Dozens of D-Day veterans recall their 'sad memories' as they gather at invasion planning HQ to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings
- Around 40 veterans came together at Southwick House, near Portsmouth
- It was here Operation Overlord was planned to precision over many months
- The historic military invastion marked the beginning of the end for Hitler
D-Day veterans have spoken of their 'sad memories' as they gathered to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings at the headquarters where the largest amphibious invasion in military history was planned.
Around 40 veterans met at Southwick House, near Portsmouth, which was the headquarters of Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower.
It was here that Operation Overlord was planned to precision, which involved British, American, and other Allied land, air and sea forces crossing the English Channel to launch a massive offensive on the Nazi occupation in Normandy.
A giant map still adorns a wall in the Grade II-listed 19th-century manor house, which is now home to the Defence School of Policing and Guarding.
George Chandler, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, served aboard the British motor torpedo boat MTB 710 as part of a flotilla which provided a guarding escort for the US Army assault on Omaha and Utah beaches.
George Chandler, from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, who served as part of a flotilla which provided a guarding escort for the US Army assault on Omaha and Utah beaches, was among the D-Day veterans gathering at Southwick House
The veterans assembled at the historic house, which served as the headquarters for Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D Eisenhower
The veterans recalled their 'sad memories' of events that began on June 6 1944, also known as D-Day, which this year marks its 80th anniversary
It was inside Southwick House, near Portsmouth, that plans were finalised to launch the D-Day invasion of Normandy by Allied forces
A US landing barge packed with helmeted soldiers makes its way to the shore in Normandy on June 6, 1944
Dozens of ships line the coast off Omaha Beach in Normandy during the D-Day landings
D-Day signaled the beginning of a changing of the tide on the continent, which eventually ended with Allied victory
He said that seeing the events of D-Day unfold in real life was nothing like how it has been portrayed in books and films.
The 99-year-old said: 'Let me assure you, what you read in those silly books that have been written about D-Day are absolute c***, it's a load of old rubbish.
'I was there, how can I forget it? It's a very sad memory, because I watched young American Rangers not shot, slaughtered.
'And they were young. I was 19 at the time, these kids were younger than me when I was there and I saw them shot.'
For about three months without a break, Mr Chandler's flotilla returned to Newhaven each night for refuelling and rearming and a few hours of sleep before returning across the Channel.
After the Normandy campaign, his boat was deployed to the Mediterranean where it suffered damage before being sunk in April 1945.
Marie Scott, now 97, served with the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) at Fort Southwick as a 'switchboard operator' using a machine connected to the landing forces in France.
Her job was to pass messages from the troops on the beaches to the leaders of Operation Overlord, Gen Eisenhower and Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, who were stationed nearby in Southwick House.
Ms Scott - who was was awarded France's highest order of merit, the Legion d'Honneur, in recognition of her contribution to the liberation of the country - described how she could hear the reality of the battle taking place.
She said: 'I was a little bemused when I first heard it, then I thought to myself, 'Oh, you know, this is war'.
'You could hear everything, machine gun fire, cannon fire, bombs dropping, men shouting, the general chaos.'
The majority of the veterans who attended the gathering at Southwick House were brought by the Royal British Legion, the Spirit of Normandy Trust and the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans.
The forces were roughly divided across five beaches: Gold and Sword were attacked by British troops, Juno by Canadian, and Omaha and Utah by the US
Veteran Donald Turrell, 98, served as a rifleman in the Scottish Cameronians, landing on Sword Beach before being injured in the Battle of Etteville
A giant map used for Operation Overlord still adorns a wall in the Grade II-listed 19th-century manor house
George Chandler gestures to the location on the original planning map where he served during the events of D-Day
The D-Day operation involved boats and aircraft of all shapes and sizes, for a variety of purposes, whether it was to sweep the area ahead for mines, or deliver the respective armies to France.
In total the invasion involved 153,110 troops, supported by 10,440 aircraft and 6,330 ships, with paratroopers landing behind enemy lines in advance of the main assault.
The forces were roughly divided across five beaches: Gold and Sword were attacked by British troops, Juno by Canadian, and Omaha and Utah by the US.
After less than a week, all five beaches had been secured, with more troops, vehicles and equipment being delivered to the Allies.
The operation took place on June 6 1944, but unsurprisingly it was in planning for months.
A key element of the preparation was a series of deceptions to convince the German military command that the attack would instead be near Calais, the closest point of France to the UK.
In fact, June 5 was the original date selected for D-Day, but bad weather forced a delay by one day, with troops departing the English coast in the night of June 5.
Forces arrived on the morning of June 6, by which time paratroopers had already landed behind enemy lines to begin the attack.
As for why the operation is called D-Day, there is still all these years later an element of mystery about what the D actually stands for.
Many suspected it was for designated, decision, dooms(day), or even death.
However, the reality is less grand, as D-Day is just the term used by the military to refer a date which an event is due to take place.
It can be used to refer to operation day before an exact date has been set.
The first use of this kind of reference can be traced back to the First World War, with H referring to a certain hour too.
Many historians describe D-Day as the 'beginning of the end' of the Second World War.
With victory declared in Europe 11 months later, on May 7, 1945, this represented the start of the Allied forces pushing back from what was the furthest Nazi occupation during the war.
The move meant that Germany was at war on three fronts: in France, Italy, and Russia.
This task eventually proved too much for Hitler's army, with Allied victory on the continent secured on May 8 1945.
D-Day timeline: The largest amphibious invasion in military history as it happened
- January 1944: General Dwight Eisenhower appointed commander of Operation Overlord.
- February-May: Series of deception operations carried out to put Germany off the scent.
- June 4: Bad weather causes operation to be delayed from June 5.
- June 5: Better weather makes General Eisenhower give go-ahead for operation to take place the following day.
- 22:00: Operation Neptune, the seaborne forces, leave the English coast to cross the channel.
- June 6 00:05: Coastal barriers in France are bombed.
- 00:20: Airborne troops attack bridges in coastal town of Benouville, taking just 15 minutes.
- 02:30: Allied fleets arrive and anchor at the French coast.
- 04:30: US forces Liberate St Mere Eglise, inland from Utah beach.
- 05:00: British paratroopers destroy weapons at Merville Battery to protect those who will land at Sword beach.
Allied soldiers, tanks and ships take part in the D-Day landings at Gold beach
- 05:30: Warships bombard the coastline, while landing craft head for shore.
- 06:00: German shore defences are bombed.
- 06:30: American forces begin landing on Omaha Beach and face an enemy onslaught which holds them until 1100.
- 06:30: Americans troops begin landing on Utah Beach.
- 07:25: British land at Gold and Sword Beaches.
- 07:35: Canadians land at Juno Beach.
- 09:00: General Eisenhower authorises announcement that the invasion has begun.
- 09:45: Enemy forces cleared from Utah Beach.
Members of an American landing unit help their comrades ashore during the Normandy invasion near St Mere Eglise
- 12:00: Winston Churchill speaks to the House of Commons about the landings, saying: 'So far the commanders who are engaged report that everything is proceeding according to plan. And what a plan!'
- 13:30: Troops on Omaha Beach begin securing the area. Allied forces begin to bomb the town of Caen.
- 14:30: The Nazi's 21st Panzer Division unleash a counter-attack towards the coast.
- 18:00: Canada's North Nova Scotia Highlanders reach 5km inland. Allied tanks cross the Caen-Bayeux railway, 15km inland.
- 19:00: Command post set up on Omaha Beach.
- 21:00: King George VI says on the radio that it is a 'fight to win the final victory for the good cause'.
- Midnight: All the beaches are secured.
