Ferry carrying D-Day veterans to France sets sail from Portsmouth

Ben Mitchell, PA

4 June 2024 at 4:07 am·2-min read

A ferry carrying D-Day veterans to France for the 80th anniversary commemorations has set sail from Portsmouth.

The Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel was accompanied by Royal Navy patrol vessels Trumpeter, Medusa and Basher as well as minehunter HMS Cattistock and Training Ship Royalist and a tug boat as it travelled out of Portsmouth Harbour.

The Jedburgh Pipe Band played the ferry out of the harbour and a Royal Air Force flypast circled overhead as members of the public gathered to see the veterans off as they travelled to Caen.

A Spitfire plane is packed on board the Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel as it sails from Portsmouth (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

A MoD spokesman said: “The veterans, travelling with The Spirit of Normandy Trust and the Royal British Legion, will carry with them a commemorative torch from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which will form the centrepiece of the vigil at Bayeux War Cemetery on 5 June.

“A young person will pass this symbolic torch to a veteran before they board the ferry. At 1300 (ship’s time), a wreath-laying will take place on the ferry to remember those who never made it to shore.”

The Royal British Legion (RBL) is escorting just 22 D-Day veterans to Normandy, compared with 255 who travelled to commemorate the 75th anniversary in 2019.

Another 10 are travelling with the Spirit of Normandy Trust.

A veteran waves to a Royal Air Force flypast over the Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel as it sails out of Portsmouth Harbour (Jordan Pettit/PA) — A veteran waves to a Royal Air Force plane over the Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel as it sails out of Portsmouth Harbour (Jordan Pettit/PA)

Philippa Rawlinson, RBL director of remembrance, previously said that this week’s commemorations would be the “last opportunity to host a significant number of Normandy veterans”.

About 40 veterans gathered at Southwick House, in Southwick near Portsmouth, on Monday which was used as the headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower during the build-up to the Normandy invasions.

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