:37.once they got to this point, heads would raise and legs would start

:33:38. > :33:42.moving a bit more freely. They look so proud. As they should be. And

:33:43. > :33:48.they have been treated like royalty but the royal family is here. They

:33:49. > :33:53.have been treated so well by everybody as they have walked

:33:54. > :33:59.through. Everybody is taking a photograph. Wonderful, wonderful.

:34:00. > :34:06.True heroes. The temperature has dropped in the evening on the

:34:07. > :34:11.Normandy coast but it has been a very hot day and the veterans have

:34:12. > :34:18.been on the go all day and it has been a long day. Rommel called D-Day

:34:19. > :34:23.the longest day. The weather when they first came, when my dad came,

:34:24. > :34:25.would have been nothing like this. Horrific. A storm at sea and travel

:34:26. > :34:47.pictures. -- dreadful pictures. The Normandy Veterans' Association,

:34:48. > :34:52.there is a national association, that this particular Arromanches

:34:53. > :34:56.event has been arranged by them. I think it is terribly sad that they

:34:57. > :35:01.are disbanding. I know it is just about age but it is terribly sad. A

:35:02. > :35:06.lovely old gentleman was saying to me, we are not finished yet. Don't

:35:07. > :35:10.give up on us. I think that is the point. They will lay down the

:35:11. > :35:14.standard, acknowledging that they are too frail, too fragile to

:35:15. > :35:24.organise the event, but they will come back. They will be back, they

:35:25. > :35:30.promise. You came with your dad, Chris? Will you come back? Yes, I

:35:31. > :35:35.want a comeback in the summer with my son, later on, when it is much

:35:36. > :35:40.quieter and pay quiet respect to my father. He landed just round the

:35:41. > :35:44.corner on Juno Beach. He only came back once. And he came away not

:35:45. > :35:51.really wanting to talk about it, as always. All he said to me was so

:35:52. > :36:08.young, so young. The young salute the old.

:36:09. > :36:21.It is a very warm event. The Ministry of Defence sent out an

:36:22. > :36:27.invitation that this should be a mixture of conviviality and

:36:28. > :36:32.reflection and it is, isn't it? We look back and yet we applaud in the

:36:33. > :36:36.present. A celebration really of everything they did and the quality

:36:37. > :36:38.of life that we have had ever since because of them and the ones they

:36:39. > :36:39.left behind. because of them and the ones they

:36:40. > :36:42.They were all say to you, because of them and the ones they

:36:43. > :36:45.They were all say to the ones I have spoken to, have said there is a

:36:46. > :36:51.sense of guilt that they have survived. They should not feel that

:36:52. > :36:53.but they said it to me today. They said the ones left behind were the

:36:54. > :37:35.heroes. Royal Engineers, they have been

:37:36. > :37:47.helping out no end here, organising, gently helping. Lieutenant Colonel

:37:48. > :37:56.Tom Marsden in charge of them here in Arromanches. The first to address

:37:57. > :38:11.the crowd in Arromanches Square will be the Mayor, Mr Patrick Shah --

:38:12. > :38:17.Jardin. There he is. It is his fourth term. A dangerous thing for a

:38:18. > :38:20.French man to say, but he says that on this particular day, his French

:38:21. > :38:29.town becomes a little corner of England. Well, it did. He also

:38:30. > :38:37.reminded me that in Napoleonic days, 1811, the French sort of the

:38:38. > :38:44.British in a naval battle. -- saw off. Why are you looking at me like

:38:45. > :38:53.I remember that? ! Don't these guys look fabulous with their medals?

:38:54. > :38:56.Nearly all 90 plus and so alert. The numbers have grown to such an extent

:38:57. > :39:04.that more chairs have been called for and the Mayor will have to wait.

:39:05. > :39:08.What is lovely is not just the sense of pride that they must be feeling

:39:09. > :39:12.themselves, however mixed feelings are, but a lot of them are here with

:39:13. > :39:17.their families and children and their grandchildren, who must think,

:39:18. > :39:22.this is the most wonderful day, to see grandad being treated like this.

:39:23. > :39:24.What these guys must have seen when they came the first time round. What

:39:25. > :39:38.memories they must have. Your dad, Basil, he very nearly made

:39:39. > :39:47.it through the war intact but not quite. Yes, he went home for three

:39:48. > :39:52.days in March, 1945, briefly married mum, what he calls the three-day

:39:53. > :39:56.honeymoon, came back, went into Germany and got blown up on a

:39:57. > :40:04.landmine. He was incredibly lucky to survive at all. Nearly lost his arm.

:40:05. > :40:06.For him that was the end of the war but his arm was saved by a young

:40:07. > :40:30.surgeon. The Mayor of Arromanches. but his arm was saved by a young

:40:31. > :40:58.surgeon. The Mayor of Arromanches. He is welcoming everyone to

:40:59. > :41:02.Arromanches. Ten years ago on the 60th anniversary, the Mayor had the

:41:03. > :41:04.great honour of welcoming the Queen. She had these veterans of the armed

:41:05. > :41:17.forces. Your presence reaffirms the link

:41:18. > :41:31.between the royal family and Arromanches. Something extraordinary

:41:32. > :41:47.happened here, planned and carried out by the British armed forces. One

:41:48. > :41:55.of the most extraordinary episodes, epic in proportion, a feat that

:41:56. > :42:10.echoes down the generations. We salute your courage of the troops.

