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D-day veterans and world leaders take part in emotional ceremony D-day veterans and world leaders take part in emotional ceremony
(about 5 hours later)
D-day veterans and world leaders have taken part in an emotional ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings, with a vast security operation safeguarding dignitaries including the Queen, Donald Trump and Theresa May. There were concerns ahead of the UK’s official D-day commemoration that the presence of Donald Trump and the circus that surrounds him would overshadow the most important people – the veterans and their families.
Miles of fencing, roadblocks and checkpoints were in place and residents of nearby flats were told not to aim long-lens cameras at the national commemoration event on Southsea Common, or fly drones over the site. The worries were unfounded. At every point of a very long and emotional day the amazing stories and spirit of the 300 or so ageing veterans at the event in Portsmouth – and memories of those who did not make it back 75 years ago – took centre stage.
Protests against the US president took place a mile away in the city centre, but the focus on the common was on the stories of the operation three-quarters of a century ago and those who fought and fell, rather than the Trump circus. Men such as John Jenkins, 99, from Portsmouth, a platoon sergeant with the Royal Pioneer Corps on D-day, stole the show. Like many of his comrades, he said his lasting memories were of fear. “I was terrified, I think everyone was,” he said. “You don’t show it, but it was there.” He also said what happened was a big part of the man he became.
The warmest applause was reserved for the veterans when they took to the stage. John Jenkins, 99, from Portsmouth, was a platoon sergeant with the Royal Pioneer Corps when he landed on D-Day. “I look back on it as a big part of my life. It changed me in a way. I was a small part in a big machine. You never forget your comrades, because we were all in it together. We must never forget.”
He said: “I was terrified; I think everyone was. You don’t show it, but it was there. I look back on it as a big part of my life. It changed me in a way. I was a small part in a big machine. You never forget your comrades, because we were all in it together. We must never forget.” Video recordings were played during the official commemoration event on Southsea Common of other men who were at D-day. Bob Roberts, a Canadian veteran, recalled the moment he and his colleagues were told they were about to be given live ammunition. “That was the first we knew we were in action. I thought ‘My God, I was never brought up to be killing people’. There were so many cases where I could have lost my life. I don’t know how I survived.”
Video recordings were played of other men who were at D-day. Bob Roberts, a Canadian veteran, recalled: “They said: ‘We are going to give you live ammunition and this is the real thing.’ That was the first we knew we were in action. I thought ‘My God, I was never brought up to be killing people’. There were so many cases where I could have lost my life. Thinking back now, I don’t know how I survived.” After the commemorations on the common, the Queen, Trump and his wife, Melania, met veterans at a reception.
Trump read a prayer written by the then US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, and originally delivered on the evening of D-day – 6 June 1944. Thomas Cuthbert, a 93-year-old, who was in a landing barge oiler anchored off Utah and Omaha beaches, jokingly told the US president: “If only I was 20 years younger” while pointing at the First Lady. Trump replied: “You could handle it no question.”
The Queen said the fate of the world had depended on the success of the operation. “The heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who lost their lives will never be forgotten,” she said. “It is with humility and pleasure on behalf of the entire country, indeed the whole free world, that I say to you all – thank you.” Former Royal Marine Jack Smith, 94, a landing craft coxswain who was part of the first wave during D-day, enjoyed a chat with the Queen. “It means an awful lot to be here, the day respects everybody who took part in D-day,” he said. “A lot of people did a lot of good work that day, it respects their memory and the lads that didn’t come back.”
May read a letter from Capt Norman Skinner of the Royal Army Service Corps, written to his wife, Gladys, on 3 June 1944. The letter was still in his pocket when he landed on Sword Beach on 6 June. Skinner was killed the day after, leaving his wife and two young daughters. Trump wished happy birthday to Joan “Jonni” Berfield, a Wren who worked as a coder and will be celebrating her 95th birthday on 7 June. She said: “I think I will wake up and find it’s all a dream. It’s been a fantastic day, I’m just overwhelmed by everything.”
The event was vast. The Ministry of Defence said more than 4,000 personnel were involved in the commemorations, one of the biggest mobilisations of the UK’s armed forces in recent years.
Miles of fencing, roadblocks and checkpoints were in place in Portsmouth, one of the major embarkation points on D-day, and residents of nearby flats were told not to aim long-lens cameras at Southsea Common or fly drones over the site. The day was alive with the clatter of helicopters and the roar of police outriders bringing dignitaries in and out.
