BELLS rang out, beacons were lit, and 1000’s of individuals took part in services and ceremonies commemorating the Eightieth anniversary of the D-Day landings, on 6 June 1944, which modified the course of the war.
Many travelled to Normandy to be there in person, including six choral scholars from Exeter Cathedral. They joined young members of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry and their military chaplain, on a visit organised by the Roman Catholic diocese of Bayeux-Lisieux, with which Exeter diocese has a proper link.
The group included the Revd Marisa Cockfield, from Stoke Gabriel, a former military chaplain, and the Revd Sarah Mounoury, from Sidmouth, a Royal Navy veteran. “There is an actual sense of friendship, peace, and shared hope amongst a various gathering of individuals from many countries and of many ages,” she said.
“We have been privileged to satisfy several veterans and provides thanks for his or her bravery and courage, and to hunt to share the gospel messages of affection and hope with those we meet.”
The choir took part in a commemoration on the Mémorial de Caen, on Wednesday, followed by a service of thanksgiving organised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at Bayeux Cathedral, and attended by the Princess Royal, on Wednesday, with veterans, their families, and international VIPs. On D-Day itself, the choir laid wreaths and sang an anthem on the British Cemetery.
Twelve lay clerks and choral scholars and 18 boy and girl choristers from Hereford Cathedral choir also travelled to France to participate in Wednesday’s service of thanksgiving: to offer a brief performance within the Basilica of Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux, and to sing choral evensong in L’église Saint-Pierre de Caen.
The director of music, Geraint Bowen, said: “It is an important honour for our choir to have been invited to participate within the D-Day Eightieth-anniversary commemorations. Our previous visit to Normandy in 2019, for the seventy fifth anniversary, was an unforgettable and moving experience for all involved.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury posted on X, on Thursday: “Today we remember the profound bravery and sacrifice of all those involved within the D-Day landings. We will without end be within the debt of those that risked and laid down their lives for us all. We proceed to wish for peace in Europe, for all those caught up in war, and for the ability of Christ to remodel us into those that strive for justice, peace and reconciliation.”
It was a very poignant day for the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, as the daddy of a soldier currently deployed on operational duty. But it was also considered one of thanksgiving, he said, for many who had served and currently served in His Majesty’s Armed Forces “in defence of our freedom and the looking for of peace”.
Portsmouth played a distinguished part within the commemorations. The Bishop, the Rt Revd Jonathan Frost, led a service of dedication for a proposed recent memorial in Gosport, for which the 98-year-old D-Day veteran George Carpenter, ceremonially broke the bottom.
Mr Carpenter served within the Royal Navy communications branch, and arrived at Utah Beach with United States forces on 6 June 1944. He was joined on the ceremony on Thursday by Martyn Cross, the son of one other Gosport D-Day veteran, Ron Cross, who died in 2021 on the age of 100.
“D-Day was a remarkable pinnacle of military planning and logistics, and we should always remember all those involved — men and girls, civilians and military, code breakers, engineers, and armed forces,” the Bishop said. “We also remember the crucial role that Gosport played within the preparations and embarkations ahead of D-Day, and we’re thankful for that.”
The co-founder of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), Jack Hemmings, who’s 102, was in Normandy for the anniversary. A former squadron leader, he’s believed to have turn out to be Britain’s oldest pilot to fly a Spitfire, when he took off from Biggin Hill in February.
He was there to retrace the steps of his best friend the MAF co-founder Stuart King, who died in 2020. “I often look on myself as a rarity, being a World War II survivor on the age of 102, however the camaraderie we are going to feel being together to rejoice D-Day will probably be poignant,” he said.
“Knowing all these folks have been through what I even have — and quite a bit worse — will probably be very humbling indeed. I’m immensely pleased with Stuart and the D-Day chaps, and I feel it’s a privilege to be alive today.”
In Carlisle, churches across the diocese were involved in a series of special services and beacon-lighting events. The Bishop of Penrith and Acting Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Revd Rob Saner-Haigh, said: “Like so a lot of us, I even have listened to the recollections of D-Day veterans and watched the black-and-white footage of soldiers’ preparing to storm the Normandy beaches from landing craft on D-Day and over subsequent days.
“The courage and bravado shown by all those veterans who fought for our freedom is immeasurable. We owe each considered one of them our deepest thanks, and recognise that so many paid the final word sacrifice so that we would live free. My prayers are with all those that fought for our freedom, and I also remember in prayer and gratitude those veterans who’ve been in a position to travel to France to recollect fallen comrades.”
A D-Day prayer prepared by the Archdeacon of West Cumberland, the Ven. Stewart Fyfe, was widely utilized in the diocese on Thursday: “Loving Father, whose son, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down his life that we may be free; we thanks for many who on D-Day offered their lives for our freedom. We pray today for all who still bear the injuries of war. As we honour the fallen, we pray for many who love them in death as in life. We ask for the courage to contend today for all that is sweet, noble, and true, and for the grace to live by your words, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be children of God.’ Through Jesus Christ, our Saviour, Amen.”
There were many symbols of peace within the commemorations. The Dean of St Patrick’s Anglican Cathedral, Armagh, the Very Revd Shane Forster, reminded the congregation that D-Day was the biggest naval, air, and land operation in history. “As we recall to mind the events of 6 June 1944, may we recommit ourselves to the explanation for peace and justice for which so many fought and died, and by the grace of God, prove us worthy of their sacrifice every day of our lives,” he said.
A piper playing a lament preceded members of the Combined Cadet Force and the Army Cadet Force, who carried the D-Day 80 Lamp Light of Peace, a ruby-red oil lantern, through the cathedral and placed it within the sanctuary. The flame represented the sunshine of peace that emerged from the darkness of war, and the lamp itself was colored red to represent the final word sacrifice made on the beaches of Normandy, and elsewhere throughout the Second World War. A beacon was lit within the grounds of the cathedral.
Bells in 330 churches in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland rang out for peace at 6.30 p.m. on Thursday, or at their very own appointed time. They included the bells of Great Malvern Priory, the oldest complete set of bells forged together, in 1673, and the bell at Holy Ascension, Littleworth, in Oxfordshire, which was rung 80 times by 12-year-old Kit Margey.