:42:11. > :42:21.We salute you, the veterans. We will always be grateful towards you.

:42:22. > :42:25.We salute you, the veterans. We will always be You will always be here

:42:26. > :42:29.wrapped up in our affection, respect and loyalty. Welcome and thank you

:42:30. > :42:35.again. APPLAUSE

:42:36. > :42:42.Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.

:42:43. > :42:55.Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank the people of

:42:56. > :43:01.Arromanches for hosting us here in their lovely town. It is a very

:43:02. > :43:05.great honour for me to address you on this historic anniversary, 70

:43:06. > :43:10.years to the day since the D-Day landings took place along this

:43:11. > :43:15.coast. Earlier this afternoon, Catherine and I had the privilege of

:43:16. > :43:21.meeting some of the veterans who were present on that great and

:43:22. > :43:27.terrible day. Great because it signals the beginning of the end for

:43:28. > :43:33.the tyranny of Nazism. Terrible because so great a number of young

:43:34. > :43:40.men and French men, women and children, here and elsewhere in

:43:41. > :43:44.Normandy, lost their lives. The landing beaches, including Gold

:43:45. > :43:52.Beach, where we are today, represented the first breach in the

:43:53. > :44:00.enemy's Atlantic Wall. Through this breach, the torrents of victory and

:44:01. > :44:06.eventual freedom would blow. Over 130,000 men and vast amounts of

:44:07. > :44:11.stores and ammunition were landed in those first critical days. If we

:44:12. > :44:15.look out to see this evening, we can still see the remnants of the

:44:16. > :44:23.Mulberry Harbour, standing mute, testament to the genius of British

:44:24. > :44:30.ingenuity. Port Winston, as it was known, and its sister, of Omaha

:44:31. > :44:36.Beach, saw 7000 tonnes of vehicles and stores off-loaded on each of

:44:37. > :44:42.those first days in June, 1944. It is of course correct and fitting

:44:43. > :44:49.that we honour today the veterans of all nations who took part in

:44:50. > :44:54.operation overlord. It is also essential that we never forget the

:44:55. > :44:59.friends and companions of those veterans who gave everything for our

:45:00. > :45:06.freedom on the 6th of June, and during the days and months that

:45:07. > :45:07.followed. They lie now together in the beautifully kept cemeteries that

:45:08. > :45:16.line this coast. Today is also about the young,

:45:17. > :45:23.people of my generation and younger, whose connection to the events of

:45:24. > :45:29.1944 are largely through hearsay and history books. It is vital that the

:45:30. > :45:42.sacrifice and the reasons for that sacrifice are never forgotten by our

:45:43. > :45:49.generation and generations to come. So, Monsieur Benoit Lemaire, that is

:45:50. > :45:54.why we are so grateful to you. By welcoming us here this evening, you

:45:55. > :45:58.allow us to keep those memories alive and those lessons learned. As

:45:59. > :46:02.nations, British, French and others, there can be no stronger tie than

:46:03. > :46:08.recollection of what the people of Normandy and thousands of young

:46:09. > :46:10.Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen endured together 70 years ago this

:46:11. > :46:25.day. Next, a Service of Remembrance and

:46:26. > :46:31.wreath laying led by the Reverend Mandy Reynolds.

:46:32. > :46:41.Just before we begin, I have one brief notice and that goes out to

:46:42. > :46:50.all of my beloved Normandy boys. It's a very hot evening. If you feel

:46:51. > :46:53.the need, please feel free to remain seated throughout the service or to

:46:54. > :47:02.sit at any point that you feel you need to.

:47:03. > :47:06.Let us remember before God all who took part in the Normandy Landings,

:47:07. > :47:11.for victory achieved on land, at sea and in the air,

:47:12. > :47:18.and for the liberation of so many from occupation and oppression.

:47:19. > :47:22.We give thanks for those comrades who served in the British Army,

:47:23. > :47:28.the Royal Navy, The Merchant Navy, the Royal Air Force

:47:29. > :47:34.and all those from other countries who gave their lives courageously

:47:35. > :47:40.and whom we remember with pride. And we pray that,

:47:41. > :47:44.loyal to their example and their sense of duty,

:47:45. > :47:52.we may be ever vigilant of freedom, peace and security.

:47:53. > :48:00.Let us join together in the words of The Lord's Prayer.

:48:01. > :48:03.ALL: Our Father, which art in heaven,

:48:04. > :48:13.thy kingdom come; thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

:48:14. > :48:19.Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,

:48:20. > :48:23.as we forgive them that trespass against us.

:48:24. > :48:28.And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

:48:29. > :48:33.For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,

:48:34. > :49:03.We stand now to sing our first hymn, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.

:49:04. > :50:58.# Pray and praise thee without ceasing

:50:59. > :51:58.# Till we cast our crowns before thee

:51:59. > :53:14.# Lost in wonder, love, and praise. #

:53:15. > :53:27.Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know,

:53:28. > :53:31.and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

:53:32. > :53:34.If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not,

:53:35. > :53:37.how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

:53:38. > :53:39.And no man hath ascended up to heaven,

:53:40. > :53:44.even the Son of man which is in heaven.

