On this day 74 years ago, thousands of incredibly brave young men arrived on the beaches of Normandy in an attempt to defeat evil. Many didn't actually make it to the beaches, gunned down by Nazi machine-guns.

Soldiers from 13 countries were prepared to sacrifice their own lives to ensure future generations would be free from Nazi oppression.

We cannot begin to thank them enough.

To the fallen: RIP.

Second that ecc

No one, and that is absolutely no one can do anything than thank them for their sacrifice

lest we forget

No words from me, just an endorsement of the OP.

For our today they gave their tomorrow. RIP.

Bravery and duty

RIP. I have yet to visit the beaches but I will one day!!

On a sidenote, anyone into photography search Robert Capa. Incredible work.

The Bravest Generation

. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender,

RIP brave lads.

JohnMac wrote:The Bravest Generation

Along with WW1 generation I can only echo that.

My dad who is still alive went to war in 1940 aged 18 and spent most if it in the North Atlantic trying to sink U Boats and get dive bombed by Stukas.

We don't even know we're born nowadays and we take so much for granted and it's only thanks to those brave men that we can do that.

Indeed! Incredible people! I was born on this day 45 years ago into an amazing country and even though I live thousands of miles away, I`m the proudest man in Proudsville to be both English, British and thankfully a Claret!

There's not much coverage in the online press today considering what a momentous day it was. I did see a tv programme a couple of evenings ago that covered D-Day and (more specifically) the ensuing very hard battle to establish a wider area by the end of the summer.

My dad was in 47RM C and waded ashore on that day and then got into quite a battle at Port-en-Bessin. 420 men left the ships and they had 136 casualties by the time the port was secured overnight 7th/8th June. Had to then crack on with 30 or so reinforcements the next day.
Fantastic effort by all the UK, Yank, Canadian etc forces. Some pretty good planning/logistics too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Port-en-Bessin

I, along with my parents & brother, was fortunate enough to accompany my Grandad to France to revisit his landing place.

My grandad hardly spoke about his experiences during the war but on the ferry over there from Portsmouth, we were sat at the front looking out across the channel

“It’s a lot calmer than the last time I did this journey” he said
Sensing an opportunity I asked him what it was like.

“Horrendous” he said “We were packed in lot these boats there was nowhere to move. I was so ill I had to lean over the side to sick and when I turned back my rifle had gone”

“Oh no, what did you do?” we asked

“Stole somebody else’s” he replied

ecc wrote:On this day 74 years ago, thousands of incredibly brave young men arrived on the beaches of Normandy in an attempt to defeat evil. Many didn't actually make it to the beaches, gunned down by Nazi machine-guns.

Soldiers from 13 countries were prepared to sacrifice their own lives to ensure future generations would be free from Nazi oppression.

We cannot begin to thank them enough.

To the fallen: RIP.

This x

Good picture wilks_bfc

My dad was around the Pegasus bridge area 74 years ago today.

When you go home, tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today.

Whilst I understand that was written for the Great War, it is more than relevant for the one that followed.

RIP the fallen. And of course those who returned, but were never quite the same again.

Wokingclaret wrote:Good picture wilks_bfc

My dad was around the Pegasus bridge area 74 years ago today.

Thanks. It is one of my favourite photos of him along with this one of me & him walking across it. I offered to wheel him over it in his chair but he was determined to get across himself.

I sat down with my Grandma a few years ago before she sadly passed, and asked her to go through the family tree on her side (and my mothers).

In all, there were 26 men in the extended family who served in both the First World War and Second. Amazingly, every single one of them came home.

Looking at the family tree, and all those names in black and white, made me realise how many lost generations there must be. The losses are so huge in both wars that you forget the individuals and their personal stories.

I felt very insignificant talking to my grandma that day, and left with a sense of purpose, to make sure that every single one of them should be remembered and honoured.

RIP.

My Uncle went abroad for the first time last year on an organised tour to the WW2 battlefields. Whilst there he saw his Dads grave for the first time; he was killed shortly after D-Day. My uncle had planned to go again this year but lost his wife unexpectedly about 7 weeks ago and couldn’t face going alone. Instead, I’m taking him over to see the Normandy battlefields again and anything else he wants to see. As the OP said, ultimate respect for ALL our fallen countrymen from every war we’ve ever fought over there and whilst I can, I will never tire of going over and paying my respects to them, wherever they lie.

As the OP mentions thousands of men died resisting the Nazi occupation of Europe. It is worth remembering that on D-Day that included our Allies: Americans, Canadians and the French Resistance.

