D-Day-80: Ticketless crowds enjoy the Southsea atmosphere and a good view of the King and Queen

People from across the country came down to Southsea just to be close to the D-Day 80 event even though it was not visible from the outside. Clarence Esplanade was packed full of people who were treated to a site of the King and Queen as they arrived.

John and Christine Swain, from Barnsley, are on holiday in the Isle of Wight. Despite not having tickets they wanted to be amongst the crowds and found themselves in a fortuitous position when the King and Queen went past. John said: “We wanted to come down because we like the atmosphere. We probably had a better view of the King than some of the people in the event.”

While the mood was positive, some were still disappointed that they were no screens up. Paul Martin, of Southsea, said: “It’s such a shame they didn't do what they did last time with putting up the big screens. We tried to get tickets to get in but they were gone in half a second.” Despite that drawback he still was pleased to have gone down to be a part of it rather than watching on the TV.

Tony Dymott, from Poole, popped across from Hasler Marina where his boat is docked. He wanted to be there in person to see the flypast. He found himself in the right place at the right time as the King and Queen came past. He said: “I like to think that he waved at me but I think he was waving at everybody.”

Sarnia and Jim Pooley, travelled down from Seaford with tickets for the evening event. They arrived at 7am to make sure they didn't miss anything through the day. Sarnia said: “We saw Prince William arrive and we came round to the other entrance and were lucky to the King as he came in. I was lucky enough to see him at trooping the colour before and I enjoy seeing him every time.”

While there were many disappointed people not to get tickets to the show, many still headed down to Southsea Common to be a part of it, creating a positive atmosphere as they paid their respects from outside the commemorative event.

Watch the video embedded in this article for the full interviews.