REMEMBRANCE ARCHIVE
Please find below some photographs and videos from different remembrance ceremonies and veterans’ events at which I’ve sung.
Go back to main remembrance page for more info.
For more photographs and videos about Emma’s work in remembrance, see here.
The remembrance ceremony in the Pieterskerk in Leiden, the Netherlands, with the Central Royal Military Band of the Netherlands Army “Johan Willem Friso,” the Leidse Cantorij, and conductor Major Tijmen Botma.
Singing in Mierlo-Hout, the Netherlands, as part of the town’s commemorations marking seventy-five years since the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944-1945.
22nd September, 2019, Mierlo-Hout, the Netherlands
“We’ll Meet Again” at the GelreDome stadium for over 22,000 football fans and veterans from Operation Market Garden, at the Airborne football match between Vitesse and Fortuna-Sittard.
21st September, 2019, Arnhem, the Netherlands
Singing in the Eusebius Kerk, Arnhem, the Netherlands for the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, in the presence of veterans and HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Prof. Mr. Pieter van Vollenhoven.
20th September, 2019, Arnhem, the Netherlands
Singing in St. Ann’s Anglican chapel on HMNB Portsmouth, during a service of Remembrance at the Spirit of Normandy Trust’s D-Day Reunion weekend. 8th September, 2019 Portsmouth, UK.
With Royal Navy veteran Patrick Thomas at the Spirit of Normandy Trust’s D-Day Reunion weekend. 8th September, 2019 Portsmouth, UK.
“Land of Hope and Glory” with the band of HMS Nelson, sung during the Spirit of Normandy Trust’s D-Day Reunion weekend. 7th September, 2019 Portsmouth, UK.
“Roses of Picardy” with pianist Aled Maddock at Amiens Cathedral.
29th June, 2019, Picardy, France
Singing at the Ulster Tower, Northern Ireland’s national war memorial. It commemorates all those from Ulster who served in the First World War, and it is built on soil soaked by the blood of the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division: in just two days of fighting 5,500 officers and enlisted men were killed, wounded or missing on 1st and 2nd July, 1916.
1st July, 2019, France, Somme Association
“Going Home” at the Irish Memorial in Guillemont. More than 1,200 men from the 16th (Irish) Division were killed between 3rd and 9th September, 1916, fighting to liberate the small village of Guillemont and the neighbouring village of Ginchy.
1st July, 2019, France
“You’ll Never Walk Alone,” sung with the male-voice choir of Ystalyfera Welsh School and pianisit Aled Maddock at the Thiepval Memorial to the missing on the 103rd anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
1st July, 2019, France
Singing with SHAPE Band of NATO at the Thiepval Memorial. We performed “Keep the Home Fires Burning” as the VIPs shook hands with the standard bearers.
1st July, 2019, France
Emma was absolutely honoured to have been invited to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the US Mission to the EU’s Independence Day celebration in Brussels. Here she is on stage with Minister Councillor for Public Affairs Christina Tomlinson (left), Ambassador Gordon Sondland (middle), and High Representative Federica Mogherini (right).
4th June, 2019, Auto World, Brussels, Belgium.
Meeting the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles, at the Veterans’ Marquee after the D-Day commemorations in Bayeux, Normandy, France. 6th June, 2019.
Prince Charles attended the VVIPs reception at Bayeux on 6the June, 2019, after commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Emma sang for the veterans, their carers, and the VVIPs. For videos, please scroll down.
Meeting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May, at the Veterans’ Marquee after the D-Day commemorations in Bayeux, Normandy, France. 6th June, 2019.
A liberation concert with the Band of Liberation and Pipes, under conductor Simon Dubbelaar, at the magnificent castle in Bénouville, France. 6th June, 2019, Bénouville, France.
Photo: Ben Maynes
“We’ll Meet Again,” by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, with The Central Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment under Flt Lt Thomas Rodda. Following the annual remembrance ceremony in Arromanches, Emma Brown led the veterans in the song “We’ll Meet Again.” She was joined by D-Day veteran Len Fox (R.A.S.C. att. 53rd Welsh Div.). Len landed on Gold Beach on 6th June, 1944. He participated in the liberation of Bayeux. After being wounded in Tilly-sur-Seulles, he participated in the liberation of Brussels and fought in La Roche en Ardennes. In the Netherlands, he fought in Operation Market Garden and the liberation of Den Bosch. His service during the Second World War concluded with the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration Camp. He served a further two years in the army and was demobbed in 1947. Len – it was an absolute honour to sing with you and thank you for all you did. 6th June, 2019, Arromanches, France.
