Thousands to attend D-Day memorial events.

Thousands to honour those who gave their lives during the biggest amphibious invasion in military history

Thousands of people are preparing to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings at a series of commemoration events in the UK and France this week.

Senior politicians and members of the royal family, as well as hundreds of veterans, are set to attend ceremonies to remember what is considered one of the most important events of the Second World War and the biggest amphibious invasion in military history.

More than 200 veterans have boarded a cruise ship charted by the Royal British Legion to attend the events while others are descending en masse on Portsmouth and Normandy.

Key ceremonies acknowledging the operation – which saw thousands killed and injured after it launched on June 6 1944 – include the UK’s national commemoration event on Wednesday which will be attended by the Queen and US President Donald Trump.

Representatives from other allied countries as well as Germany are expected to attend the event at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial involving 4,000 military personnel, 11 Royal Naval vessels and 26 RAF aircraft.

Mr Trump’s attendance has led to a mass security operation and claims his presence will take the focus away from veterans.

The Hampshire port city will be the focus of other commemorative events throughout the week, while international attention shifts to France.

Other events are planned for Poole and Duxford alongside hundreds of smaller gatherings around the UK.

Later in the afternoon, veterans Harry Read, 95, and John Hutton, 94, will parachute into Normandy in honour of comrades they lost when they first made the descent 75 years ago.

Alongside around 280 paratroopers they will take part in the descent on to fields at Sannerville – the drop zone for the 8th Midlands Parachute Battalion during D-Day.

Mr Read, who was a 20-year-old wireless operator with the Royal Signals, in 1944, said: “I will enjoy the jump.

“It might be a little bit tricky, but I’m willing to have a go.

“But also in my heart I will be thinking of my mates.

“I have lived one of the most fulfilled lives that it’s possible for a person to live and they haven’t.”

Mr Hutton – known by his friends as Jock – was 19 when he served in the 13th Lancashire Parachute Battalion. The experienced parachutist is not at all fazed by the prospect and said there was “nothing strange” about the task.

That evening a vigil and silent march will take place at Pegasus Bridge which was the scene of a 15-minute skirmish to take hold of the pathways over the Caen Canal and River Orne. This was the first British objective to be achieved on D-Day.

Theresa May will make one of her final official appearances as prime minister during the D-Day commemoration events.

She will begin her tour on Thursday morning at an inauguration ceremony which will see a sculpture unveiled at the British Normandy Memorial site overlooking Gold beach, which is being built to honour those who died during the Battle of Normandy between the D-Day landings and August 31 1944.

Then she will join the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall for a service of remembrance at Bayeux Cathedral, followed by a second service at the Bayeux War Cemetery – the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission site of the Second World War in France – where wreaths will be laid.

Later that day, an international ceremony takes place at Juno beach – which has led to criticism for French president Emmanuel Macron over his refusal to attend. Mr Macron will participate in a series of Franco-British and Franco-American commemorative events with Mrs May and Mr Trump, but is leaving his prime minister Edouard Philippe to take charge at Juno beach.

On the same day, he will join Mr Trump at Omaha beach to award the Legion d’Honneur – France’s highest honour – to five US veterans aged between 94 and 100.

Many veterans will visit the Normandy town of Arromanches for the week.

Back in the UK, a service of remembrance will take place at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Thursday.

The tales of courage and sacrifice being shared by the diminishing band of D-Day survivors ahead of the 75th anniversary are as awe-inspiring as they are humbling.

These gallant men, now in their 90s, went to extraordinary lengths to change the course of the Second World War and pave the way to the peace and prosperity which we now enjoy.

It is heartwarming that so many are still around to take centre stage among the thousands of people, including senior politicians and members of the royal family, preparing to mark the anniversary at commemoration events on either side of the channel.

And it is notable that these gatherings are coming at a time when the European stability which they fought so hard to safeguard feels more fragile than it has in decades.

The ceremonies will be among Theresa May’s last public appearances before she stands down as prime minister, having failed to negotiate Britain’s exit from the European Union.

By her side will be US president Donald Trump, who has already stirred the pot ahead of his delayed state visit, by advocating a no-deal Brexit, and who will be acting against type if he completes it without ruffling feathers further.

As the UK contemplates a leap into the political unknown, this feels like a fitting moment to give thanks to our finest generation and to remember how much we have to lose.