:53:45. > :53:46.And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

:53:47. > :53:48.even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

:53:49. > :53:52.should not perish, but have eternal life.

:53:53. > :53:56.For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

:53:57. > :53:59.that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,

:54:00. > :54:06.For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;

:54:07. > :54:09.but that the world through him might be saved.

:54:10. > :54:13.He that believeth on him is not condemned:

:54:14. > :54:16.but he that believeth not is condemned already,

:54:17. > :54:22.the name of the only begotten Son of God.

:54:23. > :54:25.And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world,

:54:26. > :54:29.and men loved darkness rather than light,

:54:30. > :54:35.For every one that doeth evil hateth the light,

:54:36. > :54:39.neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

:54:40. > :54:43.But he that doeth truth cometh to the light,

:54:44. > :54:59.that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are in God.

:55:00. > :55:08.The Reverend Jonathan Woodhouse, Chaplain General of the Army.

:55:09. > :55:12.Let us remember before God, and commend to His sure keeping,

:55:13. > :55:15.those who have died for their country in war,

:55:16. > :55:17.those whom we knew and whose memory we treasure today,

:55:18. > :55:21.and for all those who have lived and died

:55:22. > :55:41.They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

:55:42. > :55:45.Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow

:55:46. > :55:49.They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted

:55:50. > :55:57.They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old

:55:58. > :56:01.Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

:56:02. > :56:04.At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,

:56:05. > :58:37.Please be seated for the laying of wreaths.

:58:38. > :58:42.The first wreath to be laid by His Royal Highness the Duke of

:58:43. > :01:44.Cambridge. A wreath is laid on behalf of the

:01:45. > :02:00.Normandy Veterans' Association. Peter Thompson of the Normandy

:02:01. > :02:05.Veterans' Association. His birthday fell on D-Day. He was 19. So today

:02:06. > :02:40.is his 89th birthday. Donald Hunter of the Normandy

:02:41. > :02:47.Veterans' Association and national Vice President of the Merchant Navy

:02:48. > :02:55.Association. The wreath is inscribed with the number 4250, the number of

:02:56. > :03:03.Merchant Navy soldiers thought to have died on D-Day.

:03:04. > :03:13.We are now going to hear a poem written by a Juno Beach veteran,

:03:14. > :03:15.Cyril Crain. It will be read by Mrs Enid March from the Surrey branch of

:03:16. > :05:03.the Normandy Veterans' Association. Written by Cyril Crain, a wireless

:05:04. > :05:12.operator who landed on Juno Beach. Let us pray.

:05:13. > :05:15.Almighty God, we pray for the peace of the world,

:05:16. > :05:18.that by your Holy Spirit, we may continually strive

:05:19. > :05:21.for peace founded on righteousness, and that by the courageous example

:05:22. > :05:24.shown by those who have laid down their lives,

:05:25. > :05:26.paying the ultimate sacrifice of war and conflict,

:05:27. > :05:29.and that we may all come to be united

:05:30. > :05:35.in freedom and justice throughout the world.

:05:36. > :05:40.We pray especially on this 70th Anniversary of the Normandy Landing

:05:41. > :05:45.for the people of France, Great Britain and all Allied Countries,

:05:46. > :05:49.who stood together in the dark days of war,

:05:50. > :05:55.ensuring victory and hope for future days.

:05:56. > :05:59.We remember all those who suffer as a result of war,

:06:00. > :06:09.for those who continue to carry emotional scars,

:06:10. > :06:14.and for those whose faith in God and humanity have been weakened or lost;

:06:15. > :06:23.Help all those who have experienced grief, confusion,

:06:24. > :06:27.anger or desperation to know you are with them,

:06:28. > :06:50.be with us all this day and hear our prayers, as we give thanks

:06:51. > :07:03.for your gift of love through Jesus Christ our Lord.

:07:04. > :07:30.# Whose arm doth bind the restless wave

:07:31. > :08:05.# Who suffered death by nails and sword

:08:06. > :08:40.# Who fills with strength the human race

:08:41. > :08:52.# Guide all who dare the eagles' flight

:08:53. > :09:14.# Our brethren shield in danger's hour

:09:15. > :09:21.# From rock and tempest, fire and foe

:09:22. > :09:46.# Praise from the air and land and sea. #

:09:47. > :10:03.O Lord God, we give thanks to you this day

:10:04. > :10:06.for our presence here in this place, where we have gathered

:10:07. > :10:08.to honour those who died in the Normandy Landings,

:10:09. > :10:10.and also to give thanks to those survivors

:10:11. > :10:15.both present here or in other places remembering their comrades.

:10:16. > :10:18.So let us say together the Prayer of the Normandy Veterans' Association.

:10:19. > :10:20.ALL: O Eternal Lord God, who has united together

:10:21. > :10:26.all veterans of the Normandy Campaign: grant them your blessing,

:10:27. > :10:29.give them strength to carry on their work to aid and bring comradeship

:10:30. > :10:37.and bring joy and common purpose throughout the Association.

:10:38. > :10:41.We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,

:10:42. > :10:50.Let us pray together for the Merchant Navy.

:10:51. > :10:55.ALL: Heavenly Father, we give thanks for the men of the Merchant Navy

:10:56. > :11:01.who gave their lives in the cause of freedom and justice.

