D-Day anniversary commemorated in Douglas

Tue, 07 Jun 2022

A service of remembrance and dedication has been held to mark the 78th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Conducted by the Mayor’s Chaplain, the Reverend Dr Michael Brydon in the presence of Her Worship the Mayor, Councillor Janet Thommeny, it was held in the gardens adjacent to Douglas Town Hall.

She was among those who laid a wreath as part of The Act of Remembrance.

A small gathering of members, officers and representatives from service organisations was headed up by President of the Normandy Veterans Association, Sir Laurence New CB CBE, who read the Ode to Remembrance close to the plaque unveiled last year in memory of Hector Duff, the sole surviving Normandy veteran in the Island until his passing in November 2019.

Hector Duff's son and daughter-in-law were present at the commemoration service and his son also laid a wreath.

Nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the US, Canada and other nations landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

The landings in Northern France were key in securing victory for the allies in World War Two and it remains the largest seaborne invasion in history.

 

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