Each year, from 23:30 on 5th June, people gather at the statue of Major John Howard for the ‘Midnight Ceremony’ next to Pegasus Bridge. Major Howard used to hold a toast at the bridge each year. His daughter, Penny Howard-Bates, has upheld this tradition. A recording of Major Howard’s account of the glider landings is played, and a toast is raised at 00:16 – the moment when the first glider landed. 5th June, Ranville, France.
In the VVIP’s tent at Bayeux, on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. “Jerusalem” composer: Hubert Parry, poet: William Blake, The Central Band of the Royal British Legion, conductor David Coles OBE Emma Brown, mezzo-soprano. After the D-Day 75 commemorations in Bayeux cathedral and CWGC Bayeux War Cemetery, the Royal British Legion gave a reception and lunch for the veterans and VVIPs, including HRH The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prime Minister Theresa May, and the leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn. 5th June, 2019, Bayeux, Normandy, France.
In the VVIP’s tent at Bayeux, on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. “Rule, Britannia!” composer: Thomas Arne, poet: James Thomson, The Central Band of the Royal British Legion, conductor David Coles OBE, Emma Brown, mezzo-soprano. After the D-Day 75 commemorations in Bayeux cathedral and CWGC Bayeux War Cemetery, the Royal British Legion gave a reception and lunch for the veterans and VVIPs, including HRH The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prime Minister Theresa May, and the leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn. 5th June, 2019, Bayeux, Normandy, France.
In the VVIP’s tent at Bayeux, on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. “Land of Hope and Glory,” composer: Edward Elgar, poet A.C. Benson. The Central Band of the Royal British Legion, conductor David Coles OBE, Emma Brown, mezzo-soprano. After the D-Day 75 commemorations in Bayeux cathedral and CWGC Bayeux War Cemetery, the Royal British Legion gave a reception and lunch for the veterans and VVIPs, including HRH The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prime Minister Theresa May, and the leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn. 5th June, 2019, Bayeux, Normandy, France.
Singing for the unveiling of a plaque to two airmen on the existing memorial at Grangues. In the early hours of 6thJune, 1944, two Stirling planes crashed near Grangues killing 44 people. 8 survivors were captured, taken prisoner, and shot in the woods. They are commemorated on a memorial in the beautiful commune of Grangues, where, each year, people assemble to pay their respects. Emma sang ‘Amazing Grace’ and led the national anthems of the United Kingdom, Canada, and France.
On 5th June, 2019, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the Spirit of Normandy Trust arranged a commemoration in Colleville-Montgomery at the statue of Field Marshal Montgomery. During the wreath-laying, the Central Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment played “Requiem for a Soldier,” with conductor Thomas Rodda.
5th June, 2019, Colleville-Montgomery, Normandy, France.
Singing “Amazing Grace” for the late Ray Shuck. Ray landed in Normandy in a Horsa Glider on 6thJune 1944 with the 6thAirborne division and helped capture Pegasus Bridge. He was seriously wounded in Ranville and left for dead. By sheer luck, someone noticed his leg was twitching. He was sent back to England and recovered, and lived into his mid nineties. The team from D-Day revisited placed a small, wooden cross for him in the church in Ranville.
The six glider stones at the Pegasus Memorial Museum represent the six gliders which landed in the early hours of 6th June 1944. Members of the 43rd and 52nd Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry managed to capture Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge, which was vital for the D-Day landings the next morning. On 5th June, 2019, a ceremony was held at the Glider Stones to mark the 75th anniversary of Operation Deadstick. Emma sang ‘I vow to thee, my country’ and ‘Abide with me.’ A collection was taken for The Veterans’ Charity. 5th June, 2019, Ranville, Normandy, France.
A spontaneous street concert with the Band of Liberation after the Liberation Parade in Wageningen, the Netherlands. The official surrender in the Netherlands at the end of the Second World War was signed in Wageningen, so it is the centre of events on Liberation Day. 5th May, 2019, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Reichswald Forest War Cemetery is the largest CWGC cemetery in Germany. 7,494 servicemen are buried there, who perished during the Second World War. Emma sang there for British veterans on Dutch Remembrance Day. 4thMay, 2019, Reichswald Forest, Germany.
Singing on Dutch remembrance day at CWGC Oosterbeek cemetery in the Netherlands, for British veterans traveling with the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans. 4th May, 2019, Oosterbeek, the Netherlands.
