D Day: May and Macron In France To Mark 70th Anniversary
The day's commemorations will mark key events in the operation, which started
on 6 June 1944.
What were the D-Day landings?
10 things you might not know about D-Day
The 'weathermen' who helped save D-Day
Overnight, serving British soldiers marched across the first bridge captured on
French soil - 75 years to the minute when the key strategic target was taken
from the Nazis.
In 1944 it took troops less than 15 minutes to seize Pegasus Bridge, Benouville,
clearing the way for the Allies to storm the beaches hours later.
At 06:26 BST - the exact minute the first British troops landed on the beaches
in 1944 - a lone piper will play on a section of the Mulberry Harbour in the town
of Arromanches.
Mr Macron and Mrs May - in one of her final engagements as Conservative
leader - will be in Ver-sur-Mer to see the first stone laid for a memorial to
commemorate the 20,000 British troops who died there in the summer of 1944.
The British Normandy Memorial is being built on a hillside overlooking Gold
Beach - one of the key sites for British troops during the D-Day landings.
Once completed, it will record the names of the 22,442 members of the British
armed forces who died.
Mrs May will then join the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and First
Minister Nicola Sturgeon for a service in Bayeux - the first city in France to be
liberated by the invasion.
That will be followed by a service at Bayeux War Cemetery, where many of the
fallen were buried.
Meanwhile, Mr Macron will accompany US President Donald Trump at an event
at the US war cemetery at Omaha Beach, Colleville-sur-Mer.
Other events taking place include:
A veteran's parade in Arromanches, followed by a Red Arrows flypast
A service of remembrance and wreath laying at the National Memorial
Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire
In Portsmouth, a veteran's parade before a memorial service at the city's D-
Day Stone
The Duke of Sussex will join the Chelsea Pensioners and six D-Day veterans
for Founder's Day at London's Royal Hospital Chelsea
In Edinburgh, 15 D-Day veterans will be presented with the Knight of the
Légion d'Honneur Cross at the French Consulate
Wednesday saw the first day of the 75th anniversary events, with leaders from
every country that fought alongside the UK on D-Day joining the Queen in
Portsmouth.
Veterans of the landings were also in attendance as the Queen paid tribute to
the "heroism, courage and sacrifice" of those who died.
Mr Trump - who was on the last day of his three-day UK state visit - said D-
Day "may have been the greatest battle ever".
Around 300 veterans were then waved off on the cruise ship MV Boudicca as it
set off for the Normandy commemorations.
But two veterans - Harry Read, 95, and John Hutton, 94, - parachuted back
into Normandy, 75 years after their first landing.
This time, they jumped in tandem with members of the Army's Parachute
Regiment display team, the Red Devils - and were greeted by cheers.
on 6 June 1944.
What were the D-Day landings?
10 things you might not know about D-Day
The 'weathermen' who helped save D-Day
Overnight, serving British soldiers marched across the first bridge captured on
French soil - 75 years to the minute when the key strategic target was taken
from the Nazis.
In 1944 it took troops less than 15 minutes to seize Pegasus Bridge, Benouville,
clearing the way for the Allies to storm the beaches hours later.
At 06:26 BST - the exact minute the first British troops landed on the beaches
in 1944 - a lone piper will play on a section of the Mulberry Harbour in the town
of Arromanches.
Mr Macron and Mrs May - in one of her final engagements as Conservative
leader - will be in Ver-sur-Mer to see the first stone laid for a memorial to
commemorate the 20,000 British troops who died there in the summer of 1944.
The British Normandy Memorial is being built on a hillside overlooking Gold
Beach - one of the key sites for British troops during the D-Day landings.
Once completed, it will record the names of the 22,442 members of the British
armed forces who died.
Mrs May will then join the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and First
Minister Nicola Sturgeon for a service in Bayeux - the first city in France to be
liberated by the invasion.
That will be followed by a service at Bayeux War Cemetery, where many of the
fallen were buried.
Meanwhile, Mr Macron will accompany US President Donald Trump at an event
at the US war cemetery at Omaha Beach, Colleville-sur-Mer.
Other events taking place include:
A veteran's parade in Arromanches, followed by a Red Arrows flypast
A service of remembrance and wreath laying at the National Memorial
Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire
In Portsmouth, a veteran's parade before a memorial service at the city's D-
Day Stone
The Duke of Sussex will join the Chelsea Pensioners and six D-Day veterans
for Founder's Day at London's Royal Hospital Chelsea
In Edinburgh, 15 D-Day veterans will be presented with the Knight of the
Légion d'Honneur Cross at the French Consulate
Wednesday saw the first day of the 75th anniversary events, with leaders from
every country that fought alongside the UK on D-Day joining the Queen in
Portsmouth.
Veterans of the landings were also in attendance as the Queen paid tribute to
the "heroism, courage and sacrifice" of those who died.
Mr Trump - who was on the last day of his three-day UK state visit - said D-
Day "may have been the greatest battle ever".
Around 300 veterans were then waved off on the cruise ship MV Boudicca as it
set off for the Normandy commemorations.
But two veterans - Harry Read, 95, and John Hutton, 94, - parachuted back
into Normandy, 75 years after their first landing.
This time, they jumped in tandem with members of the Army's Parachute
Regiment display team, the Red Devils - and were greeted by cheers.
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