Returning in glory, the last heroes of Normandy
Navy flotilla will salute veterans on eve of D-Day’s 75th anniversary
D-DAY heroes will be given a spectacular send-off as they set sail for France for the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings in June.
As 300 veterans begin their voyage across the Channel from Portsmouth on the cruise ship Boudicca, they will be escorted by hMs st Albans, a submarine hunter frigate, and four smaller vessels.
When the Boudicca – chartered by the Royal British Legion – emerges into the solent it will be met by a flotilla of 11 naval vessels, which will sail past her in salute with sailors lining the decks. Wellwishers are being encouraged to wave off the diminishing band on Normandy veterans on June 5.
On board hMs st Albans in Portsmouth, Mike Utley, commander of the UK carrier strike group, said: ‘sailors will cheer the veterans as they pass by and, once past the southsea war memorial, hMs st Albans will fire a gun salute to pay the Royal Navy’s respects in true nautical fashion.’
Commodore Utley said: ‘Those who sailed from Portsmouth landed on sword and Juno Beaches, joining 132,815 men landed by ships and craft who took part in the most significant victory of the Western Allies in the second World War.
‘And that gives me goosebumps, quite honestly, just saying it.’
On June 6, at 7.26am local time, there will be a lone piper on the remains of the Mulberry harbour defences as the Army marks the exact moment the first British soldier landed on Gold Beach.
Also that morning, the Normandy Memorial Trust’s statue – a tribute to the more than 22,000 British personnel who gave their lives in Normandy, and backed by Daily Mail readers – will be unveiled at Ver-sur-Mer.
Three veterans – one each from the Royal Navy, Army and RAF – were guests on hMs st Albans as the services’ plans for the anniversary were announced. eric strange, 95, Len Williams, 93, and Greg hayward, 93, who will all return to Normandy for the commemorations, told of their memories of the epic campaign:
ONLY IDIOTS WOULD HAVE CROSSED IN THAT WEATHER
Mr strange, from Crawley, West sussex, was a naval sub-lieutenant when he landed on sword Beach. ‘We set out about 9.30pm on June 5 and were part of a flotilla of 12 boats,’ he said.
‘Only idiots would have crossed the Channel in that weather – but certainly we caught them napping because they never expected anybody to cross. There were horrific storms. We got shelled day and night. One time a bit of shell went ding-dong on the tin hat.
‘Another day a Royal Marine officer and I were in the captain’s cabin about 15ft apart – he got killed by the shell.’ he added: ‘We were told to do it, we had to do it and we were lucky.’
I EXPECTED TO GET KNOCKED OFF
Mr Williams, from the Isle of Wight, arrived on sword Beach a few days after June 6. ‘I was in the Royal Berkshire Regiment when we landed and expecting to join them after training.
‘But an officer came along and said, “You, you, you and you are in the Argyll and sutherland highlanders now replacing casualties”. I was 17 and ¾ I think, and the very next day we were in action and I hadn’t even met the officers.’
he added: ‘I expected to get knocked off [but] I was more afraid of looking a coward in front of the scots boys than I was worried about the Germans.’
A BRILLIANT ORANGE FLASH ... IT WAS A V2
Mr hayward, from Bournemouth, served with 146 Wing of the 2nd Tactical Air Force.
‘We went over about three or four weeks after D-Day,’ he said. ‘We moved into an airfield near a French village which had been fairly destroyed.
‘On October 25, 1944 – a month short of my 19th birthday – I climbed on to the wing of a Typhoon I was working on when a bang went off and brilliant orange flash lit up the whole of my vision. We’d received a direct hit from a V2 and five of our chaps had been killed.’