Re: D Day 70th Anniversary

Admin Fri 6 Jun 2014 - 17:55

Remembrance Ceremony Historic Town of Arromanches in Normandy
The Heroes Return

Opened with The Lords Prayer

Followed By Love Divine All Love Excelling which was sang at Prince Williams wedding to Kate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFckP0F93JM

Prince William laying of the first wreath.

Prayer For Strength and Hope

Eternal Father Strong to Save
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDjwUzUnNpU

Prayer of Thanks and Prayer of the Normandy Veterans Assoc.
Prayer for the Merchant Navy
Followed by Prayer
Lord God our Father we pledge anew to serve you and all humanity in the cause of peace among nations, for the relief of injustice and suffering and the praise of your name. Guide us by your Spirit in the ways of wisdom, justice and peace, remaining faithful to you now and always. Amen
The Blessing

Then Community Singing
Land of hope And Glory
We'll meet Again

All Join Arms To sing Auld Lang Syne

Auld Lang Syne
Played on BAGPIPES by the Somme Battlefield Pipe Band remembering of D Day when the Lone Piper Bill Minn who landed playing his pipes and played when marching the Pegasus Bridge saying, if they remember the piper then they won't forget those who served and fell at the beaches.

Admin Fri 6 Jun 2014 - 16:33

WATCH KEY EVENTS
D-Day anniversary: 'World-changing' day remembered
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Watch key moments from the D-Day 70th anniversary commemorations
Continue reading the main story
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D-Day landings remembered Live
Ceremonies mark 70 years since D-Day
In pictures: D-Day assault remembered
French President Francois Hollande has led the D-Day 70th anniversary tributes by remembering those who died on a day that "changed the world".
He attended a service near Bayeux with US President Barack Obama, who said the US commitment to liberty was "written in blood" on French beaches. The Queen laid a wreath at a ceremony nearby.
They will gather at Sword Beach, one of five landing points for Allied troops.
The landings were the first stage of the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe.
By the end of D-Day on 6 June 1944, the Allies had established a foothold in France - an event that would eventually help bring the war to an end.
The Royal Family were at the Bayeux service, while the US and French presidents gave speeches nearby
Military enthusiasts paid their respects to D-Day soldiers at Omaha Beach in Vierville-sur-Mer
US veterans including Morley Piper, 90, gathered at Omaha Beach on Friday morning
At the D-Day commemorations
Caroline Wyatt, BBC defence correspondent
As the sun rose over Normandy shores this morning, a veteran watched, lost in memories, from the deck of HMS Bulwark. The Royal Navy flagship had sailed the English Channel overnight at the head of an international task group of ships.
For former Royal Marine Corporal Bill Bryant, 89, the sight of the beaches brought back emotional recollections of the same time exactly 70 years ago, as he prepared to drive his landing craft to the shores - carrying his colleagues to their fate on land, amid a barrage of noise and chaos.
The contrast with today could not have been greater as he joined many other veterans on "Gold" Beach, amid a festival atmosphere. The sunshine sparkled on the waves, and French families and tourists from across Europe gathered to watch military bands on the main square at Arromanches.
This doughty but dwindling band of brothers know this may be the last time they meet on these shores. For the veterans, and those who've come to honour them, the ceremonies at Bayeux cemetery are a poignant but powerful reminder of courage and endurance, as D-Day slowly passes from living memory into history.
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During his speech at a US war cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer near Bayeux, President Hollande said every man who took part in D-Day was a "hero".
He said France would never forget what it owed them, nor would it forget its solidarity with the US.
Also at Colleville-sur-Mer, President Obama said: "America's claim - our commitment to liberty, to equality, to freedom, to the inherent dignity of every human being - that claim is written in blood on these beaches, and it will endure for eternity".
President Obama led a standing ovation, ahead of a 21-gun salute and fly-past at the Colleville-sur-Mer US cemetery
Speaking earlier in the city of Caen, President Hollande said: "This day, which began in chaos and fire, would end in blood and tears, tears and pain, tears and joy at the end of 24 hours that changed the world and forever marked Normandy."
