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 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.
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.
