this is bbc news. i'm anna foster here in northern france where a series of events are being held to commemorate the start of the normandy landings 75 years ago. the headlines at 9: theresa may and emmanuel macron lay a wreath at an inauguration ceremony for a new memorial at ver—sur—mer. these young men belong to a very special generation, the greatest generation, a generation whose iunconquerable spirit shaped our post—war world. the day began with the sound of bagpipes marking the exact moment allied troops landed 75 years ago.

this is it. they're on the beach. plunge in waist deep into the sea. it was the largest seaborn invasion in history that helped turn the second world war. and throguhout the day, d—day veterans are being honoured good morning. it's thursday 6thjune, d—day. hundreds of veterans are being joined in northern france by theresa may, donald trump and president macron this morning to commemorate the start of the normandy landings 75 years ago. by the end of d—day, almost a500 allied troops had been killed and thousands more had been wounded or were missing.

d—day marked the start of the liberation of nazi—occupied western europe. a series of events are being held over the course of today to honour those who took part. we can see one of those ceremonies taking place at bayeux cathedral. it is good to see the young choristers there heading through the cathedral, which is crowded with people. veterans, vips, dignitaries from right around europe. coming together to remember those men and their sacrifice 75 years ago today.

of course there at the cathedral the many of course there at the cathedral the ma ny vetera ns of course there at the cathedral the many veterans from the mv boudicca, the ship they have been on for the last week or so, travelling around the south coast of england to various commemorative events, and as you saw yesterday, setting off from portsmouth to recreate that trip across the english channel from 75 yea rs across the english channel from 75 years ago. they have landed here this morning and they are taking pa rt this morning and they are taking part in the ceremony at bayeux cathedral and they will then move to the cemetery for further commemorative events, and then they will arrive here in arromanches, where there will be a parade. the day is really about these veterans. so few of them left, of course. so few of those stories that we can

hearin few of those stories that we can hear in person from the men that we re hear in person from the men that were here at 75 years ago today on the beaches. you can see prince charles at the front of the congregation. joined by camilla, of course, the duchess. jeremy corbyn is also present in the cathedral. and already this morning at ver—sur—mer, that special commemorative ceremony, we heard from prime minister theresa may and the french president, emmanuel macron, both making moving speeches. emmanuel macron paying tribute to theresa may's premiership, but also talking about the importance of the links across europe, the importance of all of these different countries coming together in a spirit of peace and reconciliation.

we can see the final preparations being made. the final members of the choir are taking their places. bayeux cathedral. an historic building in the centre of the town, it really dominates the town. you can't walk through bayer without seeing it and admiring its architecture. —— bayeux. -- bayeux. would you please be seated? good -- bayeux. would you please be seated 7 good morning -- bayeux. would you please be seated? good morning and a very warm welcome to you all as we gather here in this beautiful cathedral for our

service of remembrance on this 75th anniversary of d—day. at the heart of our remembrance lies the sacrifice and heroism of those who brought about the freedoms we enjoy today. he speaks french. he was the message of pope francis.

—— here is the message of pope francis. dear friends, first, heartfelt greetings on behalf of pope francis and on my behalf to you on this day of remembrance of liberation from world war ii. to all of us here gathered from different english—speaking countries, i convey my respect and gratitude for your presence in normandy and for your commitment to peace. the holy father sends you a message of peace and he proclaims the need for dialogue and understanding between nations. may

god bless us with everlasting peace and helpless to prevent any conflict bya and helpless to prevent any conflict by a commitment dialogue and respect in favour of each and every human being. god's grace helps us to affirm and protect human dignity by all means for the sake of peace. let us all means for the sake of peace. let us pray together through jesus christ our lord the prayers of peace. i read now in french the message and then in english. he speaks french.

he speaks french.

with an open heart i give you apostolic blessing and for the bishops present and the faithful of your dioceses, and i call on god to bless all participants in these celebrations. the landing right here in normandy was decisive in the fight against nazi barbarism in that in enabled to pave the way to the end of that war, war which deeply ravaged europe and the world. that's why i make a grateful memorial of all the soldiers who come from several countries, france included, and were brave tojoin the countries, france included, and were brave to join the army and give their lives for freedom and peace. i confide in god's merciful love these

soldiers as well as the millions of victims, not forgetting those who are in the german side fought obedient to a system of government motivated by a deadly ideology. i expressed the hope that this commemoration event will allow all the generations in europe and the whole world to strongly reassert that pieces based on the respect of each person, whatever his or her background, respect for the law and the common good, i'm respect for the environment entrusted to our care, and for the richness of moral tradition inherited from the past. and i ask the guard to help christians of all faiths, those who have other religions and beliefs and those of goodwill to promote genuine

worldwide brotherhood, fostering a culture of encounter and dialogue, helpful with the weakest and the pooh helpful with the weakest and the poor. pope francis. we stand to sing praise micelle the king of heaven —— my soul.

