And there are your headlines on the bbc. Now on bbc news, we are looking back to june and the events to mark the 75th anniversary of the d day landings. Robert hall followed 300 veterans as they boarded a ship to return to the beaches of normandy. Its a duty to go back. It is. I feel its a duty to go back. What these men did on d day was the most important moment, just that one d day, in the whole war. In june 1944, allied forces invaded nazi occupied france, marking the beginning of the end of hitlers domination of europe. 75 years on, we follow a group of five veterans as they return to the beaches for what could be the last time. You never, neverforget it. Its there. I mean, sometimes you lay in bed and you go through it all. Well, its the last round up, isnt it . I mean, im 95, ive still got one or two more. Theyre here to pay tribute to everyone who never made it back. I hope its going to bring it home to all the people exactly what happened. Not what i did, what we did. By the man, salute hello, ken, how are you . 75 years ago, these men set sail for the normandy beaches. I was wounded on sword beach, the first wave in. Everything all right, yeah . Now, helped by the Royal British legion, 300 of them are returning to normandy. The veterans were part of one of the most ambitious military operations ever attempted d day. Newsreel boarding ship for the battle of normandy. The army group carrying out the assault is made up of british, canadian and american forces. Some of them have been back before, but never on a journey quite like this. This will be my third visit. Itll be totally different to the other two. The other two, we were just a small group of normandy veterans. But nothing as big as this one. Theyre aged between 90 and 101. For some, this will be the last time theyre able to make the trip. Did you ever go to caen . 0h, did i go to caen well, we shelled the hell out of it. We took caen on the 8th ofjuly. Itll be an amazing adventure. I kept in touch with quite a few of my comrades. Theres always quite a comradeship. Not that we ever talked a great deal about all the things we done, i dont think any of us ever did. You were doing what you were told to do and hoped everything was going to be ok. Im looking forward to meeting other veterans, certainly. When these men boarded ships and Landing Craft injunei941i, many of them had no idea what lay ahead. I wanted to go in the air force, but everybody else did, so i was given the option then of the army and navy, the royal marines, and my mother thought id look better in navy blue, so we joined the navy. Ended up as a sub lieutenant, one little gold stripe, pretending to be a gentleman as well as an officer. Newsreel part of our invasion fleet, tank Landing Craft here engaged in divisional exercises in britain. What did you think of tanks, ken . Horrible bleeding things. I wouldnt say i suffered from claustrophobia, but i was always uncomfortable inside one. Very rarely did we ever go down into the. And never ever put the lid on the top. It was the wartime, and you were simply called up, and that was it, and off you went. You said, goodbye, mum and dad, and thats it. Hes only a boy. Well, all of them were, werent they . And i was thinking, im looking at you, and that could be the last time i see you. We didnt know it was called d day then. We were simply soldiers training to do a job later on. Newsreel across the water come more Landing Craft giving us further evidence from which we may gauge the scale of operations. We were training every day, yeah, doing assault courses and whatnot. I was very fit in those days. I was called up, and i went to a training battalion. I will remember that horrible sergeant putting you through the mill and that. We were allowed, i think, one card to send home to our parents. And when i was home on leave, i said to my mother. Wed got a little dog, and i said, if i mention the dog being better, youll know that im about to go over, d day, yeah. We had plenty to carry, you know. I had two hand grenades in each trousers pocket, a magazine in my pouches. D day was the Largest Naval land and air operation ever attempted. They landed on the beaches at the beginning of the biggest, most successful, most important, triumphant operation of the war. The pushback of German Forces in france and the final collapse of germany, of course with russian help, in germany itself. What they did on d day was the critical moment where they got the foothold on the beaches, and they held that foothold. Now 95, ernest has never been back to normandy. Hes travelling there now with his son. You can read a book about everything, but when youre talking to the actual men who did it, its amazing. Ijust think its humbling in a way, what theyve been through, and theyre all modest sorts of people. They dont bang the drum about what they did, but theyve all got the medals, and that shows they were there. Ill never have another opportunity to understand first hand what it was like. Eric is here with his granddaughter michelle. I suppose its one of the few times we actually do talk to each other about this. Weve never bothered much in the past. I dont think even our families knew a great deal about it. Oh, its been an honour and a privilege. I couldnt have expected anything just as big as this. To be able to share the memories with my grandad and other veterans, yeah, its just been a real privilege. Give them a wave, dad. All those generations who knew nothing about it, what theyre going to learn from all of this. Im overwhelmed, to tell you the truth. Its lovely, isnt it . It makes you feel so proud and yet so humble at the same time. Newsreel the allied invasion of europe from the west is launched. D day, the second front and the second battle of france. I still have my service book, which says embarked 4th of june 1944. We went to southampton. Get on the ship. That had already been over once with the canadians. Well, i can remember getting wet through because we were on the open deck. We were out in the solent in a long line of ships. And being scared maybe, apprehensive certainly. It was Something Like more than 14 hours at sea. They offered us some rum, but i wouldnt take any, because i thought id better keep a clear head. There was a point where everybody had to make for. Newsreel 4000 ships and thousands of smaller craft. The gathering of the mighty armada. And what were conditions like . Do you want me to swear . They were horrendous. 