Tributes paid to servicemen who gave their lives in the Battle of Normandy as anniversary of D-Day is marked

Tributes have been paid the UK servicemen who gave their lives in the Battle of Normandy in 1944 as the city marks the anniversary of D-Day.

A commemorative event took place at the D-Day memorial in Southsea this morning to remember the operation which took place on June 6 1944 and saw British, American and Canadian troops storm beaches in Normandy to begin the liberation of France from the Nazis.

And this morning despite terrible weather veterans were joined by local councillors, cadets and key members of the community to remember those who lost their lives at the memorial next to Canoe Lake in a service led by the Reverend Canon Bob White.

During the service prayers were said and music played, with standard bearers lowering the flag at the Last Post.

More pictures: Poignant scenes as D Day and sacrifices made are remembered in Portsmouth

Many of the troops left for France from Portsmouth and the surrounding area, with Operation Overlord planned at Fort Southwick and Southwick House. Many of the troops also camped near the city in the days leading up to the operation.

Get access to trustworthy local news for just £5 when you sign up for a digital subscription to The News

Meanwhile this year's commemorative events in France were also the first since nearly 100 more names were added to the British Normandy Memorial, which lists troops who died in the campaign.

Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin has today laid a wreath in Normandy on behalf of the House of Commons in what she described as a “enormous privilege”.

“As the member of parliament for Portsmouth North, with family who have served and are still serving, including my own son, I am truely humbled and privileged to have been asked to be this,” she said.

“D-Day was a turning point in the second world war, but not without the costs. The memorial (in Normandy) features 22,540 names from 38 nations of brave men and two women who lost their lives. Lest we forget.”

Commemorations in France began with schoolchildren, serving military personnel, the grandson of British commander Field Marshal Montgomery and pipers from the Jedburgh Pipe Band walking across Juno Beach to mark H-Hour, the time at which British servicemen were deployed.

His grandson Henry Montgomery completed the final day of his journey “In Monty’s Footsteps” - something which had brought him to Portsmouth’s Fratton Park in April - by walking more than 22km across Sword, Juno and Gold beaches – at the very time the first troops landed on Saturday.

Each step of his two-month journey across Britain and north-western France honoured the lives of more than 22,000 men and women whose names are engraved on the British Normandy Memorial.

After the service, he said: “I think that we have very formal remembrance ceremonies, but sometimes we just do that, and then we don’t continue to remember, it doesn’t sort of necessarily affect how we behave on a day-to-day basis or what we think about, so I think remembrance is something that should be active in our lives regularly, that we need to remember the freedoms that people died for, and we need to therefore be responsible in how we take advantage of those freedoms, and I think that I’ve sort of grown to learn, I think, really by meeting veterans.

“And I think it’s something that’s quite important for younger generations to learn and understand and reflect on, so that’s really what the purpose of Operation Remembrance is.”

On Saturday morning, a line-up of veterans were wheeled to the front of the ceremony, sat ahead of military and political representatives of the UK, including Defence Secretary John Healey.

The service also saw D-Day veteran Richard Brock, 102, recite remembrance poem Kohima Epitaph, before laying a wreath accompanied by members of the Portsmouth Cathedral Choir. The choir also sang at Bayeux Cathedral, The British Normandy Memorial at Ver sur Mer and at Bayeux Commonwealth Cemetery.

Read the day’s headlines in your inbox with the help of emails from The News - sign up for free

Meanwhile Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan has also marked the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings, by paying tribute to UK servicemen who served and gave their lives.

Mr Morgan, who is himself the grandson of a Southsea D-Day veteran, said: “As ships and planes full of brave British soldiers approached the coast of France on D-Day 82 years ago, their courage and sacrifice would bring liberation to Europe and secure our freedoms for generations to come.

“UK servicemen, including my own Portsmouth based grandfather, stood with our Allies from around the world to deliver a decisive blow against fascism and turn the tide of the war. Some made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives so we could live freely.

“Like my grandfather, others returned home to build a new Britain out of the ashes of the war.

“Today, here in Portsmouth, we commemorate their courage; we will honour their fallen comrades and we will ensure that their story is never forgotten.

“Our debt to them can never repaid in full. But we can – and must – honour their sacrifice. We must never allow that generation’s heroism to be forgotten.”

Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on June 6 1944 to fight Nazi-occupied France . While the exact number of German casualties is unknown, historians estimate between 4,000 and 9,000 men were killed, wounded or missing. On the Allied front, a total of 4,414 died.

The Battle of Normandy, which followed the landings, saw 73,000 Allied lives lost with 153,000 men wounded.