# praise, my soul, the king of heaven # to his feet thy tribute bring # ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven # evermore his praises sing. # alleluia, alleluia! # praise the everlasting king. # praise him for his grace and favour. # to our fathers in distress. # praise him still the same for ever. # slow to chide and swift to bless. # alleluia, alleluia! # glorious in his faithfulness.

# father—like, he tends and spares us. # well our feeble frame he knows. # in his hand he gently bears us. # rescues us from all our foes. # alleluia, alleluia! # widely yet his mercy flows. # angels, help us to adore him. # ye behold him face to face. # sun and moon, bow down before him. # dwellers all in time and space.

# alleluia, alleluia! # praise with us the god of grace. would you please be seated for our first reading? our first ourfirst reading is our first reading is from the gospel of saintjohn, chapter 15. this is my commandment, that you love one another as i have loved you. greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. if you are —— you are my friends. if you are —— you are my friends if you do as i command you. no longer do i call you servant, for his seven does not know what his master is doing. that i have called

you friends. from all that i have heard from my father i have made known to you. you did not choose me but i chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide. so that whatever you ask the father in my name, he may give it to you. these things i command you so that you will love one another. we now have a reading by mr kenneth hay.

cyril crane, a nottinghamshire lad, was in beach signals of combined ops, attached to the queen's own rifles of canada. he landed onjuno beach on d—day four days before his zist beach on d—day four days before his 215t birthday. he died in november 2014 aged 91. he entitled his parents simply normandy. can understand in memory of men who fought in died. they gave their

lives in normandy. remember them with pride. soldiers, airmen, sailors, airborne and marines, who in civvy street were tailors and men who worked machines. british and canadian and men from usa, forces from the commonwealth, they all were there that day. to juno, from the commonwealth, they all were there that day. tojuno, saud and utah, beaches of renown. also gold and omaha, that's where the ranks we nt and omaha, that's where the ranks went down. the battle raged in normandy. many lives were lost. the war must end in victory and this must be the cost. when my life is over and must be the cost. when my life is overandl must be the cost. when my life is over and i reach the other side,

i'll meet my friends from normandy and shake their hands with pride.

we will now listen to an extract.

translation: this began a little before midnight with some soft sounds, endlessly difficult to sleep in such conditions. thunder, thought my mum. fighting to kind of not get out of her deep sleep but the sound lasted until 8:30am. at first i heard nothing, having entered my 15th year for four months, i slept soundly and i didn't like to be disturbed. but after a while and able to get any shuteye, from one room to the other, with open doors,

we started to talk, my parents and i. something is happening which is unusual, said my mum. what if they have landed, said i comment saying that the sounds seemed to come from the sea. my father said, yes, we heard rumours. it had to happen sometime. in the street, with half closed eyes having slept so badly, people were applauding. they've landed, they said with enthusiasm. the sceptics said of course not. someone said, yes, i heard it. he must have misunderstood, said those who couldn't believe. if they had truly landed it would have made an awful lot more noise. my mum was right. something had happened.

unusual but real. because the bbc confirmed it at 12:30pm. charles de gaulle had 1800 hrs said the supreme battle had started. after four years of occupation it was hard for us to believe it. and this was happening in our backyard. yes, here in normandy. the thunder in fact was bombs from the artillery which was hammering the coastal night. —— the coast all night. some years ago i brought my elderly father from his small rural town in england to visit the beaches in normandy. he had grown up during the

war, then had joined the royal air force. he had never visited normandy but he knew all about what had happened here, such is the significance of this stretch of coastline. and he in turn educated me. we stood on the beaches. we visited the cemeteries. we, like so many thousands before us, and those who would follow, stood in awe and in deep respect of what had taken place on that momentous day 75 years ago. sometimes, one day can make such a difference on a global scale. d—day was such a day. a day that was witness to the incredible sacrifice and heroism of soldiers and civilians from a number of nations, but it was a day which made the end