:11:02. > :11:06.May those now departed, who showed courage

:11:07. > :11:08.through the storm of conflict, find peace in calm waters

:11:09. > :11:14.and the blessing of that eternal safe harbour.

:11:15. > :11:21.We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

:11:22. > :11:25.Lord God our Father, we pledge ourselves anew

:11:26. > :11:30.to serve you and all humanity in the cause of peace among nations,

:11:31. > :11:33.for the relief of want and suffering,

:11:34. > :11:37.and for the praise of your name.

:11:38. > :11:43.Guide us by your Spirit in the ways of wisdom, justice and peace,

:11:44. > :11:57.remaining faithful to you now and always. Amen.

:11:58. > :12:10.We now have the national anthems of both France and the United Kingdom.

:12:11. > :13:31.# Marchons! Marchons! # Qu'un sang impur

:13:32. > :14:04.And now believes Barry heads for God's blessing. May the Lord bless

:14:05. > :14:10.you and keep you. May the Lord make his space to shine upon you and

:14:11. > :14:16.bring you peace and joy. And the blessing of God Almighty, the

:14:17. > :14:18.father, the sun and the holy spirit, be with you and those who you love

:14:19. > :14:43.this day and always. Our we are now going to join together in

:14:44. > :14:45.some community singing. I hope you have your voice is ready because I

:14:46. > :14:51.am listening. # Dear Land of Hope,

:14:52. > :15:02.thy hope is crowned, # On Sov'ran brows, beloved,

:15:03. > :15:11.renowned, # How shall we

:15:12. > :15:15.extol thee, who are born of thee? # Wider still

:15:16. > :15:19.and wider shall thy bounds be set. # God, who made thee mighty,

:15:20. > :15:55.make thee mightier yet. The last day of the prom! The mood

:15:56. > :16:17.has changed. # But I know we'll meet

:16:18. > :17:44.again some sunny day Laura Wright in the middle of the St

:17:45. > :17:55.John's Choir. The young Royals will now take their leave.

:17:56. > :18:10.That is the end of the period of reflection, memory, Chris. A

:18:11. > :18:17.wonderful service. Very dignified. Very respectful to the veterans. A

:18:18. > :18:21.great afternoon. We are now going to join together in that song that

:18:22. > :18:25.brings us altogether and remembers those people who can't be here, our

:18:26. > :18:54.absolute friends, Auld Lang Syne. # We?ll tak a cup o? kindness

:18:55. > :19:00.yet # We?ll tak a cup o? kindness

:19:01. > :19:13.yet # We?ll tak a cup o' kindness

:19:14. > :19:36.yet # We?ll tak a cup o' kindness

:19:37. > :20:10.yet Auld Lang Syne and the great piper

:20:11. > :20:14.of D-Day, Bill Millen, who marched to Pegasus Bridge playing his pipes

:20:15. > :20:18.said, "If they remember the bagpiper, then they won't forget

:20:19. > :20:24.those who served and fell on the beaches."

:20:25. > :20:31.They were an exceptional breed, weren't they? Our generation owes

:20:32. > :20:55.them so much, so much. When When -- when Basil came back,

:20:56. > :21:04.was he on a high? He wanted to still be in the Army. He just would not

:21:05. > :21:08.talk about it as so many of that generation did. He used - I think he

:21:09. > :21:14.only came down here once, but he used to go to the local barracks and

:21:15. > :21:19.once in a while, he would go up to London. On armistice Sunday. I do

:21:20. > :21:23.remember the 60th, he was too ill by then to go to the barracks, but he

:21:24. > :21:28.got himself dressed, he put his medals on and he stood to attention

:21:29. > :21:37.watching the pictures come from Whitehall and he said, tears pouring

:21:38. > :21:43.down his cheeks... He said, "Don't ever mock." The Chaplain to the

:21:44. > :21:46.Normandy Veterans' Association. Her dad Passed away last year. She is

:21:47. > :21:54.wearing his medals. She kept it together well, didn't

:21:55. > :22:11.she? They have had a long day, some of

:22:12. > :22:18.these old boys. They must be exhausted. It is very hot. He wants

:22:19. > :22:25.a drink! If you are wondering why there is a policeman here, it is

:22:26. > :22:31.part of the West Yorkshire Police Band who entertained us all earlier

:22:32. > :22:34.in the day. This is the fifth event they have performed at today.

:22:35. > :22:45.Really? They have been around the area? Huge crowds everywhere. And

:22:46. > :22:49.very multi-national. This is the British end of the day. The Dutch

:22:50. > :22:54.had their ceremony this morning. Yeah. Amongst the crowd, an amazing

:22:55. > :22:59.array of nationalities. As we said before, of ages, young and old. I

:23:00. > :23:03.think that is good. There seemed to be a time when the teaching of

:23:04. > :23:07.history about World War Two looked like it might go quietly into

:23:08. > :23:11.decline. Now, they are teaching it all over Europe. It is an essential

:23:12. > :23:14.part of a lesson we must all learn and out of respect for these

:23:15. > :23:25.veterans and the people who lost their friends. I'm hoping that the

:23:26. > :23:31.crowd does open up before a veteran. It is a spectacle in its own right

:23:32. > :23:35.that they have the freedom of the town and however dense the crowds

:23:36. > :23:43.have been - and they have - and that's the members of the other

:23:44. > :23:48.band. All day, they have been parting for the old soldiers. It's

:23:49. > :23:53.been great to see. If there is a veteran coming, they all move out of

:23:54. > :24:02.the way to let these wonderful old guys through - and women. It is

:24:03. > :24:07.going to be party time! You have been here. You know that however

:24:08. > :24:11.weary they are, they will raise a glass. They certainly will. One of

:24:12. > :24:17.them is very keen. He has been trying to get the policeman to come

:24:18. > :24:19.with him! He is making those unmistakable, "I want a drink"

:24:20. > :24:35.movements. It is wonderful how the crowd has

:24:36. > :24:39.just melted into the main square and that is the scene, that is

:24:40. > :24:44.Arromanches with the remains of the Mulberry Harbour in the distance.

