There has been no greater combined air, sea and land operation in the history of warfare than Operation Overlord – codename for the invasion of Normandy. The seaborne element of the invasion – Operation Neptune – required 6,833 vessels from great battleships pounding German defences, down to small floating galleys, salvage tugs and landing craft. The naval force was crewed by Frenchmen, Norwegians, Dutch, Poles, Greeks, Americans, but especially Britons and Canadians, who accounted for nearly 80 per cent of all the sailors taking part.
The Royal Marines played a vital part too. Of the hundreds of landing craft sent against the beaches of Normandy, two out of every three were crewed by Royal Marines. With ever diminishing numbers of Naval veterans who survived this great victory, it is vital that we pay tribute to those who died on this great endeavour, are no longer with us or are not well enough to attend in person.
Vice Admiral (Retd) Duncan L Potts CB
National President, Royal Naval Association.
The D-Day landings in June 1944 paved the way for the liberation of North-West Europe and, ultimately, victory in the Second World War. To this day, our charity remembers - and will always remember - the courage and sacrifice of those soldiers who took part in what was the largest amphibious operation in the history of warfare.
Our charity was established during the same year as the D-Day landings, with HM King George VI as Patron, to ensure support would be available for soldiers, veterans, and their immediate families such they could live with independence and dignity.
That founding purpose remains the same to this day; the charity is here for soldiers, for life. Thank you to everybody who participates in this important national campaign to remember the greatest amphibious operation in history and the beginning of the end of the Second World War.
General Sir James Everard KCB CBE
President, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.
On behalf of the RAF Benevolent Fund, I am proud to support the D-Day 80 Commemoration event. On D-Day over 11,590 Allied aircraft of all types were involved, 5,656 of these were Royal Air Force.
What is often forgotten is that over 1,800 RAF personnel and 456 vehicles landed on the beaches and by 9 June, this had increased to over 3,500 RAF personnel and 815 vehicles in Normandy, working on airfield construction, aircraft servicing and forward controlling.
As the accounts of the men and women of that fateful time drift further into the past, we must continue to share their stories with our future generations and ensure that their sacrifices for our country are never forgotten.
Air Vice Marshal Chris Elliot CB CBE DL
Controller of the RAF Benevolent Fund
The Normandy Memorial Trust was set up in 2015 to realise the ambition of Normandy Veterans for Britain finally to have a national memorial in Normandy which brought together the names of all those in British units who lost their lives in the D-Day landings and the subsequent Battle of Normandy.
The completed memorial was opened by the then Prince of Wales on 6th June 2021. Inscribed on its walls and pillars are the names of 22,442 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of Western Europe’s freedom in the summer of 1944.
Few events in European history can match the significance of what happened on the D-Day beaches and in the towns and villages of Normandy. I hope you will visit the British Normandy Memorial and, with us, reflect and give thanks for the sacrifice which it commemorates.
General The Lord Dannatt GCB, CBE, MC, DL
Chairman of Trustees, The Normandy Memorial Trust.
The men of the Merchant Navy and the merchant fleets of the other allied countries were a major part of the seaborne force. Merchant ships were among the first vessels to arrive off the beaches on D-Day. Their crew were civilians without the support of military discipline and training, yet they faced the dangers and did not waver.
Never was there a lack of willing hands to man the ships though they knew the horrors of an enemy attack at sea. They took troops to the scene of battle and sustained them as they fought. Tugs brought over the sections of the Mulberry harbours. During the Invasion, between 6th June and 30th August 1944, 180 MN seamen sacrificed their lives whilst many more were lost bringing supplies across the Atlantic.
Around 50,000 men manned the 835 ships that carried the troops and over half a million tons of cargo from ports between the Bristol Channel and Thames Estuary. We are proud today to be known as the Fourth Service. Their efforts and sacrifices must never be forgotten.
Captain Ian Hodge M.Mar, MRIN, MNI
Chairman, The Merchant Navy Association
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