AT SEA: Last surviving British Royal Marine veterans make way to France for D-Day commemorations

Record ID: 696118

  • Title: AT SEA: Last surviving British Royal Marine veterans make way to France for D-Day commemorations
  • Date: 6th June 2014
  • Summary: PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND, UK (JUNE 5, 2014) (REUTERS) FERRY LEAVING PORTSMOUTH FRENCH FLAG, STERN OF FERRY FERRY INCLUDING FLAGS BRITISH ROYAL NAVY VETERAN, 47 COMMANDO, VICTOR WALKER, LOOKING OUT TO SEA (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH ROYAL NAVY VETERAN, 47 COMMANDO, VICTOR WALKER, SAYING: "We left here at about 5 o'clock and arrived at Normandy 6 or 7 o'clock the next morning
  • Embargoed: 21st June 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: At Sea
  • Country: At Sea
  • Topics: Conflict,History,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA91OVOS4B40GSE87XY3KZU7Y9Q
  • Story Text: Seventy years ago more than 16,000 elite British Royal Marines took part in the largest amphibious operation in history - the D-Day Normandy landings.
    They were part of the 156,000 mainly British, American and Canadian troops who were involved in the momentous invasion which resulted in one of World War II's key turning points.
    And on Wednesday (June 5) some of the last surviving British veterans made the repeat trip over to France from Portsmouth in England.
    Royal Navy veteran Victor Walker, remembers the nerve-wracking journey over in 1944 well.
    "We left here at about 5 o'clock and arrived at Normandy 6 or 7 o'clock the next morning and all hell was let loose and there was thousands of ships took part and we escorted over landing crafts with tanks, rockets and barrage balloons, and after that we were flagship for Rear Admiral William Tennant who was in charge of building the Mulberry Harbour," Walker said describing the portable temporary harbour devised by the British to enable the off-loading of cargo.
    "Without the Mulberry Harbour there would be no D-Day," he added.
    Every year veterans from Allied countries make the repeat journey sailing to Caen in Normandy - some memories still raw, camaraderie still strong.
    Their relatives, forming several generations, join them for the annual pilgrimage.
    With the numbers of survivors dwindling as each year passes, this 70th anniversary is particularly poignant; it will likely be the last time some will be able to manage the journey.
    Onboard the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen in France were members of the Royal Marine 47 Commando, formed by British World War II Prime Minister Winston Churchill. They formed part of the assault phase of the Normandy landings against the heavily protected and strongly held coastline.
    We lost quite a few, washed overboard, and I had a near-miss, I was swept off my feet and I managed to grab hold of something, but the others I was with, six of them went just straight under," Walker said.
    "You've got to remember they had a duffel coat on, sea boots, thick underwear and as soon as they got in the water that was it, and you didn't bother to look for them because it was action stations and if you hung about too long you could have got sunk. You know, submarines would have had you," he added.
    Another veteran, British Royal Marine, 47 Commando, Patrick Haygan said he hated wet landings.
    "On D-Day of course the wind was six for six and when we left the mothership the landing craft was going like that, waving side to side, and coming into land the colleague in front of me landed up to his knees in his water and the craft moved slightly to the left and I stepped out and landed up to my head in water," he added.
    "On a personal level the main thing about being in contact with the enemy with your mates and everything is the closeness of the men. It was something you can't ever replace," he said.
    After landing, the men from 47 Command marched nine miles west to the small but strategically-important harbour of Port En Bessin and liberated it from their German counterparts.
    But it was only after a fierce and bloody battle on June 7, 1944, that the Royal Marines successfully captured the port the following day.
    Port En Bessin became the main port for fuel deliveries until Cherbourg could be freed.
    Every year now the residents of Port En Bessin welcome the veterans back.
    The veterans and their families gaze at old photographs of the historic events of seven decades ago as they gather in the harbour town.
    On the anniversary of D-Day itself on Friday (June 6), Britain's Queen Elizabeth will lead an international service of commemoration held on a Normandy beach. The event will be attended by many royals, presidents and prime ministers as they join veterans to remember the many men on both sides of the war who lost their lives.
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