:24:45. > :24:49.Just at the top of the picture, the flag, the Standard of the Normandy

:24:50. > :24:55.Veterans' Association, as we pan around the bay. There, in the

:24:56. > :25:04.distance, is the flagship of the Royal Navy, HMS Bulwark is back. The

:25:05. > :25:09.assault craft, it can land marines by helicopter and by landing craft.

:25:10. > :25:15.Of course, there's one of those connections that that was what 70

:25:16. > :25:21.years was all about. But not landing marines in their hundred, but

:25:22. > :25:27.landing over 20,000 men here on Gold Beach, one of the five. That was the

:25:28. > :25:31.next phase of the war for a lot of them, including my father, who

:25:32. > :25:34.survived the beach onslaught, was getting all the stuff off the

:25:35. > :25:38.Mulberry Harbour and getting the provisions and more troops coming in

:25:39. > :25:43.and tanks and weaponry inland. They spent - I know Dad was here for

:25:44. > :25:47.eight weeks literally unloading, the most amazing tonnage of equipment

:25:48. > :25:53.and armaments every day. Then they went on to central France. Everybody

:25:54. > :26:00.is on the move, but Sian has managed to stop one or two in their tracks.

:26:01. > :26:10.I have. They have really been enjoying the day. It's been a...

:26:11. > :26:13.What's it been like today? It's been fabulous. You couldn't wish for

:26:14. > :26:17.better weather. The people around. All very keen to know what's what

:26:18. > :26:25.and this, that and the other. Naturally, we like to tell them and

:26:26. > :26:28.keep the thing going. As you have probably heard, come November, we

:26:29. > :26:32.shall be disbanding. The Normandy Veterans' Association? That's

:26:33. > :26:42.right, yes. Will you still meet, Ron? We shall, hopefully, start our

:26:43. > :26:47.own little club and still keep all our friends and try and carry on

:26:48. > :26:52.something, anyway. We will see how we go in November and see what the

:26:53. > :26:57.members want to do. You were in the Royal Navy? Yes. On a destroyer?

:26:58. > :27:05.Yes. What was the occasion like for you? A little bit hair-raising when

:27:06. > :27:11.we heard all the noise and what have you. But you settle down to do a job

:27:12. > :27:18.and everything else is forgotten. You just get cracking and do your

:27:19. > :27:27.job. That's it, you know. Frank went through more than me. You are great

:27:28. > :27:32.friends with Frank? We were in the same unit. We live a few mile away

:27:33. > :27:41.from each other. We call it next door. He's been a good mate and we

:27:42. > :27:45.got to know each other, and I have to put up with him. You landed on

:27:46. > :27:52.Gold Beach. Have you met others today who you have met for the first

:27:53. > :27:56.time? No. I have only said this several times today. I have never

:27:57. > :28:02.met yet, all the times I have been here, and other places, London,

:28:03. > :28:14.Windsor, the Cenotaph, I have never met one of my comrades. There's a

:28:15. > :28:18.couple here. That's strange. They are either all dead, and I'm the

:28:19. > :28:28.lucky one. It could be that, of course. We all went to school

:28:29. > :28:39.together. I'm 90-odd. I have only met one of my Navy pals and that was

:28:40. > :28:45.at a football match where I was a Walsall football fanatic. The

:28:46. > :28:52.Sadlers? Yes, I only live 400 yards from the ground as it is today.

:28:53. > :29:01.During the old days, before they moved, there was an evening match

:29:02. > :29:06.and at half-time, I turned round and looked in the crowd and we used to

:29:07. > :29:11.be standing then - and my eyes have gone - we used to be standing there

:29:12. > :29:15.and four or five rows back, when I turned round and this fella said, "I

:29:16. > :29:23.know you." I said, "I know you as well!" He was a fella out of my mess

:29:24. > :29:33.on board ship and his name was Doc Little. We called him "Doc". He was

:29:34. > :29:39.feeling a bit seasick one day and he went up top, came down after ten

:29:40. > :29:46.minutes, quarter of an hour, and somebody said, "Doc, where's your

:29:47. > :29:52.teeth?" He wore dentures and they went over the side! It's been lovely

:29:53. > :29:55.talking to you. That is the only one I have ever met. I hope you see a

:29:56. > :30:01.few more. It's been great talking to you. You, too, Frank. Enjoy the rest

:30:02. > :30:06.of your day. I have really enjoyed today and the people are out of this

:30:07. > :30:12.world, the French people. Perhaps we earned it, I don't know. I suppose

:30:13. > :30:17.we did. We are the heroes. You are. Thank you very much for talking to

:30:18. > :30:34.us. I don't feel any different, but...

