A civic service of commemoration to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings is being planned for Ashfield. And the district council is asking veterans and their relatives to make themselves known so that they can receive official invitations.
The D-Day landings, on 6 June 1944, was the start of the world’s largest amphibious invasion. Nearly 160,000 troops landed on the beaches of Normandy on the day. By the end of June that figure had risen to 875,000 men.
The troops which formed the united Operation Overlord invasion came from France, the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Greece, South Africa, exiled Polish and what was then Czechoslovakia and Southern Rhodesia. It was the start of the liberation of France from Nazi troops and led to the liberation of western Europe. Within a year, Hitler was dead and Germany surrendered.
Victory came at a high price. The D-Day landings resulted in an estimated 10,000 Allied deaths, and 4,000 to 9,000 Germans killed, wounded, missing or captured.
There are now very few veterans from Normandy landings still alive, and those that survive will be in their late 90s. “It is not thought there are any still living in Ashfield, though it could be possible”, a spokesperson for Ashfield District Council said.
As they make plans for the civic commemoration, the council is asking relatives of Ashfield’s D-Day veterans to make themselves known. The service in Ashfield will be one of many held across the UK and other Allied nations, including in Normandy itself. Ashfield District Council wants to ensure relatives of local veterans are given the opportunity to come together and pay tribute to their endeavours.
“The D-Day landings are one of the most significant events of the 20th Century”, Councillor Dale Grounds, the chairman of Ashfield District Council, said. “Without the bravery and sacrifice of so many Allied soldiers, the Europe and world we live in today would look so very different.
“It is right we remember and honour all those who took part in the liberation of Europe from the Nazis, especially those who came from Ashfield.”
Relatives of D-Day veterans are asked to register their interest in the civic commemoration by emailing . The council is also inviting them to send in photographs and details of their loved ones to be used as part of the commemoration.
- Hucknall’s Arc Cinema is marking the anniversary with a special screening of Saving Private Ryan. The 1998 film is a fictional account, based on true events, about a group of US soldiers who go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action. Saving Private Ryan will be shown at 7.40 pm on Thursday 6 June. You can find details in our listing of Arc Cinema’s screenings.
