D-Day 80: RECAP: Spectacular evening drone lightshow rounds off Portsmouth's commemoration events

The city played a pivotal role in the planning and preparation of the D-Day landings.

Large swathes of southern England were turned into a huge army camp by the spring of 1944, with Southsea seafront being declared a restricted zone on April 1.

The Normandy Landings turned the tide of the war for the Allied Forces, halting the advances of Nazi Germany. A deep-dive into Portsmouth’s links to D-Day can be found in the story below:

Portsmouth is at the centre of commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings.

Royal family members, politicians, military personnel, veterans and other special guests will be attending to pay their respects.

A programme will be broadcasted around the world, with several key events planned. This includes a Red Arrows flypast and the D-Day drone lightshow off of Southsea Common.

Being the home of the Royal Navy, the south coast and Portsmouth found itself right in the centre of the efforts to turn the tide in favour of the allied forces.

We will update you with the latest updates from the memorial service itself as the day progresses.

One of the main parts of the ceremony will be a lightshow using drones. Two practice runs were carried out on the night of June 3.

Details regarding timings can be found here.

A countryside house tucked away in Hampshire was the home of where planning for one of the most pivotal moments of the Second World War took place.

Southwick House was the headquarters of Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower. Operation Overlord was planned from the location, which turned the tide of the war for the Armed Forces.

Further details can be found here:

A spectacular flypast is planned from the world famous RAF aerobatics team.

Timings for the display can be found in the story below:

The News has compiled a selection of fascinating wartime images which showed Portsmouth’s role in D-Day.

The gallery can be found below:

A 100-year-old veteran said D-Day should “never, ever be forgotten,” as the nation prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

Lance Corporal Cyril “Lou” Bird was just 20 years old and a tank driver in the 5th Royal Tank Regiment when he landed on Gold Beach at about midday on June 6 1944.

He said that by contributing to the defeat of Nazi Germany the landings had helped bring peace to Europe.

“I hope that persists, and if we did that, if it really is persistent, we did a wonderful job, the war was worthwhile,” he said.

Recalling his experience of the invasion, the former tank driver described how “peculiar” it was that the fear he felt before going into action disappeared once the battle started.

“Going, I was frightened to death. When it started, when the fighting started, I wasn’t scared at all. It was a peculiar time. It’s so difficult to describe.

“It’s just very difficult to describe being faced with death, so closely faced with death. And I didn’t get a scratch.”

Veterans of the Normandy landings have given their thoughts ahead of the commemorations.

Former Royals Corps of Signals Lance Corporal Eric Suchland, 100, who landed on Sword Beach on D-Day. He said: “There was a lot of noise, gunfire, lots of German aircraft strafing us all the time. But I wasn’t frightened, it just didn’t register, to be honest, we didn’t know what we were getting into and just had to get on with our jobs.”

Marie Scott, 97, recalls tuning into the radio system as a 17-year-old switchboard operator. He said: “To my great astonishment, I realised the signaller was on the beaches of Normandy because then I really heard the sounds of war. I could hear rapid machine gun fire, cannon fire, bombs, aircraft, men shouting orders, men screaming. It was the cacophony of war and it really was terrifying.”

George Chandler, 99, who was deployed to Omaha Beach during the Normandy landings, urges schoolchildren to ensure their generation learns from the horrors of the Second World War. He said: “Let me tell you something about war: nobody ever wins a war – one side gives in and that doesn’t mean to say you’ve won a war if the other side has decided they’ve had enough. So let me ask you sincerely to make sure that you, all of you, don’t make the same mistakes that we made in going to war because there’s nothing grand or what have you about war.”

Richard Aldred, 99, telling schoolchildren his memories as a tank driver who landed on Gold Beach the day after D-Day. “You all stick together like glue and the main thing is, ‘how soon can I have a cup of tea and a bully beef sandwich?”

Special guests and the general public are starting to flock to Southsea Common.

Former military personnel have given their thoughts on the upcoming commemorations.

Stan Ford, 98, who served on HMS Fratton escorting other ships, tells school pupils there were lighter-hearted moments during the war. He said: “There was a time when the refrigeration system broke down so we were told to eat as much meat as we could. I remember eating a whole shoulder of lamb to myself.”

George Horner, 97, a member of G company of the Royal Ulster Rifles, who landed on Sword Beach on D-Day. “I got shot in the foot by one of my mates. I was raging. He was a loose cannon, a headcase. He was holding his rifle and he hadn’t the safety catch on and the bullet hit my foot. I won’t tell you what language I used at the time. We did remain good friends though.”

Former Royal Army Ordnance Corps technical clerk Mervyn Kersh, 99, who arrived in Normandy aged 19 in June 1944, calls on the UK to be stronger against Russia. He said: “I just wish the gains we made would have lasted longer than my lifetime because we’re going through the same ground again, and at this time it’s Russia that is the Germany of today, an aggressor.”

Royal Navy veteran John Dennett, 99, recalls the sight of ships sailing towards Normandy. He said: “There was that many ships, you thought, ‘well what’s going to happen?’ You had to see it to believe it. I saw a picture of it again yesterday and it’s unbelievable. We thought nothing can happen to us, there’s too many of us.”

Jamaican veteran Gilbert Clarke, 98, who lied to join the RAF at 16 after reading newspaper reports of ships being sighted in the Caribbean, said: “Everyone was doing their bit, you know. It was important not to do nothing because Hitler… there was word in the Caribbean saying any time he could be colonising the Caribbean and South America, and so we had to do something.”

Here is a sneak peak from inside the event itself. D-Day imagery is taking centre stage as the guests arrive.

Portsmouth residents have been sharing their thoughts ahead of the D-Day commemorations in Portsmouth today

The D-Day 80 anniversary events will officially commence in just over an hour’s time - and Southsea Common looks phenomenal as it starts to take shape.

Guests are beginning to take their seats ahead of the 11am commemorations

The first event has begin with a flypast of two aircraft and music on the stage.

Dame Helen Mirren is now on the stage to begin proceedings

Prince William has been escorted to his seat