:30:35. > :30:40.for the veterans and the welcome has been so warm by the French. There

:30:41. > :30:45.must have been a certain ambivalence about the French. They lost 20,000

:30:46. > :30:58.civilians during the Battle of Normandy, 50,000 before D-Day, and

:30:59. > :31:01.then when Caens was destroyed, huge casualties, but this sense of

:31:02. > :31:07.forgiveness and a price worth paying. A genuine warmth. And what

:31:08. > :31:12.you keep forgetting, they are going to be 90 years old or more, these

:31:13. > :31:16.men, and they have just been extraordinary. A great day today.

:31:17. > :31:21.Great respect. We must remember them. Look at them, still chatting

:31:22. > :31:37.away. Arromanches is a very small place. I

:31:38. > :31:43.think 600 inhabitants. Yet it is bulging at the seams. There are

:31:44. > :31:47.thousands of people here. Of course the veterans do not number that many

:31:48. > :31:55.any more. You can see the plaques to the Merchant Navy and the Logistics

:31:56. > :32:00.Corps. As you said, a wonderful international feel, great warmth

:32:01. > :32:05.from all countries towards these guys who fought for them and lost

:32:06. > :32:16.thousands of friends. The Royal Air Force. Landing in Normandy with the

:32:17. > :32:25.seaborne assault forces. Those were the wreaths laid earlier. There is a

:32:26. > :32:29.sense that we come here essentially to remember, and perhaps, Chris, to

:32:30. > :32:34.remember those that didn't get through the day. A lovely old

:32:35. > :32:38.gentleman earlier were saying that they never made it back to the white

:32:39. > :32:44.cliffs of Dover. Talking about friends that he lost on this day 70

:32:45. > :32:53.years ago, still remembered. Sian has found somebody new. I am with

:32:54. > :33:01.Padre Mandy. Can I call you that? The men do. Yes! You have had a big

:33:02. > :33:05.role today. I saw you at the service of remembrance at by a cathedral.

:33:06. > :33:12.What has it been like for you? -- Bayeux Cathedral. Just an amazing

:33:13. > :33:18.day. It started with the flag raising ceremony in the morning and

:33:19. > :33:23.then I went on to Bayeux Cathedral. It has been a huge privilege to be

:33:24. > :33:28.here with these men. They have an average age of 89 or 90. One

:33:29. > :33:31.gentleman is 100. They are still sprightly. They might be doddery

:33:32. > :33:37.here and there but they are so proud to be here. To be with them and

:33:38. > :33:43.conduct services for them and spend time with them is just amazing. It

:33:44. > :33:47.is very poignant, very moving. They have stories to tell. It is only

:33:48. > :33:54.really now that they feel ready to tell them, in the last year or two.

:33:55. > :33:57.Why do you think that is? We can't imagine what they saw or

:33:58. > :34:03.experienced. It is all very well watching films. Saving Private Ryan,

:34:04. > :34:08.we see the opening scenes coming on the beaches, but actually that was

:34:09. > :34:11.Hollywood. We don't know what it is like to see your friends beside you

:34:12. > :34:16.one minute and gone the next. We don't know what it is like, what

:34:17. > :34:20.they saw, what they experienced, how they felt helpless in certain

:34:21. > :34:23.situations. I think they don't want to pass that on. They don't want to

:34:24. > :34:30.pass that on. They're not ready to share that, because it was horrific.

:34:31. > :34:34.My dad was in France and I cannot imagine the scenes that he witnessed

:34:35. > :34:40.and the mess that he had to clear up, if I can put it so crudely. I

:34:41. > :34:45.don't think he wanted to share that. I did think he wanted us to know

:34:46. > :34:49.just what it was like. It is very poignant to hear the story is

:34:50. > :34:58.starting to unfold now. What is it like as a Padre? Sometimes it is

:34:59. > :35:03.hard to associate religion and war. What do you feel your role is? It is

:35:04. > :35:08.very difficult. Sometimes people say, why are you celebrating and

:35:09. > :35:11.glorifying war? That is not what we are doing. We are remembering the

:35:12. > :35:18.courage these men had, the commitment that they had and that

:35:19. > :35:22.they gave to let us do what we are doing now and to give us that

:35:23. > :35:26.freedom. It is not that we are glorifying war at all. We only have

:35:27. > :35:32.to watch the news, open a newspaper, to see the futility and

:35:33. > :35:34.horror of war. What we are celebrating and giving thanks for is

:35:35. > :35:40.the courage and selfless commitment of these men. The courage of men

:35:41. > :35:45.like your father who was in Normandy. Am I right in thinking

:35:46. > :35:51.these medals are his? They are dad's so I am proud to wear them

:35:52. > :36:00.today. Which is which? I can see a Cyprus medal. Goss, off the top of

:36:01. > :36:04.my head? -- gosh. I am on the spot now and I don't know which is which.

