Today is June 6^th, the anniversary of the D-Day landings when the Allies (principally the British, Americans and Canadians) began the invasion of Normandy which, under a year later, would lead to ultimate victory in Europe and free large parts of the continent from over 5 years of German tyranny.

The price of victory was not cheap, as any visitor to the military cemeteries of Normandy will testify, though but for the meticulous planning of the operation (Operation Overlord) it could have been a lot worse.

This year’s anniversary has a special poignancy since it is exactly 70 years to the day that thousands of young soldiers began their voyage into the unknown by leaving the shores of southern England and crossing the English Channel to land on the beaches of Normandy.

A sizeable group of survivors, all of them now old men in their late 80s and beyond, are meeting today on those same beaches to commemorate the landings and to remember their fallen comrades.  We too will remember their sacrifice with respect and gratitude – and thank our lucky stars that we have been fortunate enough to escape anything like the horrors they suffered on our behalf.