D-Day – latest: Veteran warns ‘UK on a knife edge’ as Biden says world ‘won’t surrender’ at 80th anniversary
Charles and Camilla are among those paying tribute to fallen soldiers alongside prime minister Rishi Sunak, French president Emmanuel Macron and US president Joe Biden
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Your support makes all the difference.The state of Britain’s military is leaving the UK “on a knife edge” facing the growing prospect of war, a D-Day veteran has warned on the 80th anniversary of the landings marking the start of Europe’s liberation from the Nazis.
King Charles, Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak were among those in attendance in Ver-sur-Mer, France, to pay tribute on Thursday to the sacrifice of those fallen soldiers 80 years ago.
The US president promised the 50 countries standing with Ukraine “will not walk away” or “surrender to the bullies”, as he addressed the crowds, adding: “Make no mistake the autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens in Ukraine ... To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators is simply unthinkable.”
He added: “History tells us freedom is not free. You want to know the price of freedom come here to Normandy to look.”
And Les Budding, a former Royal Marine who served on a landing craft charged with providing covering fire for the first wave of troops who stormed Sword Beach, warne: “For many, this is the most dangerous time we have lived through ... I am worried about the future.”
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What D-Day events are happening today?
9.30am
- The King, Queen and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to attend the UK’s national commemorative event at the British Normandy Memorial, Ver-sur-Mer.
10am
- The Prince of Wales will attend the Canadian commemorative ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer.
- The Prince of Wales will join more than 25 heads of state and veterans from around the world at the official international ceremony at Omaha Beach, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.
- Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to attend Royal British Legion’s service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum.
3pm
- 80-strong boat Flotilla parade in Falmouth. Around 27,000 American troops departed from the Falmouth area to travel to Normandy in 1944 as part of the D-Day landings.
7.30pm
- The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester to attend D-Day 80: Remembering the Normandy Landings at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Watch: Obligation to remember sacrifices of D-Day veterans 'can never diminish', says King
Starmer says D-Day memorial event ‘moving and powerful'
Sir Keir Starmer said the UK national commemorative event for the D-Day 80th anniversary had been “moving and powerful”.
The Labour leader told broadcasters in Normandy: “It is truly a privilege to be here on behalf of the Labour Party to give our tribute to and pay our respects to the armed services, our Armed Forces, and in particular to remember those involved in D-Day.
“We’ve got veterans here, so it was incredible to hear from them and to be able to thank them and to say to them that we will never forget their sacrifice, and sacrifice of their comrades.”
He continued: “My message to the veterans is ‘thank you’. Thank you (from) all of us who have had the freedom that they fought for so courageously as individuals and as a group, and to say thank you through them to those that never made it back.
“But also to say that we know that it is our duty, as they get older, to continue to tell the story, to make sure the history is told so that we say - when we say - we will never forget, that is because we take on the duty of ensuring that those stories, that history is always told and retold.”
British ‘hero in the shadows’ awarded French legion of honour
A 104-year-old British “hero in the shadows” has been awarded the French Legion of Honour.
Christian Lamb was posted in secret to Whitehall in London at the start of 1944, and created detailed maps that guided the crews of landing craft on D-Day. Ms Lamb sat in a wheelchair during the UK’s commemoration event in Ver-sur-Mer in Normandy, as french President Emmanuel Macron bent down to pin the medal on, before kissing her on both cheeks.
Mr Macron then said: “You were, in your own way, among those figures in the shadow of D-Day. You were not there in person but you guided each step they took.”
He added: “You have set us an example which we’ll not forget. France will never forget the British troops who landed on D-Day and all their brothers in arms.”
Watch: Rishi Sunak makes heartfelt tribute to veterans at D-Day 80th anniversary
D-Day veteran gave Queen Camilla a flower because ‘she is a very nice person'
A D-Day veteran gave the Queen a white flower he received during the UK Normandy event because “she is a very nice person”.
Gilbert Clarke, 98, who was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, said of his meeting with Camilla: “I gave it to her because she is a very nice person.
“She took the time to talk to us, so I wanted to give it.”
King Charles told veteran: ‘I’m doing well’
The King told a D-Day veteran that he was he was “doing well”, as he and the Queen met heroes of the Normandy landings.
After attending the national commemorative event in Ver-sur-Mer on Thursday, Charles and Camilla visited a marquee where veterans had tea and cakes.
On one table, the King sat beside Ronald Hendrey, 98, of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, who asked him about his health.
Mr Hendrey said: “He was very nice, he listened to what I was saying and took it in. I asked him how he was doing, he told me he is doing well.”
Watch: Military piper pays tribute to D-Day soldiers on gold beach
‘We salute you all,’ says former head of British Army
General Lord Richard Dannatt, chair of the British Normandy Memorial, said “we salute you all” to veterans in the Arromanches service at the seafront earlier on Thursday.
The former head of the British Army thanked Arromanches for hosting a commemoration ceremony every year since June 6 1944.
The mayor of Arromanches said how the day was an ordinary day in village life, even with the bakers making bread, but it was also “extraordinary” as the invasion began.
He said it was a “real time of liberation” for the town. “We thank you veterans very much. We will never forget you.”
The Independent View | They did not flinch – and we salute them for that
They did not want to be treated as heroes, and insisted they were merely doing their duty. But the 40 British veterans who travelled to Normandy for Thursday’s moving ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day were rightly greeted as heroes by the French people who thanked them for the inspirational acts of courage that rescued their country from the horrors of Nazi occupation.
Anniversaries have become something of a devalued currency but D-Day is one of those rare, pivotal events that deserves all the attention it gets. It provides a moment to reflect on the remarkable operation that changed the course of the Second World War, and thus history.
The two-day commemoration rightly prioritised the need to ensure future generations do not forget the bravery and sacrifices of the D-Day heroes. But, as the historian Sir Anthony Seldon noted in The Independent, there is much work to be done to ensure that this flame is kept alive.
Read our full editorial here:
They did not flinch – and we salute them for that
Editorial: In his heartfelt address to world leaders on D-Day’s 80th anniversary, the King was correct – that such solemn occasions are a timely reminder that, even today, free nations must stand together to oppose tyranny
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