A service of remembrance in Heteren, the Netherlands. On 23rd September, 1944, three British aeroplanes crashed in Heteren, the Netherlands. All twenty-one crew members died in the crash, and they are buried in the village cemetery. 4th May, 2019, Heteren, the Netherlands.
Singing during the official opening of the Garden of Peace (“Pipers’ Place”) in CWGC Faubourg d’Amiens, Arras. 9th April, 2019, Arras, France.
The dawn ceremony at the Wellington Tunnels in Arras, commemorating the Battle of Arras in 1917. 9th April, 2019, Arras, France.
“I am dreaming of the mountains of my home…” Emma sang an informal concert for the residents of the Gurkha Welfare Trust’s residential home in Pokhara, Nepal, on 18th March, 2019. The residents included veterans from the Second World War, Burma, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brunei, and other campaigns, and the widows of Gurkhas.
With Rfn Chandra Gurung, who was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese during the war in Burma.
With a Gurkha widow at the Gurkha Welfare Trust’s residential home in Pokhara, Nepal. She told us how afraid she had been that her husband would never return, and then she offered to paint Emma’s nails. The residents sang Nepalese songs and invited us to dance with them.
The residents of the Gurkha Welfare Trust’s residential home in Pokhara, Nepal. Emma sang an informal concert there on 18th March, 2019.
Psalmus VI, Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687), arranged for guitar by Robert Sinha (gutairist). Performed 16th February, 2019, in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, during the annual remembrance ceremony for Admiral De Ruyter, organised by Foundation Michiel de Ruyter. Huygens and his wife were acquaintances with the De Ruyters.
“Meeres Stille,” Op. 3 No. 2, Franz Schubert and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, arranged for guitar by Robert Sinha (guitarist). The Dutch Admiral de Ruyter led the Dutch fleet during the Anglo-Dutch wars and helped free Christian slaves.
“Sea Fever,” John Ireland and John Masefield, arranged for guitar by Robert Sinha (guitarist). Performed 16th February, 2019, in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, during the annual commemoration ceremony for Admiral De Ruyter, organised by Foundation Michiel de Ruyter.
As part of the Leiden International Military Tattoo, Emma sang in a show to mark the centenary of the armistice of the First World War in Western Europe. Whilst she sang “I’m Dreaming of Home” with K&G3, members of the Band of Liberation marched past dressed as soldiers of the First World War.
Accompanying Tosh MacDonald of Jedburgh Pipe Band on HMY Britannia. Tosh was playing the Millin-Montgomery pipes.
Piper “Bill” Millin famously played the pipes whilst marching up and down the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. He later learned that he had not been shot because the Germans had simply assumed his was insane.
Millin’s son was present at the Christmas dinner, organised by the charity D-Day Revisited.
Tuesday, 2nd December, 2018, Edinburgh, Scotland.
With veteran Oliver Coulthard on HMY Britannia. The charity D-Day Revisited, which supports veterans and their families returning to Normandy, organised a Christmas dinner for veterans, carers, and friends which was hosted by Rear Admiral Neil E. Rankin onboard HMY Britannia. Emma sang Amazing Grace before dinner and led an informal sing along at the piano.
For more information about Oliver, please follow this link.
Tuesday, 2nd December, 2018, Edinburgh, Scotland.
At the piano with veteran Ron Minton after the D-Day revisited Christmas dinner on the former royal yacht Britannia. The piano on HMY Britannia has been played by HRHs Princess Anne, Margaret, and Alexandra, as well as by Sir Noel Coward.
Please take the time to watch this short video of Mr. Minton talking about the Battle of Normandy. The charity D-Day Revisited took Mr. Minton and two other veterans to visit Chateau de la Londe to work out where they had fought.
Tuesday, 2nd December, 2018, Edinburgh, Scotland.
With veteran Patrick Thomas on HMS Britannia. Patrick was one of the few survivors of landing craft LCH185 which was sunk by a sea mine off the coast of Normandy. The vessel was found by archaeologist John Henry Philips. Emma sang at the unveiling of a memorial to the crew earlier this year.
To read more, please follow this link.
Tuesday, 2nd December, 2018, Edinburgh, Scotland.
The German war cemetery in Ysselsteyn, the Netherlands, has around 32,000 buried officersand men, many of whom are unidentified. There are also some First War War soldiers whose bodies were carried to the Netherlands by the river. Emma sang “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Handel’s Rinaldo during a humbling, dignified ceremony for Volkstrauertag. 18th November, 2018, Ysselsteyn, the Netherlands.