of world war two possible. there are so many stories of courage and of sacrifice surrounding that day and the days that followed. but for me, even to attempt to recount any of them now, would not even begin to give them the honour they deserve. but we do have first hand witnesses amongst us. honour them and in doing so, by listening and by sharing, we can also rememberand so, by listening and by sharing, we can also remember and commemorate those no longer with us. those who had to make the ultimate sacrifice. a continual challenge that all of us need to acknowledge is that we must learn from the past and a great part of that is that we need to listen, to listen to those who fought and

importantly to be continually reminded of why they fought. unfortunately we also have to recognise that both war and peace are part of our world's agenda and that piece, a true peace, one that is acknowledged by and is of god is so precious a thing, something that should be both treasured and nurtured continually. today we are 75 years on from d—day and the nations that were once enemies are i'iow nations that were once enemies are now reconciled and actively nurturing and together strengthening the peace and security our world so needs. the theologian oskar coleman compared d—day to the cross. one day that guarantees the victory to come, just as the love of christ shown in that day some 2000 years ago on the

cross guarantees oui’ that day some 2000 years ago on the cross guarantees our ultimate hope. so as we journey on in hope, we rememberthe so as we journey on in hope, we remember the sacrifice and the heroism of 75 years ago. and let us pray continually for that peace, so bravely fought for, to be ever strengthened. may we never forget. amen. would you please stand?

they shall not grow old as me that are they shall not grow old as me that a re left they shall not grow old as me that are left grow old. —— they shall not grow old as we that are left grow old.

age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. at the going down of the sun and in the morning. we shall remember them.

last post

reveillebugle call when you go home tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.

would you please sit for our prayers? let us pray. let us remember the courage, dedication to duty and self—sacrifice of all the men and women in our armed forces, the toil, endurance and suffering of those who were not in uniform, the support of those who send help from afar, came and stood by our side. let us remember those who were wounded in the fight, those who perished in their homes, those who fell in battle and are buried at sea, or in some fell in battle and are buried at sea, 01’ in some corner fell in battle and are buried at sea, or in some corner of a foreign field, and especially those whom we

have known and loved, whose places forever in our hearts. let us remember those who are our enemies, whose homes and hearts are as bereft as ours. who is dead —— whose dead lie also in a tomb of remembrance. let us remember those who came back, those whose lives still bear the scars of war, those who have lost sight, limbs or reason, those who lost faith in god and hope for humanity. let us remember the continuing grace of god, whose love holds all souls in life, and to whom none is dead but all are alive forever. we pray

together. our father, who our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. we promised to do everything

possible to help where there is need and to ensure that those who gave so much for us may enjoy the years who lie ahead in comfort, dignity, contentment and honour. would you please now stand as we sing, guide me, oh, you great redeemer. # guide me o thou great redeemer # pilgrim through this barren land # i am weak but thou art mighty # hold me with thy powerful hand

# bread of heaven # feed me now and evermore # open now the crystal fountain # whence the healing streams do flow # let the fiery cloudy pillar # lead me all myjourney though # strong deliverer # be thou still my strength and shield

# guide me o thou great redeemer # pilgrim through this barren land # i am weak but thou art mighty # i will ever give to thee. # may the god of peace himself sa nctify may the god of peace himself sanctify you entirely and may your

soul and spirit and body be kept blameless at the coming of our lord jesus christ. in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit. amen. # god save our gracious queen # long live our noble queen # god save the queen # send her victorious # happy and glorious # long to reign over us # god save the queen # allons enfants de la patrie

le jour de gloire est arrive # contre nous de la tyrannie l'etendard sangla nt est leve # l'etendard sanglant est leve # entendez—vous dans les campagnes mugir ces feroces soldats # ils viennentjusque dans vos bras egorger vos fils, vos compagnes! # aux armes, citoyens formez vos bataillons # marchons, marchons # qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons #

that was the sound of the raf band filling the huge space of bayeux cathedral. just one of various commemoration events happening today, of course. we heard from the prince of wales accompanied by the duchess of cornwall, at the ceremony, and the labour leader jeremy cording as well, scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon, and penny modern, and the shadow foreign secretary mls —— emily thornberry, all taking part in that service. most of the congregation will now move not too far away from bayeux cathedral to the cemetery where another of the events will take place. and of course in ver—sur—mer

