A TOUCHING remembrance service was staged in Little Common yesterday (June 6) to remember and pay tribute to the Fallen during the D-Day landings.
D-Day took place on June 6 1944 and was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare.
The Allies used more than 5,000 ships and landing craft to carry troops on five beaches in Normandy, and the D Day Memorial Foundation recorded a figure of 4,414 Allied personnel killed on that day.
That mark in history and ultimate sacrifice by so many should never be forgotten.
Former Mayor Lynn Langlands was honoured to join the Little Common British Legion and the Reverend John Frais of St Marks Church in a small service at the Little Common Memorial, which was dedicated to their sacrifice and our freedom.
She said: “We are still losing many men, women and children in the fight for freedom, and a world with peace might be a wish too far, but we must never give up hope and actively work towards that end”
The D-Day landings were codenamed Operation Neptune. They laid the groundwork for the liberation of France and subsequently Western Europe, leading to the Allied victory on the Western Front.
The amphibious landings were preceded by relentless aerial bombardment and then that was followed with the landing of 24,000 British, American and Canadian troops to ensure that 50 kilometres of the Normandy coast would be controlled by the Allies.
The coastline was divided into five sectors entitled Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword but on the days itself strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended destinations.
The Allied troops showed immense bravery as they came under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches and the shoreline had also been mined with wooden stakes, metal tripods and barbed wire.
The Allies failed to achieve their initial objectives on the first day of combat with Carentan, Saint-Lo and Bayeux remaining under German control.
But it was only a matter of time before the Allies ultimately triumphed, despite incurring horrendous loss of life as indeed did the German troops.