:36:05. > :36:11.It must give you a great deal of pride to put them on. Yes. Dad

:36:12. > :36:15.passed away a year ago said to be here is poignant and emotional. I

:36:16. > :36:20.just hope that he would turn round and say that I was just a simple

:36:21. > :36:25.gunner, made Sergeant major. But I hope he is looking down today

:36:26. > :36:27.saying, that's my girl. I hope I have made him proud. Of course you

:36:28. > :36:38.have. Thank you for your time. We loved listening to what the Padre

:36:39. > :36:46.had to say and so proudly wearing her medals. Two historians still

:36:47. > :36:50.with me. Nice to have you with us. I should explain to viewers that

:36:51. > :36:59.clearly the day's vents are drawing to a close. We want to have a quick

:37:00. > :37:03.chat now with Roderick and Helen and chat to some or veterans because we

:37:04. > :37:06.want to take advantage of the opportunity in the last few minutes

:37:07. > :37:12.that we have here to talk to as many veterans as possible. As we have

:37:13. > :37:15.underlined, we are not going to see an event like this again with the

:37:16. > :37:19.Normandy Veterans' Association. For that reason, lots of these gentlemen

:37:20. > :37:25.will not be here in five or ten years time. They are elderly, they

:37:26. > :37:29.are frail. Some of them can't make the journey and are struggling

:37:30. > :37:33.already. We know the score in that sense and that is why we want to

:37:34. > :37:37.make so much of today. What struck you about the service and the

:37:38. > :37:41.contributions that we have heard? There will not be a single person

:37:42. > :37:44.watching at home that will not be touched. At various points during

:37:45. > :37:51.the day, each of us that has been here in Normandy has felt tears

:37:52. > :37:54.coming to the eyes. It is just so emotional. And you get a sense that

:37:55. > :38:01.the veterans will go home knowing that this will never be forgotten.

:38:02. > :38:05.We will never forget. We have been struck by the contributions that we

:38:06. > :38:12.have heard but also people explaining in a very matter of fact

:38:13. > :38:17.way some remarkable achievements and examples of incredible courage but

:38:18. > :38:19.just relating it as though it is a common day occurrence. That is

:38:20. > :38:24.characteristic of the people here today, I think, making that final

:38:25. > :38:26.visit. An extremely impressive group of people, as we

:38:27. > :38:29.visit. An extremely impressive group of people, as we can all agree.

:38:30. > :38:36.Today accomplishes two things, really. It commemorates the

:38:37. > :38:42.anniversary and acknowledges the people here. You saw that on the

:38:43. > :38:46.streets of Arromanches, people shaking their hands, hearing their

:38:47. > :38:49.stories, and it is a pleasing thing for them. It is nice to see

:38:50. > :38:55.communities coming together. As Chris Tarrant was saying earlier,

:38:56. > :38:58.the nice thing about this was, yes, it was British at heart, but

:38:59. > :39:03.actually today has been a global day. People of all kinds of

:39:04. > :39:08.nationalities, and not just representing, if I can put it like

:39:09. > :39:11.this, one side of the Second World War. Representing all kinds of

:39:12. > :39:18.nationalities who is 70 years ago were on very different sides. That

:39:19. > :39:22.has been a nice feature, too. Yes, it has been very inclusive. Very

:39:23. > :39:28.different to ten years ago. We have made huge strides. We must keep

:39:29. > :39:34.these memories alive and record those stories in whatever way,

:39:35. > :39:38.whether it is digitally, on video, because these are the last

:39:39. > :39:42.eyewitnesses. I hope you don't mind. I am just going to read a few more

:39:43. > :39:46.messages. Earlier I had some lovely messages to read and I have been

:39:47. > :39:51.given five or six more. I think at this time of day it is nice to share

:39:52. > :39:55.a last batch with you. Can I just though once again, thank you so much

:39:56. > :40:05.for sharing lots of very moving things with us? It is a very nice

:40:06. > :40:13.thing. Chris from Wakefield. My late father, Bill, served in D-Day and

:40:14. > :40:17.landed on Gold Beach. He was 23 and already a veteran of North Africa

:40:18. > :40:22.and the Sicily landings. I wanted to pay tribute. Thank you for that.

:40:23. > :40:27.Jeanette. This is interesting. My dad did not go and fight and he

:40:28. > :40:31.always regretted it. It was not through choice but because he was in

:40:32. > :40:35.a reserve occupation, a farm worker... We have not talked about

:40:36. > :40:40.this and it is important to mark it. I am proud of the fact that he has

:40:41. > :40:45.played his part in a different way. I want to mark that, really. There

:40:46. > :40:47.were people contributing to the war effort who would have fought gladly

:40:48. > :40:53.but they were in reserved occupations. Their contribution has

:40:54. > :40:59.to be fully acknowledged. Absolutely. Now I think there is a

:41:00. > :41:06.recognition of the interconnected nature of everyone's contribution.

:41:07. > :41:11.Not to think only of one particular action. We have to think of those at

:41:12. > :41:17.home, doing vital work to be the nation and the troops. And dig for

:41:18. > :41:21.coal and all kinds of things. A very key role, which is finally being

:41:22. > :41:25.acknowledged. Yes, in the last few years lots more recognition for

:41:26. > :41:29.people in coal mines and doing all kinds of jobs really. They did not

:41:30. > :41:34.choose. That was what they had to do and quite right to recognise that.