At the commemoration event on the common, the Queen said the fate of the world had depended on the success of the operation. “The heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who lost their lives will never be forgotten,” she said. “It is with humility and pleasure on behalf of the entire country, indeed the whole free world, that I say to you all – thank you.”
One of the most emotional moments came when Theresa May read a letter from Capt Norman Skinner of the Royal Army Service Corps, written to his wife, Gladys, on 3 June 1944. The letter was still in his pocket when he landed on Sword Beach on 6 June. Skinner was killed the day after, leaving his wife and two young daughters.
The letter read: “Although I would give anything to be back with you, I have not yet had any wish at all to back down from the job we have to do.”The letter read: “Although I would give anything to be back with you, I have not yet had any wish at all to back down from the job we have to do.”
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, read the final letter of Henri Fertet, a resistance fighter executed aged 16. “The soldiers are coming to get me. I must hurry. My handwriting may look wobbly, but it is just because I am using a small pencil. I am not afraid of death, my conscience is completely clear … A thousand kisses. Long live France,” he wrote. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, thanked the veterans on behalf of his nation before reading another final letter, that of Henri Fertet, a resistance fighter executed aged 16. “The soldiers are coming to get me. I must hurry. My handwriting may look wobbly, but it is just because I am using a small pencil. I am not afraid of death, my conscience is completely clear … A thousand kisses. Long live France,” he wrote.
There had been some complaints from locals that they felt excluded because of the huge security effort. But there was a festival atmosphere in the public viewing area on Southsea Common, where visitors could watch the official ceremony on giant screens. There had been grumbles from some locals who felt excluded because of the huge security operation, but there was a festival atmosphere in the public viewing area where visitors watched the ceremony on giant screens.
People brought deckchairs and picnics, and grabbed spots in front of the screens. There were burger stands and beer tents, and merchandise stalls selling everything from souvenir mugs to fridge magnets and tea towels. People brought deckchairs and picnics, and there were burger stands, beer tents and stalls selling everything from souvenir mugs to fridge magnets and tea towels.
In the centre of Portsmouth, scuffles broke out after groups of football casuals marched through a protest against Trump. Sally Pattenden, 42, from Southsea, said the day made her proud to be British and that she didn’t mind the minor inconveniences caused by the security operation.
A few dozen men marching behind a banner with the Portsmouth FC crest at the centre of a union flag chanted “Scum, scum, scum” as they arrived midway through speeches by trade unionists and others who had organised a gathering of a few hundred people in Guildhall Square. “We have had lots of warnings. We couldn’t park anywhere for a while, but I think you get into the spirit of it. It is about the veterans. If you can’t give up your parking space for someone who gave their life, what can you do?”
Police stepped in as the men scattered and tried to square up to those in the protest, who broke into chants of “Nazi scum, off our streets”. Politics occasionally reared its head. Sandra Tonge, who was with her husband Anthony, said: “It’s a bit of a cliche but we really all could be speaking German now for all we know if it wasn’t for the men we were remembering today.
Amid some pushing and shoving, one man with a US flag wrapped around his waist grabbed one of the protest placards and snapped it. “You come away from something like this with a different feeling. I felt that a bit more enthusiastic about Brexit for example.”
Ahead of the event, the 16 nations involved in the commemorations agreed a proclamation to mark the anniversary. The statement, coordinated by the UK, recognises the sacrifice of those who took part in the second world war and salutes the surviving D-day veterans. Before the Southsea Common event, the 16 nations involved in the commemorations agreed a proclamation to mark the anniversary. The statement recognises the sacrifice of those who took part in the second world war and salutes the surviving D-day veterans. The 16 countries undertake to work together to find common ground and recommit to the shared values of democracy, tolerance and the rule of law.
In the proclamation, the countries undertake to work together to find common ground and recommit to the shared values of democracy, tolerance and the rule of law. After the reception with veterans, the world leaders present met to discuss Nato and security. They were then whisked away by helicopter and motor cavalcade while many of the veterans took to the water on board a cruise ship to be ferried across to France accompanied by a flotilla of naval vessels.
The text was agreed by Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, the UK and the US. For them, the D-day commemorations will continue in Normandy on Thursday.
After a reception with veterans, the world leaders who attended the ceremony met to discuss Nato and security.
Later, from the deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, May was to wave off the hundreds of veterans who are to retrace the journey they made across the Channel, this time onboard a cruise ship, the MV Boudicca.
D-dayD-day
PortsmouthPortsmouth
Second world warSecond world war
Donald TrumpDonald Trump
The QueenThe Queen
Theresa MayTheresa May
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