LeadBelly wrote:There's not much coverage in the online press today considering what a momentous day it was. I did see a tv programme a couple of evenings ago that covered D-Day and (more specifically) the ensuing very hard battle to establish a wider area by the end of the summer.

My dad was in 47RM C and waded ashore on that day and then got into quite a battle at Port-en-Bessin. 420 men left the ships and they had 136 casualties by the time the port was secured overnight 7th/8th June. Had to then crack on with 30 or so reinforcements the next day.
Fantastic effort by all the UK, Yank, Canadian etc forces. Some pretty good planning/logistics too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Port-en-Bessin

The Light of Dawn: The Normandy Landings is a very good documentary in two parts on Yesterday channel 19
at seven o'clock.

If you ever have the opportunity to go to landings, especially with somebody that experienced it, do it.

It is the most humbling thing I have ever done and made me even more proud of my grandad and his brothers, both in blood and in arms

If I’m ever blessed to have children they will never meet their great-grandad but they will certainly know about him and everyone else that did what they did for people that the did not and never will know.

Thanks for the info Electro will record that for my dad.He plans to visit some of the battlefields and hopefully find his Grandfather's grave one day.The losses on the first day were extraordinary as the allies fought to gain a foothold on the beaches. we should never forget the ultimate sacrifice these men made for the sake of humanity.

ElectroClaret wrote:The Light of Dawn: The Normandy Landings is a very good documentary in two parts on Yesterday channel 19
at seven o'clock.

Just sky + that from my mobile which makes you marvel at the technology of today that was born out of necessity back then. The sheer inventive brilliance of that era paved the way for many of todays devices.

They epitomised bravery,selflessness,and courage. The evil they new they were out to destroy must have inspired them to run up the beach into a hail of bullets. I don't think I could do what they did

We don’t know all of them , but we owe all of them.
Lest We Forget

I went on a guided tour to the beaches a few years ago. There was a mix up with the booking so as an alternative we were offered a place on a private coach organised by the Royal Green Jackets. What a privilege to spend a few days with such guys, some still serving, some pensioned off and others retired through injury.

One of the highlights was the laying of a wreath at the grave of the first man killed at Pegasus bridge, himself a Royal Green jacket. They were all in tears, such was their pride for the fallen comrade they never met. Must admit that it was infectious and we were all in a state at the end of the eulogy.

I would urge anybody to go to the beaches and see the graves, whether alone or with a guided group. Would love to go again, we even saw Eric Cantona coming out of our hotel

A brave generation for sure, God bless each and every person who served, no matter what role they served.

wilks_bfc wrote:Thanks. It is one of my favourite photos of him along with this one of me & him walking across it. I offered to wheel him over it in his chair but he was determined to get across himself.

I don't know you or your Grandad wilks but have to say that poignant picture of you and him on the bridge bought a tear to my eyes.

Respects to your Grandad and all the brave men to whom we all owe so much.

Vintage Claret wrote:I don't know you or your Grandad wilks but have to say that poignant picture of you and him on the bridge bought a tear to my eyes.

Respects to your Grandad and all the brave men to whom we all owe so much.

Thank you.

I’ll admit I’ve had tears for most of the evening as I’ve been looking through the pics of that trip and remembering good times with him prior to his passing last year

bfcjg wrote:They epitomised bravery,selflessness,and courage. The evil they new they were out to destroy must have inspired them to run up the beach into a hail of bullets. I don't think I could do what they did

I wonder just how today's youth would cope in similar circumstances.I'm about 30 odd years past being considered ,should anything like that ever happen, but I know at aged 18 or so, I wouldn't have exactly been volunteering, nor any of my contemporaries,. I fear today's Love Island generation even less so. That's why we must never forget.

True heroes each and every one of those who went on that day; never forget them

Firthy wrote:Along with WW1 generation I can only echo that.

My dad who is still alive went to war in 1940 aged 18 and spent most if it in the North Atlantic trying to sink U Boats and get dive bombed by Stukas.

We don't even know we're born nowadays and we take so much for granted and it's only thanks to those brave men that we can do that.

Your father is a hero. Hopefully, the likes of you and I will never have to go through what he did.

LeadBelly wrote:There's not much coverage in the online press today considering what a momentous day it was. I did see a tv programme a couple of evenings ago that covered D-Day and (more specifically) the ensuing very hard battle to establish a wider area by the end of the summer.

My dad was in 47RM C and waded ashore on that day and then got into quite a battle at Port-en-Bessin. 420 men left the ships and they had 136 casualties by the time the port was secured overnight 7th/8th June. Had to then crack on with 30 or so reinforcements the next day.
Fantastic effort by all the UK, Yank, Canadian etc forces. Some pretty good planning/logistics too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Port-en-Bessin

Your father was a hero. You must be very proud of him. Hopefully, we will never have to experience what his generation went through for his country and for liberty in general.