British veteran John Sleep presented a wooden cross to the German war cemetery in Ysselsteyn, the Netherlands. Mr. Sleep fought in Africa and Italy before landing on Sword Beach on D-Day. He was injured in 1944 in Limburg, the Netherlands, when a German tank fired a shell at him. Mr. Sleep is still grateful to the tank crew for saving his life, since he is certain they fired to injure, not to kill. The inscription on the cross reads “Peace with All Nations.” Mr. Sleep visited the German Cemetery in Ysselsteyn, the Netherlands, for the German remembrance day (Volkstrauertag), and on his request Emma was invited to sing.
To conclude her journey on remembrance weekend, Emma visited the German cemetery at Langemark with the Welsh Guards Pilgrims. 12th November, 2018, Langemark, Belgium.
Emma joined the Welsh Guards Pilgrims to visit the graves of Welsh Guards who were killed during the First World War. We visited the grave of James Thomas 3313 in CWGC Artillery Wood. Kelvyn Jenkins played the Last Post and Emma sang Abide with Me. 12th November, 2018, Artillery Wood, Belgium.
Emma was honoured to have been awarded honorary life membership to the Friends of the Tank Memorial Ypres Salient, and the position of ambassador to the memorial. She sang during a ceremony on 11th November in which soil taken from CWGC cemeteries with fallen tank crew was scattered in a garden of remembrance. 11th November, 2018, Poelkapelle, Belgium.
Photo: Gunther Verhaverbeke
Emma joined the West Yorkshire Police Band to sing in the afternoon ceremony in CWGC Tyne Cot cemetery. There are around12,000 burials at Tyne Cot, the largest British cemetery in Belgium, and over 33,000 missing service men are listed on the walls. 11th November, 2018, Tyne Cot, Belgium.
The aria “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Handel’s opera ‘Rinaldo,’ sung during the wreath-laying at the centenary of the armistice of the First World War. With the Band of the Hampshire Constabulary and conductor Simon Morgen, 11th November, 2018, CWGC Thiepval Monument to the Missing of the Somme, France.
Emma sang during the Royal British Legion’s remembrance service at the CWGC Thiepval Monument to the Missing of the Somme, a vast edifice on which over missing 72,000 officers and men are commemorated. For more information about the ceremony, please see this article in The Times newspaper. 11th November, 2018, Thiepval, France.
As part of “La Grande Veillée” (the Great Vigil), Battlefields by 4×4 lit up the graves at CWGC Houdain Lane. Houdain Lane is reached by a series of muddy farm tracks. Emma sang “O Valiant Hearts” during a late night ceremony, led by Carl Liversage. 10th November, 2018, Tilly-les-Mofflaines, France.
To honour those who would see no dawn on the armistice of the First World War, the French region of Pays d’Artois, through which the Western Front passed, lit up the graves of fallen service men and women in “La Grande Veillée” (the Great Vigil). Emma sang at the opening ceremony in CWGC Faubourg d’Amiens, and guided six children from her alma mater, Nottingham Girls High School. 10th November, 2018, Arras, France.
On 1st November, seventy four years after the liberation of the Dutch island of Walcheren, the ashes of Commando Patrick Churchill were scattered on the beach on which he landed. Emma was invited to sing Amazing Grace at his memorial, in a private ceremony. Vlissingen, the Netherlands.
At the ‘First World War Reminiscence Charity Gala’ in Charing Cross Theatre, London: a fundraising event for charities supporting veterans.
“Tell my Father,” lyrics by Frank Wildhorn, music Jack Murphy, from the musical “The American Civil War” by Gregory Boyd and Frank Wildhorn, arranged for piano by E.J.E. Brown.
28th October, 2018, London, U.K.
Singing “The Star Spangled Banner” during the US CentennialWorld War One ceremony at ABMC Flanders Fields cemetery, with SHAPE band of NATO and conductor James Bettencourt. 27th October, 2018, Waregem, Belgium.
“In Flanders Fields” by John Jacobson and Roger Emerson, arranged by Dominique Lecomte. SHAPE band of NATO and conductor James Bettencourt. Sung during the US Official World War One Centenary Ceremony at ABMC In Flanders Field American War Cemetery, 27th October, 2018, Waregem, Belgium.
