Hundreds of town criers from the UK will proclaim the start of the official global commemorations for D-Day 80.
At 8am on June 6, eight decades after the start of the amphibious assault in 1944, and throughout the day, the cry will go out to remember those who gave their lives to help secure the freedoms we take for granted today.
From Anglesey to Alderney, Buckingham to Bognor Regis and throughout England and Wales, bells and defeating proclamations will resound across Europe, North America and Australasia as other nations join to remember their fallen heroes.
The proclamation has been specially written for the occasion by Christian Ashdown, a former soldier in the Household Cavalry, and a member of the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers, who will be proudly on duty in his hometown of Haslemere, Surrey.
He said: “To be given the responsibility of writing the proclamation for such an important and historic occasion is a true honour.
“And to think hundreds of my fellow town criers across the world will be reciting my words is very humbling.”
Town criers will lead the commemorations before beacons are lit across the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories 12-hours later.
Pageantmaster Bruno Peek said: “In 1944 Allied forces mounted the largest amphibious invasion the world has ever witnessed. D-Day, saw over 5,000 ships and landing craft set down more than 150,000 troops on the five Normandy beaches that would bring about the liberation of north-west Europe from Nazi occupation.”
Just before beacons are lit, the resonant sound of bagpipes will be heard across the home capital cities of London, Edinburgh, Belfast, and Cardiff, and in those of cities in Allied nations that took part, including Washington DC, Auckland, Ottawa, Paris, Canberra, Brussels, Athens, Amsterdam, Oslo, Warsaw, and Prague.
The Daily Express is commemorating June’s momentous 80th anniversary of the fabled air and sea invasion with unrivalled coverage from the beaches of Normandy, telling the stories of those who went to war to help liberate occupied France and Europe from Nazi tyranny, many of whom never returned home.
We want to hear from those who served on D-Day, and during the Battle of Normandy in the weeks and months that followed, and from relatives who will be paying their respects in memory of loved ones who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
D-Day saw 156,000 soldiers from Britain, the Commonwealth, America and their allies land on five beaches along the Normandy coast.
Few expected the mission to succeed but it launched the invasion of German-occupied Western Europe and hastened the end of the Second World War.
The names of 22,442 soldiers who gave their lives under British command during the landings are immortalised on The British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer.
If you have a story to tell email giles.sheldrick@reachplc.com