In nearby Bayeux, the Queen laid a wreath at a remembrance service at Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery, where she, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall also met veterans.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall attended a Royal British Legion service at Bayeux Cathedral.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will attend events in Arromanches, near Gold landing beach where thousands of British troops came ashore on D-Day.
In other events:
A flotilla of ships from the Allied nations led by HMS Bulwark sailed from Portsmouth to Normandy on Thursday
Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall will attend a remembrance ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer, to commemorate Canada's role in the Normandy landings
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to attend a veterans' tea party in Arromanches
The day's commemorations began at midnight with a vigil at Pegasus Bridge near Ouistreham, marking the first assault of the D-Day invasion when British soldiers began the first Allied action of the campaign.
At 00:16 on 6 June 1944, six Horsa gliders carrying 181 men from the Glider Pilot Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, landed silently to capture the strategically-vital bridge and another nearby.
Heads of state, including the Queen, Mr Hollande, US President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin will meet at Ouistreham - the beach codenamed Sword. Around 650 UK veterans are also expected to gather there.
At the Royal British Legion service, national chaplain, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, said: "What you achieved here in Normandy and beyond validated the sacrifices made earlier in the war by thousands who, like my father, were killed in action".
He added that the "self-concern and love for others" shown by those involved in D-Day "is the route of human justice, freedom and peace".
In a reading at the cathedral, Brigadier David Baines MBE spoke of men who died "with no memorial".
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What was D-Day?
Continue reading the main story
What was D-Day?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27727518
A landing barge, tightly packed with helmeted soldiers, approaches the shore at Normandy, France, on D-Day.
How was the D-Day invasion launched
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgvyyrd
D-Day timeline: The beginning of the end
http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/z9k99j6
How close did D-Day come to failure
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgtttfr
On 6 June 1944, British, US and Canadian forces invaded the coast of northern France in Normandy.
The landings were the first stage of Operation Overlord - the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe - and were intended to end World War Two.
Portsmouth's D-Day Museum says as many as 4,413 Allied troops died on the day of the invasion - more than previously thought.
By the end of D-Day, the Allies had established a foothold in France. Within 11 months Nazi Germany was defeated, as Soviet armies swept in from the east and captured Hitler's stronghold in Berlin.
He added: "But these were merciful men whose righteousness has not been forgotten."
Cpl Bill Bryant, of the Royal Marines, has returned to Normandy to mark the anniversary and he told the BBC that "all hell was being let loose" as he landed on the beach 70 years ago.
"I was scared out of my life," he said, adding that it was emotional to return to northern France as it brought back "too many memories".
Key moments from the ceremony of remembrance in Bayeux Cathedral (VIDEO)
A 21-gun salute and a flypast will form part of proceedings at Friday's ceremony, which will be attended by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Mr Putin will be at the ceremony with Prince Charles, who reportedly criticised the Russian president while speaking to a woman during a tour in Canada.
Ukraine's President-elect Petro Poroshenko is expected to attend, amid tensions between his country and Russia.
In face-to-face talks in Paris, Mr Cameron said he gave Mr Putin a "very clear and firm set of messages" about the crisis in Ukraine.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were at Bayeux Cathedral for the service of remembrance
Photo On Gold Beach in Normandy, hundreds of Union Flags are planted in the sand
Photo Pegasus Bridge
Fireworks were launched at Pegasus Bridge overnight to mark the moment it was captured by British troops
Will you be marking the anniversary of D-Day? Were you involved in some way in the Normandy landings? Do you have family who were involved in the action, or the build up to that day? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories, using 'D-Day' in the subject.
Alternatively, use the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Admin Fri 6 Jun 2014 - 15:35

