D-Day heroes in tears as they set sail for France for 80th anniversary
There were cheers - and tears - as a ferry carrying D-Day veterans to France for the 80th anniversary commemorations set sail from Portsmouth.
D-Day veterans told of having “mixed feelings” after they set sail for Normandy for the 80th anniversary commemorations.
Dozens were on board Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel on Tuesday morning, many in good spirits, though one was seen teary-eyed.
The ship was accompanied by Royal Navy patrol vessels Trumpeter, Medusa and Basher as well as HMS Cattistock and the Training Ship Royalist, with tugs spraying water as it travelled out of Portsmouth Harbour.
Several small boats and yachts also waited outside the harbour to see the ferry off on its journey to Caen.
The Jedburgh Pipe Band played the ferry out of the harbour and a Royal Air Force flypast circled low overhead.
Here, Express.co.uk looks at photos from the historic sailing.
Crowds waving Union and D-Day flags gathered on the Round Tower and harbour walls in Old Portsmouth and cheered and clapped as the ferry passed, with the veterans and families smiling and waving back from the ship’s decks.
One of them, Harry Birdsall, 98, from Wakefield, was seen dabbing his eyes.
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Arnie Salter, 98, from Bedworth, Warwickshire, said: “I’ve got a lot of mixed feelings, I’m glad to go, it brings back memories, but I’m also sad, we lost a hell of a lot of good men.”
Mr Salter, who helped ferry hundreds of troops across to the Normandy beaches during D-Day, added: “The flypast was lovely and the pipers were wonderful.”
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Jack Mortimer, 100, from Leeds, who landed on Sword Beach, said: “When I go back there, I cry. I saw bodies being brought off that beach.”
Ken Hay, 98, who was captured as a prisoner of war just weeks after D-Day said: “It’s a very special day, we received a great send-off.
“To go back to France is important, to see the cemeteries, the monuments, it’s always good to see.”
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John Dennett, 99, from Wallasey, Merseyside, told reporters: “At my age now, I’m a bit more expecting it to be emotional… we must always remember them.”
The Royal British Legion is escorting just 22 D-Day veterans to Normandy, compared with 255 who travelled to commemorate the 75th anniversary in 2019. Another 10 are travelling with the Spirit of Normandy Trust.
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