D-Day veterans set sail for France as 80th anniversary events begin

4 June 2024, 10:21 | Updated: 5 June 2024, 10:13

D-Day veterans greeted by cheering crowds as they set sail for France
D-Day veterans greeted by cheering crowds as they set sail for France. Picture: alamy

By StephenRigley

Crowds cheered a ferry carrying D-Day veterans to France for the 80th anniversary commemorations as it set sail from Portsmouth.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel was accompanied by Royal Navy patrol vessels Trumpeter, Medusa and Basher as well as HMS Cattistock and the Training Ship Royalist, with tugs spraying water as it travelled out of Portsmouth Harbour.

Several small boats and yachts also waited outside the harbour to see the ferry off on its journey to Caen.

D-Day veterans gather on the deck of the Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel as it sails out of Portsmouth Harbour
D-Day veterans gather on the deck of the Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel as it sails out of Portsmouth Harbour. Picture: Alamy

Read More: King Charles to make first overseas trip since cancer diagnosis for D-Day anniversary event with Camilla and William

Read More: Royal Mint 50p coin marks 80th anniversary of D-Day landings

Crowds waving Union and D-Day flags gathered on the Round Tower and harbour walls in Old Portsmouth and cheered and clapped as the ferry passed, with the veterans and families waving back from the ship's decks.

Janet Welling, 71, from Portsmouth, said: "I came here to remember the day and to reminisce.

"It shouldn't be forgotten, what those poor lads went through, leaving here and embarking on France, and what they put themselves through. They said they weren't scared - they must have been petrified."

Maisie Brown, 20, also from Portsmouth, said: "I came down with my nan to celebrate D-Day and that it should always be remembered.

"Being the younger generation, and my dad and my uncles being in the Navy, I feel it's always important to remember and never to forget."

As the ferry headed out into the Solent, an RAF A400 aircraft flew past to honour the veterans.

The Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel passes the Round Tower as it sets sail from Portsmouth Harbour in the UK to Ouistreham, in Caen, France, carrying 31 D-Day and Normandy veterans
The Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel passes the Round Tower as it sets sail from Portsmouth Harbour in the UK to Ouistreham, in Caen, France, carrying 31 D-Day and Normandy veterans. Picture: Alamy

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The veterans, travelling with the Spirit of Normandy Trust and the Royal British Legion, will carry with them a commemorative torch from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which will form the centrepiece of the vigil at Bayeux War Cemetery on 5 June.

"A young person will pass this symbolic torch to a veteran before they board the ferry. At 1300 (ship's time), a wreath-laying will take place on the ferry to remember those who never made it to shore."

About 40 veterans gathered at Southwick House near Portsmouth on Monday, which was used as the headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower during the build-up to the Normandy invasions.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

The tweet was posted by Pakistan International Airlines

Paris, We're Coming Today: Social media loses it over airline's 'ominous' graphic showing plane heading for Eiffel Tower

President-elect Donald Trump appears with his lawyer Todd Blanche on a video feed

Judge sentences Trump in hush money case but declines to impose any punishment

Breaking
Donald Trump was sentenced in his historic hush money trial today.

Donald Trump blasts 'political witch hunt' as he's spared jail in historic hush money trial

Dean Windass

Former Premier League footballer Dean Windass diagnosed with dementia aged just 55

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest in December in Phoenix

Trump appears virtually in New York court to be sentenced in hush money case

Breaking News

Parents charged with murder of 13-month-old baby daughter - as couple named

Milder weather is on its way, the Met Office reports.

Exact date UK freeze to end as temperatures creep back up towards double digits

Exclusive
Abuse victims having trauma ‘weaponised by politicians’ in ‘misinformed’ debate around grooming gangs

Abuse victims having trauma ‘weaponised by politicians’ in ‘misinformed’ debate around grooming gangs

President-elect Donald Trump

Kremlin welcomes possibility of meeting between Trump and Putin

Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles

Firefighters hoping for break from fierce winds that have fuelled LA wildfires

The two men are wanted in connection with a missing boy and his mum.

Police launch urgent appeal for two men wanted in connection with mum and son missing since June

A

WATCH: Moment suspected arsonist carrying gas canister is arrested in LA - as wildfires claim 10 lives and 180,000 flee

Gas storage levels are 'concerningly low' amid the cold weather

UK gas storage levels 'concerningly low' amid cold weather snap, with 'less than a week of demand left in store'

China beckons for Rachel Reeves as chancellor faces mounting fears over UK debt crisis

Surge in borrowing costs will drive up mortgage interest rates, economists warn as Reeves heads to China amid turmoil

A single house was seen left standing amid the huge destruction caused by the fires

Miracle of Malibu: Lone house pictured still standing as LA fires leave $50bn trail of destruction

Joe Biden speaks alongside Kamala Harris during a briefing on the response to the wildfires

Joe Biden tells Kamala Harris to 'fire away' in awkward moment during briefing on LA wildfires