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Turner van Straubenzee of the Royal Canadian Dragoons (1876-1918) was killed in the line of duty on 9th October, 2018, just over a month before the end of the First World War. Members of his family from Canada, the US, and Britain organised and attended a ceremony at his grave in CWGC Prémont British Cemetery, France.
Who are we now? His legacy… our very selves.
Hilary Walker
Each year in the pretty town of Driel, the Netherlands, a ceremony is held at the memorial to the 7th Battalion Hampshire Regiment. Forty-two service men died fighting at Driel between 23rd September and 4th October 1944 during Operation Market Garden.
The foundation Stichting Never Forget Them ensures this annual ceremony continues. Even today, seventy-four years later, the townsfolk are grateful to the regiment for the risks and sacrifices they made for the town’s liberation.
Singing in the rain during the Airborne Memorial Service at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, the Netherlands. Around 1,600 British, Commonwealth, Dutch, and Polish service men are buried in the cemetery. Each year, a service is held in English, Dutch, and Polish to commemorate the fallen. In spite of the rain, several thousand people attended including veterans of the airborne divisions. With conductor Jurgen Nab and the Royal Harmony Orchestra of Oosterbeek, 23rd September 2018.
There is a beautiful annual tradition at the Arnhem Oosterbeek war cemetery: local children lay flowers on every single grave. Before placing the flower at the tomb stone, they whisper the name of the service man who is buried there – when the name is known. 23rd September, 2018, Oosterbeek, the Netherlands
“Jerusalem,” by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848 – 1918) and William Blake (1757-1827), sung during the wreath-laying at the Airborne Ceremony at CWGC Arnhem-Oosterbeek, the Netherlands, 23rd September, 2018. Koninklijke Harmonie Oosterbeek under conductor Jurgen Nab.
The secret of happiness is freedom.
The secret of freedom is courage.
Thucydides
This citation is carved on the monument underneath the names of the five crew members of Dakota FZ626 who perished when the pilot, after the plane was shot, crash landed her into the very guns that were firing at her. The monument was unveiled at Schaarsbergen on 21st September, 2018.
Gé Bijlsma was a child of Arnhem. He was four when he was suddenly dragged into a cellar by his grandmother when the battle commenced. They stayed in hiding for over a week.
Gé kindly gave me his book “Oma, gaan we nou dood?” (‘Grandma, do you think we’re going to die?’), written by Marike Spee. Highly recommended, it is written in accessible Dutch and describes the confusion, curiosity, and distress of a young child during a war.
Renkum, the Netherlands, 21st September 2018.
Singing “Amazing Grace” during the unveiling ceremony of the Airborne Monument in Renkum, the Netherlands, commemorating the service men of the Airborne Division who fought during Operation Market Garden.
Glider Pilot Frank Ashleigh (pictured) and Parachuter Steven Morgan unveiled a monument on 21st September 2018 in Renkum, the Netherlands, to commemorate the Airborne Division . Both fought in the area in 1944, seventy-four years ago. Frank has been campaigning to give the glider operations more recognition. Almost all the troops, vehicles, arms, and supplies were brought to the Netherlands in gliders.
With Len Fox at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, the largest CWGC cemetery in Germany. It is the final resting place of around 7,500 British, Commonwealth, and Polish service men. Len landed on Gold Beach on 6th June, 1944. He fought in the liberation of Bayeux, Brussens, and s’Hertogenbosch. He was also among the liberators of the concentration camp at Belsen. He traveled to the Netherlands with the Stichting Nederland-Amerika.
Singing in Hechtel, Belgium for the Welsh Guards Association at the Sherman Tank Memorial. The Welsh Guards fought at Hechtel during the Second World War. In 1944, they helped capture ‘Joe’s Bridge,’ a wooden bridge over the Bocholt-Herentals Canal, which became a strategic point in Operation Market-Garden.
The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans was founded in 1948. The charity provides outings, entertainment, and support for veterans, and organises trips abroad to the battle fields in which veterans fought. Emma was invited to give an informal concert for a party of veterans visiting the Netherlands in early September.
United Pipers for Peace, 1918-2018, was a gathering of around 400 bagpipers in the French city of Amiens. Emma sang ‘Amazing Grace’ in Amiens Cathedral with the massed bands during a remembrance ceremony. She also participated in concerts in the town square. With Drum Major Derek Dean.
Leading the massed bands in ‘Amazing Grace’ during a remembrance ceremony in Amiens Cathedral, France, for United Pipers for Peace. With Pipe Major Tom Jamieson and Drum Major Derek Dean of the Huntley and District Pipe Band. There were around 400 pipers in the massed bands.