as well the american remembrance event will be getting under way very soon. president trump and his wife melania attending, as well as the french president, emmanuel macron. we have also heard from the normandy memorial trust unveiling at their event this morning. the hereford cathedral choir there as well, just filing out of the ceremony. we can see there prince charles and the duchess of cornwall, camilla, moving on to head to bayeux ceremony for the next stage of the events today. events planned in normandy throughout the day today and we will bring them to you live on bbc news. injusta bring them to you live on bbc news. injust a short bring them to you live on bbc news. in just a short while at ten o'clock

it is the us commemoration event i was telling you about, president trump and president macron taking pa rt trump and president macron taking part in that. at around 11 o'clock this morning prince charles will be arriving for that further service of remembrance at the commonwealth g raves remembrance at the commonwealth graves at the bayeux cemetery. the minute's silence will happen at three o'clock this afternoon. at 20 past four we are taking to the skies with the parachute display and then a fly past a little later on today by the red arrows as well. then the day will end with a concert here at seven o'clock this evening, and it concludes with a fireworks display expected to start at around 10pm. so a lot happening through the day

today and of course it started here arromanches, and behind me in the square there is the dutch military parade taking place. the dutch military taking part in that, and big crowds here today. we saw the event at the bayeux cathedral, and at ver—sur—mer as well, but this really feels like the focus of where many of the events happened today. you will see many of the veterans and those involved walking through the streets, very different feel on this part of the normandy coast to what you might find that some of the other commemorative services. certainly, as the day goes on more ofa certainly, as the day goes on more of a celebratory field here in arromanches. a time to bring in max dutton, and storing for the

commonwealth war graves commission. arromanches is very special, because as we can see, it was a whole host of people, and we can look out on the harbour, probably why so many people know the name of this particular small town on the normandy coast. this was always a traditional home where veterans would come for the commemorations of the d—day landings. they would come here almost every year to remember the sacrifices made, and as those men fade away we are seeing a slightly different atmosphere at these events. the events are being attended by their loved ones and their children and they are taking pa rt their children and they are taking part in carrying on the traditions laid by theirfathers. we part in carrying on the traditions laid by their fathers. we are seeing a slightly different event taking place at the commonwealth war graves commission is where there will still be lots of veterans, and i think vetera ns be lots of veterans, and i think veterans who are still making the journey out here are trying to get to the commonwealth war graves commission cemetery is to honour those men who fought and died beside

them. i mention the event happening there a little later at the cemetery this morning. we can in fact see pictures of the cemetery there at bayeux. the dignitaries we saw at the cathedral are moving there. many people will not know what it is like to stand anyplace like that, to see those rows and rows of crosses stretching out ahead of you. those rows and rows of crosses stretching out ahead of youlj those rows and rows of crosses stretching out ahead of you. i have had the real privilege of visiting many commonwealth war graves commission cemetery is across the world and our cemeteries here in normandy are some of the most beautiful. bayeux cemetery is the second largest world were sighted in france. there are so many commonwealth war graves there and the stretch out as far as i can see, the stretch out as far as i can see, the headstones. i think if you can it is an experience everybody should make the effort to see.|j it is an experience everybody should make the effort to see. i was speaking about the various events happening here today. some of them sombre, but some of them really very

celebratory as well later on? earlier today we had the military vehicles down on the beach, people singing, we had a realfeeling of celebration, that this was something we should be remembering with pride, and that is absolutely the feeling you have here at arromanches on the beach, but as you say behind us we are having a dutch ceremony of remembrance. the events here in arromanches and across normandy as the day progresses will take a far more sombre approach as we remember those who fought and died on the normandy beaches. it is also worth saying, as we see pictures of the vetera ns saying, as we see pictures of the veterans and dignitaries filing out of bayeux cathedral there, that of course the town of bayeux is absolutely central, was central to the normandy battle here. bayeux was the normandy battle here. bayeux was the first city liberated in france by the allied invasion, liberated on the 7th ofjune, and it became a real hub of people coming in from the countryside for protection,

because the battle raged throughout normandy for 77 days and throughout that period many civilian lives were lost and bayeux became this hubble safety for people and it is where the war graves commission cemetery was established and why it grew in size so quickly because hospital units were established in bayeux to ca re units were established in bayeux to care for the wounded being brought in from the battlefield. of those many crosses we were speaking about their in the cemetery, many with names but many not. there are people there whose identities we will now never know. on the headstones of men we could not identify as a hunting inscription, known unto god. people will always walk amongst the graves but it is worth visiting the memorial directly on the opposite side of the road, the memorial to the missing of the normandy campaign and we commemorate more than 1800 service men and women who died during that period in normandy and have no known grave. they are all named individually to ensure that

