Normandy falls silent on 82nd anniversary of D-Day in remembrance of fallen soldiers

Veterans gathered in northern France to mark the 82nd anniversary of D-Day with a moment of silence in remembrance of the thousands of Allied troops who died in the invasion.

Serving military personnel, the grandson of British Commander Field Marshal Montgomery and pipers from the Jedburgh Pipe Band marched with the schoolchildren on Saturday morning.

Codenamed Operation Overlord, nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on June 6 1944 to fight Nazi-occupied France.

While the exact number of German casualties is disputed, 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.

Veterans who lost friends on the very same beaches made the journey to France and will be attending the annual Ceremony of Remembrance at the British Normandy Memorial.

Key figures in the success of the landings are being honoured, including Field Marshal Montgomery.

Later, his grandson Henry Montgomery is set to complete the final day of his journey "In Monty’s Footsteps" by walking more than 22km across Sword, Juno and Gold beaches, at the very time the first troops landed.

An extra 98 names have been added to the roll of honour at the British memorial in Normandy.

When asked how it felt to be back in northern France, veteran Ken Hay told GB News: "I don't know. It's a difficult question to answer. It's our duty to come back."

Pointing to the wall of names, he said: "To a lot of people, this is just a series of names and they are to us. But suddenly we come to a name and we knew that guy.

"These new 98 names on a wall. It's good that they are recognized today. It's their right to be here. They've got more right to be here than I have."

"The powers that be, they're warming up for another one. It doesn't make sense. I bet God above is regretting giving man his free will. That's all I can think."

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This year the smallest number of Normandy veterans will attended the ceremony since the memorial opened in 2021, with only six confirmed.

More to follow...