:41:35. > :41:38.Can I do a couple more because it is nice to go through them? Charlotte

:41:39. > :41:42.Evans from Winchester. Thank you for sending this in. I would like to say

:41:43. > :41:48.how moved I was watching the coverage. We were all moved, it is

:41:49. > :41:53.fair to say. I am 25 and I sometimes feel that my generation doesn't know

:41:54. > :41:58.will think enough about remembrance. This at least shows me otherwise,

:41:59. > :42:05.today's vents, that is. My grandfather is still alive today. He

:42:06. > :42:17.was driving landing craft driving American -- for the American troops.

:42:18. > :42:22.He is English. I am proud to claim a relationship with one of these great

:42:23. > :42:28.men. That is nice. A couple more. Jackie Hayes. My father went on Juno

:42:29. > :42:33.Beach with the Canadians. We have rushed to catch up with events

:42:34. > :42:40.today. Let us underline the massive events on Juno Beach. He never

:42:41. > :42:44.really spoke of his experiences before he died but I am so grateful

:42:45. > :42:51.to him. Hazel, thank you for sending this in. My uncle died on the 7th of

:42:52. > :42:56.June, buried at Bayeux Cemetery. D-Day plus one. I have promised my

:42:57. > :43:02.mother that we would find an visit his grave and we did and it was very

:43:03. > :43:06.emotional. This is representing a journey that a lot of people have

:43:07. > :43:10.made, it is fair to say. Every year you can come to Normandy and find

:43:11. > :43:16.people visiting for the first time and looking specifically for graves

:43:17. > :43:19.that they want to find. All year round you will see families,

:43:20. > :43:27.relatives, descendents, coming to see the battlefields. And 1914 as

:43:28. > :43:32.well, of course. It means so much to people today because it is a

:43:33. > :43:36.slightly closer generation. Really grateful to people for sending in so

:43:37. > :43:41.many lovely messages. We have tried to share them over the hours of

:43:42. > :43:44.broadcasting. We have a real sense from U of pride, gratitude and

:43:45. > :43:51.admiration and it is nice to reflect that. Let's go back to the square.

:43:52. > :43:58.It is still a wonderfully warm evening in Arromanches and the

:43:59. > :44:06.square is still packed. Chris, you have got to go. It has been an

:44:07. > :44:12.incredible experience. Thank you so much. As Huw Edwards was saying, it

:44:13. > :44:17.has been humbling. We owe these guys so much and we just bless them. We

:44:18. > :44:20.thank them so much for what they did for us. We cannot thank these guys

:44:21. > :44:33.enough. Amazing men and women. The queues have been forming

:44:34. > :44:38.wherever you go. At other times it has been for ice creams and beers

:44:39. > :44:47.and copies. Now people are queueing simply to look at the wreaths laid

:44:48. > :44:50.for those that fell. Yes. What these old gentleman will have seen the

:44:51. > :44:57.first time they came here will be nothing like today, will it?

:44:58. > :45:02.High tide at Arromanches. No beach to be seen, or not much of it.

:45:03. > :45:14.Sian is still here. I am. I'm with Simmy. Tell me, you

:45:15. > :45:19.come back to Normandy quite a lot because you were on HMS Fusilier in

:45:20. > :45:28.the Royal Navy and helping troops get on to Utah beach. Yes. How

:45:29. > :45:35.important is it for you to return? Well, it's very important, really,

:45:36. > :45:44.to my comrades that didn't make it. And to show respect and remember

:45:45. > :45:48.them. We will never ever forget and although they are here in the

:45:49. > :45:55.cemeteries, you know - and this is why we pay our respect and come and

:45:56. > :46:04.see them like once a year, or whenever there is a celebration like

:46:05. > :46:10.that. It is a bit fulfilling at times. Young people, what careers

:46:11. > :46:14.would they have had in life if they'd have been back home, like,

:46:15. > :46:19.the same as what I was, really? Some of them could have been professional

:46:20. > :46:24.police, or professional that. It's sad when you go and see the

:46:25. > :46:29.headstones, but it is very, very nice to see how they are catered for

:46:30. > :46:35.and looked after and kept nice and tidy for us to come along and pay

:46:36. > :46:41.our tribute, really, like. We are never ever forget. We won't ever

:46:42. > :46:47.forget that they are there. It's an ongoing thing and I think I would

:46:48. > :46:55.like more younger people to come into the Associations so as we could

:46:56. > :47:00.be sure when we have gone, the originals, they are still there and

:47:01. > :47:05.they could come out and say, "My granddad was there" or whatever. It

:47:06. > :47:13.would be ongoing. It must be an ongoing thing. These people here in

:47:14. > :47:21.France, or Normandy, they love us to come, so it's very, very

:47:22. > :47:30.encouraging, like, when you feel that hospitality that we get here.

:47:31. > :47:37.You think to yourself, "Why not support it and why not continue to

:47:38. > :47:42.support it?" The Normandy people say, "Come on, we want to see you.

:47:43. > :47:56.We want that relationship. Keep it going." That friendship is very,

:47:57. > :48:02.very important, I think. The land forces, the air forces, the marine,

:48:03. > :48:07.the Navy, we are a nice group. We are a group of people that are

:48:08. > :48:12.dedicated to our country, but we want the young ones to sort of

:48:13. > :48:27.support that dedication that we gave and what we have got to continue

:48:28. > :48:32.with these sort of visits, to places like Caen, Bayeux, Arromanches. It