Events in Normandy and Portsmouth commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
Veteran glider pilots at the Pegasus Bridge commemorative event [Picture: Corporal Andy Reddy RLC, Crown copyright]
Veteran glider pilots at the Pegasus Bridge commemorative event
Yesterday afternoon, more than 300 airborne troops from the UK, France, Canada and the United States parachuted onto the fields of Normandy to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Watched by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and the Chief of the General Staff General Sir Peter Wall, the spectacular display began with a jump by the Red Devils, the Parachute Regiment’s freefall display team.
Among them making a tandem jump was 89-year-old Jock Hutton, a veteran of D-Day who parachuted into France himself 70 years ago.
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales talking to veterans [Picture: Corporal Barry Lloyd RLC, Crown copyright]
Speaking after making the tandem jump, Jock said:
I couldn’t see very much of anything on the ground, but I had a leg bag on me which landed before me and gave me full warning I was about to crash down.
We dropped very low, we didn’t stay in the air as long as we did today. The type of aircraft was very different to the C-130.
We had a task to do, and that was foremost in our minds. Our main target was to liberate Ranville and we did that before first light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCtMf6J3hcc
D-Day 70 Parachute jump, Ranville
defenceheadquarters
Uploaded on 5 Jun 2014
89-year-old veteran Jock Hutton jumped in tandem with 'Red Devils' Colour Sergeant Billy Blanchard on the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Jock, who served with 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion, jumped into the same drop zone, outside Ranville, in the early hours of the 6th June 1944
Private Nick Rabson of 16 Medical Regiment jumped from a Dakota aircraft carrying the parachute wings worn by his grandfather Donald Rabson when he parachuted into Normandy 70 years earlier.
Private Rabson, aged 23 from Crawley, said:
It was a very emotional experience to think I was jumping into the same area that my grandfather did in 1944, although his jump was into hostile territory at night.
He died last year and didn’t talk much about the war, but what he did say inspired me to become a paratrooper and I know he was proud that I followed in his footsteps.
British, Canadian, French and American paratroopers in the sky over Ranville [Picture: Corporal Barry Lloyd RLC, Crown copyright]
The parachute descent was part of a series of events to mark the contribution of Airborne Forces to the invasion of Normandy.
The day began with commemorations at Pegasus Bridge, which was captured in a daring glider operation by members of 2nd Battalion The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.
There then followed a veterans’ lunch, attended by Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.
Portsmouth
Meanwhile, across the channel, events also took place in Portsmouth to commemorate the 70-year anniversary.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal talking to veterans [Picture: Petty Officer Airman (Photographer) Carl Osmond, Crown copyright]
Thousands of people from across the UK descended on Southsea to watch a drumhead ceremony where Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal took the salute.
As well as the ceremony, 138 Royal Marines, members of the Royal Navy and members of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps demonstrated their amphibious skills with an assault onto the beach at Southsea.
Launched ashore by landing craft from fleet flagship HMS Bulwark and the HNLMS Johan de Witt, the marines stormed the area, fighting their way through enemy personnel and finishing their demonstration in front of the crowd.
HMS Bulwark off Southsea at the start of the D-Day 70th anniversary commemorations [Picture: Leading Airman (Photographer) Will Haigh, Crown copyright]
Ian Christie, 88, a former Royal Marine from Perth, Scotland, travelled down the previous day to ensure he would be at the celebrations. He said:
I am overjoyed because I really wanted to be here. It is very important that people continue to remember; when people have put their lives at risk for their country we should ensure that is marked with ceremonies like this.
I remember D-Day; I was in a tank regiment of the Royal Marines and we were in a landing craft travelling towards the shore. The back of the craft that was built up to stop water coming in was shattered so we pulled it away and used it as a ramp to get onto the shore.
We then fought like infantry after that. I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed the experience to be honest but it had to be done."
Offshore raiding craft delivering Royal Marines commandos onto the beach at Southsea [Picture: Petty Officer Airman (Photographer) Carl Osmond, Crown copyright]
Following a spectacular display from the RAF Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, 5 ships, including HMS Bulwark, made their way to the beaches of Normandy where a number of ceremonies and services are being held to remember those who fought for their country 70 years ago.
You can stay up-to-date on D-Day 70 by following our social media channels: Facebook, Storify, Twitter, Google+ and Tumblr.
If you are attending any of the D-Day 70 commemorative events, you can post your photos and stories to our Facebook wall or send them to @defencehq on Twitter.
The Red Arrows over Portsmouth
The Red Arrows flying over Portsmouth [Picture: Leading Airman (Photographer) Will Haigh, Crown copyright]
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Admin Fri 6 Jun 2014 - 15:34

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