Sadly George could not travel to be in France today.
He landed on Sword Beach,
age 17.
I would have loved to have been with you all,
but unfortunately I'm not as sprightly as I was then.
For my battalion in the Royal Ulster Rifles.
We lost most of our men
on the 9th of June,
26 of my comrades fell.
The people I fought with were just ordinary people,
but when they were needed they never faltered.
I still remember the jokes we shared.
I am absolutely honoured they are being remembered today.
John Westlake, a leading air Craftsman in the RAF during
the Normandy campaign,
shared these words.
I ask you to speak on my behalf
to remember all those good men
who feared that no one would ever know their stories.
We lost so many brave men.
The turnover of pilots was high.
I have never forgotten the ones who did not survive.
We went through it all together.
Such nice lads.
I only wish I knew what happened to them.
I want them to know that they will never be
forgotten.
Just two weeks before D-Day,
Peter Seaborn turned 17 years old.
He was an able seaman serving in the Royal Navy,
he remembers.
I was aboard my destroyer,
escorting American troops to the beaches.
The sight before my eyes has never left me.
Rockets shelling, bombing, enemy fire.
We later lost HMS Boda Seer,
a ship escorting a Merchant Navy convoy across the Channel,
the convoy just behind mine.
170 men perished and 12 survived.
Even though I have never been able to return,
I am grateful that my words can travel to you
today
and say a final thank you
in my stead.
Arthur Oborn landed on Gold Beach and is with us
here this morning.
I am honoured to stand by the names of the
friends he lost.
He told me
not many people can say they survived a sniper shooting
them through the chest.
But thanks to my good friend Walther Gummerson,
Gummy, as he was known to us,
I can
He drove me to a field hospital,
saving my life.
The next day my unit was ambushed,
shredded and every man was killed.
I never saw Gummy again.
That day I lost 27 comrades.
It is all
it is. All because of Gummy's quick thinking,
his desire to help those around him.
That I can stand before you today.
I wish I could tell him I have never taken
his sacrifice for granted and will always remember him and
our friends.
So gummy. Thank you my old friend.