"Today is the anniversary of 'D-Day,' a day that should never be forgotten in the annals of British History. On this day seventy years ago, the Allies launched their combined invasion of the Beaches of Normandy. The calendar at the time read, June 6th, 1944.
During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. The battle began on June 6th, 1944 and was known as 'D-Day.' The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment, along with an airborne assault and the landing of 24,000 British, US and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Within the next day, over 4,000 deaths and almost 8,000 casualties would have been inflicted upon the Brtish and Allied forces.
In this amphibious landing of the sands, a combined Allied force of 156,000 soldiers landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called 'the beginning of the end of war in Europe.'
Let us all who enjoy democracy and freedom today never forget the debt owed to and the price paid by all of those valiant soldiers who took part in this invasion. Let us also remember with pride, all of the British and their allies who lived through and served in the 'Second World War' both on the battle fields abroad and in the factories and on the streets at home. Without their magnificient efforts in the munition factories, mills, on the farms and in the country's fields, victory abroad would not have been possible and neither would life at home been tolerable and sustainable, nor the country's morale held high in times so low.
If ever the British young of today should seek reason for pride in their country and respect in their pensioner, look no farther than those who lived and died in June, 1944 and those who live on in this country today into grand old age. Do not forget!
During the 1990s, I wrote 'Robin and the Rubicelle Fusiliers', a story which recounts London during the Blitz and is suitable for the 9-90 reader. This was one of my books that Dame Vera Lynne read to school children in her area of Ditchling, Sussex. It costs a nominal price of $1 from all reputable e-book providers. All money goes to charity" William Forde: June 6th, 2014.