0h, awful. I remember we had some small destroyers escorting us, and one minute they would be on top of a wave, and the next minute you couldnt see it. I was never so seasick in all my life the whole crew were. Everyone were a bit quiet, you know . There was a lot on their minds, i suppose. We were just wondering what was going to happen when we got over the other side. It was on the eight oclock news in the morning that some of our troops were in france, and i thought, right, jack, i know where you are now. If youd just like to turn round, sir, and try to hold onto the arms . Thank you. I could have run down there one of the highlights of the voyage is a trip to portsmouth, where some of the men originally set off for the normandy beaches. A bit emotional, i will cry when i get there, but nevertheless im looking forward to it. My old Sergeant Major would have had this organised in no time at all. Its a huge spectacle, watched by millions. World leaders havejoined the queen to recall the events of d day. But the focus is on the veterans. Im honoured to be stood here today in front of so many other veterans. You never forget your comrades, because we were all in it together. It is with humility and pleasure, on behalf of the entire country, indeed the whole free world, that i say to you all thank you. Its an unforgettable day, and after the ceremony, some veterans have a chance to tell their stories to visiting royalty. Today has been great, lovely, beautiful. I shook the president s hand, and i saw the queens head. So. very good day. The day ends with a ceremonial sendoff from the royal navy. They must think a hell of a lot of us. More than we deserve, i think. I never expected that. Seeing my grandad emotional sort of got me going, because he does deserve this, as does everybody else. But hell never get that bit. He wont know how special he is. I thought all the services were very, very good, well up to standard. I think i burst out crying once or twice. It was really touching. It was the old wartime tunes and stories, what they were saying, you know, itjust went home. And he kept saying, are you all right . You know was he getting a bit choked . Yeah, he needed a couple of tissues. Yes, i did, i couldnt help it he was all right. The ship steamed south towards the beaches that are always in the veterans thoughts. The memories of thatjune morning feel closer than ever. Well, first light and first sight of the french coast was about. I dont know, i would suspect maybe a quarter of a mile away in the half light. The first thing i saw as we approached the coast was a dead sailor floating in the sea, which was a little bit of a oh, dear. Newsreel enemy shells begin to drop among the Landing Craft closing the shore. The sea was full of life jackets and blood everywhere. It was quite a mess, because the canadians had been in front of us. It was the first wave, you see, what got shot up. Newsreel there comes the grinding of keels on shingle, and our troops spill ashore across that open stretch menaced by enemy gunfire. I was one of the first out. And they dropped the ramp, and i was on the left hand side, and as soon as i hit the water, i went down, nearly under. Ijust managed to keep my head above, and i kept walking, and it was a shallow, you see, id dropped into. And i came up the other side and managed to get into the dunes, because there were shots flying everywhere and shells still coming over. When we got onto the beach, probably four or five dead canadians on the shore. And the tide was lapping over their faces. And we couldnt do a darn thing about it. It was very sad, still very. There was a lot of fire, a lot of gunfire going on from whatever big ones. There were rocket ships out in the bay, out in the channel that were firing. I went like that, i dont know why but i did, and a piece of shrapnel hit the tin hat, so it was a good job we ducked. The beach itself hasnt changed. Thats the vision from up there going up to le havre, wherejerry used to shell us from. As a young officer, eric commanded a Landing Craft at sword beach. Well, theyre the boots i wore on d day. Theyre the ones that kept me dry. Very good boots. It makes you think a bit. Damn lucky that im able to come back here to do it, i suppose. Notjust because i survived the time, but ive managed to get to 95, which i suppose is not bad these days. There you are, mate. Are we good . We were good, werent we . We were bloody lucky we were bloody lucky, as you say d day was just the beginning. 