Birmingham veterans mark D-Day landings in St Paul’s Square
“There was a lot of young fellows, younger than me even, lying on the beach. It’s one of my worst memories.”
This will also officially be the last year coachloads of veterans will visit the beaches where their brave actions changed the fate of modern Europe.
“This is the 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings and a lot of us have our infirmities,” said Geoff, who was a driver during the Second World War. “I can’t get to Normandy this year, but I’ll be there in spirit.”
The events will officially stop because at a national level the Normandy Veterans Association is dissolving because of the age of its members.
But event organiser Jenny Hilliar, Normandy Veterans Association secretary for Birmingham, vowed she would continue to help veterans remember the storming of the beaches.
She said: “I find it an emotional day, but I think it’s very important to remember the people who fought and the people who fell on that day. We owe them so much.
Jenny, whose father Eric took part in the D-Day landings, said: “We’re going to try and keep it going in Birmingham as long as we can. As long as we can still put a coachload of people together we’ll try to take them over to Normandy. We’ve got a very strong membership in Birmingham so we’re committed to it.”
