15 photos as hundreds gather downtown to mark 80th anniversary of D-Day

Hundreds of people gathered in Liverpool city center to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

On this day in 1944, Allied forces invaded Normandy by sea to begin the liberation of France and Western Europe from the Nazis. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history, laying the foundation for the Allied victory in World War II.

A service was held at noon in St John’s Gardens, while wreaths were laid at the D-Day memorial stone. The Rector of Liverpool, the Reverend Canon Dr Crispin Pailing MBE attended the service in what will be a of his last public appearances as rector of the city.

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Liverpool-born D-Day veteran Joseph Carter, who served in the Royal Navy, attended the service. Mr Carter, who is 100, joined the Royal Navy in 1942 aged 18 and served on HMS Mackay on D-Day, which bombarded the Juno Beach defenses and later also manned a landing craft of tanks.

Today, at 6.30pm, the bells of the parish church in Liverpool – St Nick’s – will ring for peace. The city’s attention will then turn to the national events at 9.15pm when the beacons will be lit across the country – eight beacons will be lit on St George’s Plateau where they will remain lit for 30 minutes.

The Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Richard Kemp, said: “During the D-Day commemoration events, I will be thinking about two things. First, the crucial role Liverpool played in bringing supplies of all kinds from around the world to the Southern Front and across the Eastern Front.

“We know that if those supplies had not arrived, then Hitler would have won the war. Second, I will think very personally about the role my father played.

“I recently discovered a letter she wrote on any available paper between June 3rd 1944 and June 13th to my Liverpool-born mother who was in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. He never knew the letter would arrive or survive.

“I will read part of his letter during the events and in particular how he, an RAF LAC (leading Aircraft Man) was on one of the first ships to leave port late on June 5th to go on a range of 2.5 miles of French. coast where they provided radar information to guide the bombers, gliders and fighters that provided cover and support for the landings.

“So much has happened in the last 80 years and almost all the D-Day heroes have passed on. I believe, however, that it is vital that we continue to remember those who have risked or given their lives to defend our precious freedoms.”

The Reverend Canon Dr Crispin Pailing MBE, added: “Although it is 80 years since D-Day, the aftermath of this remarkable military operation is part of our lives today.

“We take the freedom we enjoy for granted, but it has come at a high price. In our commemoration this year, we pay tribute to the people in this city and around the world who have given so much for us, and thank them that so many have given back.”

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