D-Day LIVE: Lone piper plays as WORLD remembers and May, Macron, Trump hail our heroes

In one of her final official engagements as Conservative leader, Mrs May is attending a ceremony in Normandy for the inauguration of a memorial to commemorate more than 20,000 members of the British armed forces who died there in summer 1944. Addressing the ceremony, Mrs May said: “It’s an honour for all of us to share this moment with you. “It’s almost impossible to grasp the raw courage it must have taken that day.”

The British Normandy Memorial, funded by the Normandy Memorial Trust, is being built on a hillside in Ver-sur-Mer, overlooking Gold Beach, one of the key sites for British troops during the Normandy Landings. French President Emmanuel Macron will join the Prime Minister at the ceremony, where a sculpture created by David Williams-Ellis will be unveiled marking the beginning of construction for the memorial.

Expected to be completed within a year, it will record the names of 22,442 members of the British armed forces who died in the D-Day landings and Battle of Normandy.

After the memorial inauguration, Theresa May will join veterans and the Prince of Wales at a cathedral service in Bayeux.

The city, close to the northern French coast, was the first major place to be liberated, after the Allied forces invasion.

Following the service, veterans will parade from the cathedral to the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery.

Theresa May Emmanuel Macron

World leaders including Theresa May are attending D-Day events in France (Image: GETTY)

Dignitaries will be invited to lay memorial wreaths and the last post will be played at the site where more than 4,000 war dead are buried.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump will join Mr Macron at an event at the US war cemetery at Omaha Beach, Colleville-sur-Mer.

Ahead of the commemorations, Theresa May said: “It is a privilege to be in Normandy today for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Landings and to pay my respects to the troops who gave their lives for the freedom we cherish today.

“As we come together to pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of those who died for our liberty 75 years ago – we promise to honour their memory for generations to come.”

Meanwhile, many veterans will flock to the town of Arromanches for a series of events.

Theresa May Emmanuel Macron

Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron are attending the inauguration of a new D-Day memorial (Image: GETTY)

Activities on Thursday will mark key events in the operation. The day will begin with a lone piper playing a lament on Port Winston signalling the minute the invasion began and the moment the first British soldier landed on Gold beach.

Pipe Major Trevor Macey-Lillie, of 19th Regiment Royal Artillery (The Scottish Gunners), will perform Highland Laddie.

Veterans will then descend on the town square as part of a parade with Tobias Ellwood, the minister for Defence People and Veterans, and chief of Ministry of Defence general staff Mark Carleton-Smith will be among crowds before a Red Arrows flypast and a firework display.

Across the Channel, a service of remembrance and wreath laying takes place at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Theresa May Donald Trump

Theresa May and Donald Trump are both attending D-Day events in France (Image: GETTY)

In Portsmouth, following President Donald Trump’s visit on Wednesday, a veteran’s parade will take place before a memorial service at the city’s D-Day Stone.

And in London, the Duke of Sussex will attend Founder’s Day at the Royal Hospital Chelsea where he will see the Chelsea Pensioners and six veterans from the Normandy Landings.

German chancellor Angela Merkel, who attended the Portsmouth ceremony, will not be present in Normandy.

Neither will Russian President Vladimir Putin, who did not receive an invitation to either event, indicating ongoing strains between the west and Russia.

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8.47am update:  “They made the ultimate sacrifice”, says May

Speaking earlier at the memorial inauguration, Prime Minister Theresa May said: “If one day can be said to have determined the fate of generations to come, in France, in Britain, in Europe and in the world, that day was the 6 June 1944,” she said.

“More than 156,000 men landed on D-Day, of which 83,000 were from Britain and the Commonwealth.

“Over a quarter of a million more supported operations from air and sea, while the French Resistance carried out extraordinary acts of bravery from behind enemy lines.

“Many were terribly wounded, and many made the ultimate sacrifice that day, and in the fierce sacrifice that followed, as together our Allied nations sought to release Europe from the grip of fascism.”

