A ferry carrying D-Day veterans set sail from Portsmouth, UK, to Caen, France, for the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. The Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel was accompanied by Royal Navy patrol vessels including Trumpeter, Medusa, and Basher, as well as the HMS Cattistock and Training Ship Royalist.
Crowds gathered in Portsmouth to cheer the veterans off, with some waving Union and D-Day flags from the harbor walls. An RAF A400 aircraft performed a flypast as the ferry headed out into the Solent. The Jedburgh Pipe Band played, and a commemorative torch handed over by a young person will form the centerpiece of a vigil at Bayeux War Cemetery on June 5th.
The veterans, some traveling with the Royal British Legion and the Spirit of Normandy Trust, will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony aboard the ferry at 1300 ship’s time to honor those who did not make it to shore.
Notably, this year sees a significantly smaller group of veterans making the journey compared to the 75th anniversary in 2019. This event is likely one of the last major commemorations attended by a significant number of D-Day veterans.