Singing at the memorial for the 16th(Irish) Division in Guillemont, France. The 16th(Irish) Division lost over half their men fighting for Guillemont and Ginchy. With the Rt Hon. Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the Reverent Patrick Irwin, the Royal British Legion Chaplain to Normandy.
The Ulster Tower commemorates the men of Ulster who fell in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. In particular, the 36th(Ulster) Division suffered heavy casualties. Emma sang at a ceremony on 1stJuly, 2018, organised by The Somme Association. Ulster Tower, Thiepval, France.
The CWGC memorial to the missing at Thiepval is the largest commonwealth memorial to the missing. Over 72,000 names of missing service men are inscribed on the monument. All went missing during the Battle of the Somme in 1917. Emma sang at the Royal British Legion’s ceremony on 1stJuly, 102 years after the start of the Battle of the Somme.
Singing for the Royal British Legion’s Cyclists’ arrival in Thiepval. The cyclists travelled from London to Ypres, raising over £45,000 for the Royal British Legion. Emma sang for their arrival at the CWGC memorial to the missing at Thiepval, France.
My last ceremony in Normandy this year was for the victims of the First World War. Twenty-nine young men, boys even, from the tiny and idyllic village of Grangues are remembered on a memorial next to the village church. It was poignant to commemorate them, especially with so many D-Day veterans present. Grangues, Normandy, France.
A ceremony for those killed at Grangues in a tragic mix-up, held by the memorial with the people of the village and the Taxi Veterans party. After mistaking the River Orne for the River Dives, two Stirling planes were shot down close to the castle at Grangues. Shortly afterwards, two Horsa gliders crashed in the grounds of the castle. The survivors were shot rather than taken as prisoners of war. Grangues, Normandy, France.
D-Day veteran Patrick Thomas was on landing craft LHC185 looking for survivors of HMS Swift when the landing craft was sunk by an Acoustic Mine. He saw his friend, Jack Barringer, drown. Archaeologist John Henry Philips located the landing craft, arranged for a monument to be built, and contacted the relatives of Jack Barringer to introduce them to Patrick. It was a very moving ceremony and Patrick unveiled the monument himself. Lion sur Mer, Normandy, France.
The British ceremony in Arromanches. All were invited to lay wreaths and say the names of those who they wished to commemorate. Normandy, France.
Singing during the wreath laying at CWGC Bayeux Cemetery. Normandy, France.
Singing “I vow to thee my county” during the Royal British Legion’s D-Day remembrance service at Bayeux Cathedral. Normandy, France.
Singing during the Midnight Ceremony at the bust of Major John Howard. Major Howard led the glider landings in the night of 6th June. He visited the site with his men after the war and recounted the story of the glider landings. Today, a recording of his speech is played and a toast is held to commemorate the glider crews. Bénouville, Normandy, France.
With Reginald Charles at the Mayor of Bénouville’s veterans’ dinner. Reginald served in France, Holland, and Germany during the Second World War, including the Normandy Campaign and the Battle of the Bulge. Bénouville, Normandy, France.
The ashes of Paratrooper Ronald Tucker were scattered at Merville Battery on his request. Tucker’s life was saved by a crucifix in his pocket, off which a bullet richoched. He was the last survivor from his regiment, and the last D-Day veteran from Teeside. In his own words, he was the “Last of the rear party – joining the main battalion, at last with my brothers.” Normandy, France.
In Bréville les Monts. The townsfolk visit monuments to the Highlanders, the Princess Irene Brigade (Netherlands), the 9th Parachute Battalion, and the 6th British Airborne Division before visiting the CWGC graves nestled among the civilian graves in their churchyard. Bréville les Monts, Normandy, France.
Singing for the 9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion ceremony in Gonneville en Auge. They landed around Gonneville en Auge and managed to silence the Merville Gun Battery, thus assisting the British landings at Sword Beach. Their dog, Glen, was killed in the fighting. He is buried with his handler at CWGC Ranville. Gonneville en Auge, Normandy, France.
Singing at CWGC Ranville cemetery for the veterans travelling with D-Day revisited. Ray Shuck landed in Ranville on 6th June and was shot in the head. He was given last rites in a nearby church. He was fortunate and survived his injury and woke up in England some time later. He asked a nurse “Parlez-vous Anglais?” and she replied “Of course I do, you daft bugger!” Ray returned to Ranville this year to visit his comrades in the CWGC cemetery. Ranville, Normandy, France.