The people who fought for liberty in the World Wars are without question our country`s greatest heroes. They were cut from a different and being stoic ran through their veins. I always remember, when I was a 6 or 7 years old, going to visit my mum`s uncle, Jim Ginty, who lived in Blackburn in a tower block. Not only did he fight in the 2nd world war BUT also competed in the infamous Berlin Olympics of 1936 and raced in a heat against Jesse Owens. WHAT A LIFE!!!!!!! I remember as a young kid looking at his various medals and listening to his stories in awe. Another relative on my father`s side of the family, who I vaguely remember, had both his legs shot off in the 2nd world war doing a parachute jump - my memory of him was he was always incredibly cheerful and was such a nice person.

Such sacrifice and such bravery.

My father-in-law's older brother was one of the many American troops who died on Omaha Beach. Visited once on Memorial Day, quite an emotional experience. My dad was on a Navy destroyer involved in the operation to blockade the Channel from any German subs / ships during the landings. Heroes all.

Croydon Claret wrote:Would love to go again, we even saw Eric Cantona coming out of our hotel

That must have been quite a sight.

Hello wilks. Thank you very much for your posts.

'My grandad hardly spoke about his experiences during the war but on the ferry over there from Portsmouth, we were sat at the front looking out across the channel"

What you wrote about your grandad tallies with everything I've read about men who fought in wars i.e. they rarely talk about what they experienced.

They must suffer from nightmares every time they sleep.

Claret-On-A-T-Rex wrote:That must have been quite a sight.

I was more surprised when he jumped into a Renault Kangoo

https://imgur.com/a/Devv1mm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dyched wrote:RIP. I have yet to visit the beaches but I will one day!!

On a sidenote, anyone into photography search Robert Capa. Incredible work.

In some ways Robert Capa was even braver. He had a choice, unlike the poor souls who didn't.

paulus the woodgnome wrote:In some ways Robert Capa was even braver. He had a choice, unlike the poor souls who didn't.

Of course. Imagine shooting hundreds of photographs whilst dodging bullets and goodness knows what else. Only for the guy processing the film to **** it up. Only 11 photos survived.

He had an incredible life photographing various wars around the world.

My uncle was in the second wave who invaded Juno Beach. He never talked about it.

Needs to be remembered too that most of these brave men were not soldiers prior to the war but were men of many occupations but nothing to do with the armed services. They went to war when called upon to do so and their bravery and sacrifice earned us our freedoms today.
After the war , the surviving men just went back to their prior jobs.

Slightly off topic. Both my grandfathers were at Dunkirk. One came home one didn’t. One army. One navy. Proudsville. X

A defeat that history turned into a victory. However, the monumentous bungling on both sides, surprisingly, eventually led to the allied victory.

wilks_bfc wrote:Thanks. It is one of my favourite photos of him along with this one of me & him walking across it. I offered to wheel him over it in his chair but he was determined to get across himself.

Superb photo. That must have been a proud and emotional moment. A brave man

I work at Calais for Border Force (silly name really) and often see the British Army passing through. Yesterday it was the Household Cavalry. A smarter, more impressive bunch of lads you will never meet. Polite and pleasant. Our youngsters are as good and bad as they have always been, but mostly good.

My paternal grandmother's only brother didn't come back from WW1.

I know many of you will be aware of these figures but they are need to be repeated to ensure those incredibly brave men are never forgotten.

The WWI death toll for Burnley and the surrounding area:

"The town and surrounding district had suffered one of the highest casualty rates in the country with almost 4,000 men killed -- about 15 per cent of men between 16 and 50 died in the war."

15% of men between 16 and 50.

There are no words.

https://archive.is/20080103072041/http: ... 56034.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ecc wrote:I know many of you will be aware of these figures but they are need to be repeated to ensure those incredibly brave men are never forgotten.

The WWI death toll for Burnley and the surrounding area:

"The town and surrounding district had suffered one of the highest casualty rates in the country with almost 4,000 men killed -- about 15 per cent of men between 16 and 50 died in the war."

15% of men between 16 and 50.

There are no words.

https://archive.is/20080103072041/http: ... 56034.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We are approaching 1st July again, now 102 years since the opening of the Battle of the Somme. A day of tragedy for North East Lancashire. The "Burnley Pals" are mentioned in your link, ecc. The Accrington Pals also went over the top that day.

The big difference with WWII is that in the latter neighbours and friends were distributed across the military units to minimise the terrible losses focussed on one neighbourhood or another.