their names also do not fade away. it is notable that on a day like today, 75 years to the day of the d—day landings, of course people come together, special events to remember, but in a town like arromanches and all along the normandy coast, there is a permanent reminder of those events. you cannot drive along the road here, walk along these beaches, without seeing the mulberry harbour is, the street names, without seeing memorials as you go. they live at here every single day. they absolutely do and it is wonderful to see so many french people coming here to remember the action is the allies took to liberate them. when the men first started to arrive here on the 6th ofjune their comrade skim back to the beaches and began burying those who had died. one of the most wonderful things i found on my research working for the war graves commission —— their comrades came back. every grave has flowers on it, and it is the local people who have

been coming to lay flowers on those graves of the men who liberated them in that spirit continues to this day. try to give me a favour. where we're standing now, here at arromanches, this place had a very special significance, where they needed to build the mulberry harbour, on the beaches to the west, to the east, men would be landing. what would be happening at this time exactly now 75 years ago, what would we have seen around us? the landings began on the american beaches, and they began at 7:25am and we had the piper playing and marking that moment, this time during the battle of normandy, they have overwhelmed the german atlantic war, the outer crust of defences on the beaches, and they are working their way inland, but also the germans are realising what is happening. the germans didn't necessarily expect an invasion here. they were taken by surprise. yes, especially as the weather on d—day was really rough and they never attempted us to

invade in rough weather. at this .75 yea rs invade in rough weather. at this .75 years ago the soldiers would have been working their way inland, encountering german stash my at this point, 75 years ago. they were encountering germans at this point. at ver—sur—mer, we can see, president trump has just arrived there, accompanied by his wife melania, and this is the big american commemorative event taking place here today. president trump will be speaking as well once again the french president, emmanuel macron. the us contribution again on that day, and they had some of the most difficult conditions to land m, most difficult conditions to land in, didn't they, max? around omaha and utah they faced some serious dangers there. yes, omaha beach has become known as bloody omaha and

thousands of americans landed there at the festival is that the tragedy was that the tanks that were meant to come ashore with them to support them never made it. they were lost at sea because of the rough weather and the infantry found themselves com pletely and the infantry found themselves completely exposed out on the wet sand. they were mown down by machine gunfire and sand. they were mown down by machine gun fire and the cemetery the president is visiting today is overlooking omaha beach and it is a remarkable place. there, the cross really do stretch out to the horizon and all the american dead at normandy where buried there or in a couple of other american cemeteries across this region. interestingly, unlike the commonwealth soldiers that americans were given the option of having their loved ones brought home to the united states. max, thank you so much? joining us this morning. max dutton, historian from the commonwealth war graves commission. more to come from arromanches throughout the day today

and of course all of these events in normandy, we will be bringing you them on bbc news today. and the event at bayeux cemetery, and later on at arromanches as well. but for now it is time for a look at the weather with simon. thank you. the weather looking much nicer there than it was 75 years ago today. much lighter winds than expected. d—day was of course delayed by 24 hours because of the weather forecast. this will continue into the afternoon elsewhere, lots of dry weather and sunshine across the uk at the moment but we have some showers affecting wales, through northern parts of england. theirs will be heavy and thundery. thundery rain across scotland, particularly in the north —— they will be heavy and thundery. 19 degrees. the showers will drift north—east overnight tonight with that rain eventually clearing away from the far north of scotland. through the night, cloud and rain start to move on from the south.

this is all linked to storm miguel, named by the spanish met service. this low pressure will move northward, turning quite nasty for many during friday. some strong winds expected in that rain will spread north. it will not reach the far north of scotland, north—west of northern ireland, until the evening, but elsewhere there will be some outbreaks of rain across southern areas is that players there will be some heavy and thundery showers to contend with and it will feel cooler as well, temperatures about 15—17dc. bye— bye.

good morning. today is the 75th anniversary of d—day. this is normandy where commemoration events are taking place all day to thank and remember all those who took part in 1944. right now, the us president donald trump, the first lady melania trump and the french president emmanuel macron are at the us war cemetery at omaha beach in colleville—sur—mer. first thing this morning at 6.26, a lone piper played to mark the exact moment when the first uk soldiers landed on the beaches.