D-Day services to remember the brave

THE nation will come together next week to remember the tens of thousands of allied forces who gave service on D-Day 80 years ago.

- CLARE AINSWORTH

And the memory of thousands of British and Allied Servicemen who were based in Plymouth as part of the Normandy landings will be marked in a series of events.

From sunrise to sunset on Thursday, June 6, church bells will ring out, special flags will be flown, schoolchildren will learn stories about their great grandparents, town criers will proclaim the victory and the haunting sound of bagpipes will fill the air. Later, in a final gesture of homage, beacons and Lamp Lights of Peace will be lit to signify the light that emerged from the dreadful darkness of war.

To commemorate and remember those who served, there will be a number of services in the Plymouth area alongwith the lighting of beacons as part of the nationwide event.

The Lord Mayor will lead a delegation of Civic Leaders together with the Royal Navy and ex-service personnel in a ceremony at the American War Memorial, Saltash Passage beneath the Tamar Bridge, at 10.30am tomorrow, June 2. The service will mark the 80th Anniversary of the troops leaving their camp to board their ships.

Another memorial service will be held at Saltash Passage on Thursday, June 6 from 10.30am, organised by the Federation of Ex-Services Associations. The Federation is a small group of local people with a desire to support local veterans and servicerelated organisations.

In Plymouth a beacon will be lit at 9.15pm on the evening of June 6 at the Royal Citadel, which will be visible to the public from the Hoe. Another will be lit on Saltash waterside at the same time, following a gathering from 8.45pm with Saltash Town Band, a bagpiper, a message from the mayor and the reading of the international tribute. A further beacon will be lit at the same time at Rendel Park, Torpoint.