8.40am update: Trump tweets gratitude

US President Donald Trump is on his way to Omaha beach, he tweeted.

Mr Trump said: “Heading over to Normandy to celebrate some of the bravest that ever lived.

“We are eternally grateful!”

Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s tweet (Image: Twitter)

8.34am update: Charles and Camilla to join veterans at Cathedral service

Veterans and their families are arriving for a service of remembrance at Bayeux Cathedral.

They will be joined by Prime Minister Theresa May, and the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall for the commemoration marking 75 years since D-Day.

8.30am update: May and Macron lay wreaths at foundation stone of new monument

Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron laid wreaths at the foundation stone of the monument.

Seven British D-Day veterans were accompanied by four children, including Sir Winston Churchill’s great-great grandson John Churchill, to lay flowers in front of a sculpture at the memorial depicting three British soldiers storming the beaches.

It was created by David Williams-Ellis to mark the beginning of construction for the memorial, which is expected to be completed within a year.

The ceremony concluded with a piped lament from Trooper Kurtis Rankin of The Royal Dragoon Guards.

8.25am update: Paratroopers re-enact jumps behind enemy lines

Khaki parachutes filled the skies above Sannerville on Wednesday afternoon as two British veterans in their mid-nineties joined several hundred paratroopers re-enacting the jumps behind enemy lines. Hundreds of British veterans crossed the English Channel on a specially chartered ferry.

Earlier, on the south coast of England, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth led presidents and prime ministers on Wednesday in paying tribute to surviving D-Day veterans and their fallen comrades.

She said: “The heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who lost their lives will never be forgotten.

“It is with humility and pleasure, on behalf of the entire country – indeed the whole free world – that I say to you all: thank you.”

8.20am update: “Nothing can break the ties between France and the UK,” says Macron

He said the monument would also be a symbol of the ties binding France and the UK.

He said: “Nothing will break them. Nothing can ever break ties that have been bound in bloodshed and shared values.

“The debates taking place today cannot affect the strength of our joint history and our shared future.”

President Macron assured Mrs May of his friendship, adding: “Leaders may come and go but their achievements remain.

“The force of our friendship will outlast current events.”

8.15am update: Macron’s tribute to fallen British soldiers

Addressing the audience, President Macron said: “I am honoured to stand alongside Theresa May today to launch construction work for the British memorial at Ver-sur-Mer.

“The British people have long dreamt of this memorial.”

He added: “This is where, 75 years ago, on June 6, 1944, almost 25,000 British soldiers landed in France to free the country from Nazi control.

“This is where young men, many of whom had never set foot on French soil, landed at dawn under German fire, risking their lives while fighting their way up the beach, which was littered with obstacles and mines.”

8.10am update: “It’s an honour to share this moment with you,” says May

In one of her last official engagements as Conservative leader, Mr May has attended a ceremony in Normandy for the inauguration of a memorial to commemorate more than 20,000 members of the British armed forces who died there in summer 1944.

Addressing the event, she said: “It’s an honour for all of us to share this moment with you.

“It’s almost impossible to grasp the raw courage it must have taken that day.”

Normandy landings

A map showing the locations of the Normandy beaches (Image: Daily Express)

8.08am “We must not repeat history,” warns Macron

Speaking after an event to honour the French resistance, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters: “These allied forces that together freed us from the German yoke, and from tyranny, are the same ones that were able to build the existing multilateral structures after World War Two.

“We must not repeat history, and remind ourselves what was built on the basis of the war.”

8.03am update: “American had to prevail,” says Trump

US President Donald Trump, who is attending a commemoration ceremony at Omaha Beach, tweeted: “They did not know if they would survive the hour.

“They did not know if they would grow old.

“But they knew that America had to prevail.

“Their cause was this Nation, and generations yet unborn.”

source: express.co.uk