0nce theyd fought their way off the beaches, the troops pushed forward into occupied france. Newsreel dday plus one. A widening and deepening foothold on that deadly shore. Strenuous efforts are made to penetrate inland before the full weight of resistance can be brought to bear. The germans occupied the hill, and they could see over a large area, and it was up to us to try and take it from them, and that was outside caen. Well, we took it eventually, yeah. We took it, but we lost 12,000 men. I looked up over the cornfield, it was, when i saw this tiger tank about 20 or 30 yards in front of me, and about 20 jerries each side. And i grabbed the chap next to me, because he was wounded all in the face, he couldnt see very well, and i dragged him along best way i could, to slide down this embankment, this railway embankment, and as i slid down there, thats where the ss were coming up. They fired at us but missed us. The bullets hit the ground around ourfeet, about five bullets. Thats where i was wounded and taken, you see. Ken suffered a shrapnel wound in his leg after being caught in the crossfire. He was captured by the ss and received treatment as a prisoner of war. He gave me a spinal injection, which paralysed me from the waist down, and took the shrapnel out of my leg, and he placed it in my hand, which was all blood, and he said, there you are, a souvenirfor you. And ive still got it. Not everyone was as lucky as ken. 0n d day alone, there were 10,000 casualties. Over 4000 allied servicemen were killed. The final stop on the veterans voyage is bayeux military cemetery. Well, this is really what its all about, to come here. This is where we say thank you to those that really did the work. Seeing our boys, wed been talking to them minutes before, but they were cut down with machine gun fire. It was pretty bad at that time. They fall into the water, floating face down, and we couldnt get them out. We couldnt. We couldnt help them. And that is my most abiding memory, and i cant forget it. Thank you for listening. The lords my shepherd, ill not want he makes me down to lie in pastures green, he leadeth me the quiet waters by. Theres a lot of lads there that were unlucky. Ive got to thank god that i was lucky. But its very moving when you see them. Theyre the people that did give their lives for it. Im very proud and im very sad. But ive met some of the most brilliant people. And nobodys above anybody else. Were all mates. Thank you, prime minister. Thank you. Good to see you. Thank you. I landed at sword beach. The majority of these lads here most likely saved my life. Thats why this place is so dear to me. And in this place of remembrance, thoughts turn to those who are not here. One of my best mates there, a gentleman by the name of freddie gardner. He was a great friend, and he was also a great pianist. On our way from bayeux up to belgium, we went through caen. There was a canteen in a bombed out church building, and in the corner there was a grand piano. Dust, bricks on top of it, all covered. So we cleaned this piano up, and freddie got on that piano, and i cry now because. Within ten minutes, the place was heaving. The place was heaving. 0n hearing the piano there was hundreds, the place was absolutely heaving with soldiers, they were shouting out, play so and so, play this, and freddie played it. He was a great. Sorry to lose you, fred. I was very lucky. I had some narrow escapes. I think about it every day. Its another friend. Im hoping this is an old friend. Absolutely wonderful. Captain. So young. You talk to younger people about events during the war, and they look askance at you, as if it never happened. I hope its going to bring it home to all the people exactly what happened. Not what i did, what we did. I came home and im thankful for that. And i appreciate waking up every morning just to see the sky. The lads who are the heroes are still out there. So grateful to be alive. So grateful to have survived. So sorry so many had to die. So many heroes, and there they lie. Normandy. Hello there, its quite cold at the moment across parts hello there. The early days of the new year will bring in some mild air across the uk. It will turn quite windy at times. Right now, its quite cold where weve had the clearer skies, and the earlier sunshine across parts of Northern England and indeed for scotland. Well, weve got more cloud further south. Its been an altogether different looking day across wales, much of the midlands and southern england and that cloud is moving northwards. Still maybe some pockets of light rain or drizzle mainly affecting the Channel Islands if youre out at midnight. Elsewhere, its generally dry. Quite chilly though for the north east of england and the north east of scotland, a touch of frost here. And there may be some patches of mist and fog around too, particularly across parts of yorkshire and lincolnshire. As you move into the first day of 2020, were going to find the winds picking up in the north west of the uk ahead of those weather fronts. That one there still bringing some pockets of rain in the Channel Islands, should be moving away. Elsewhere, its probably going to be dry. A lot of cloud mind you. There may be some brightness at times but the best of the sunshine i think will be towards the north east of scotland where we are more shelter from those freshening breezes. May make double figures in the north west of scotland, likewise in the south west of england where it should be a drier and brighter day than today. And were tapping into some very mild air at thats coming all the way from the azores on thursday. Thats ahead of these weather fronts here and those will bring down some rain from the north west. So, were going to find some outbreaks of rain affecting Northern Ireland into scotland, that rain can be quite heavy actually over the hills of western scotland on thursday. And this band of rain heading down towards the western side of england and wales later. Ahead of that, its dry, bright, some sunshine at times but a windy day mind you. Everywhere, weve got strong to gale force wind, but its going to be mild everywhere. Temperatures 11 12 degrees, typically. That mild weather may not last too long because as those weather fronts take any remaining rain across the uk overnight, the wind direction changes and we draw down some slightly cooler air. There still may be some cloud, may be a few spots of rain to clear away from southern england and through the Channel Islands in the morning. Elsewhere, plenty of sunshine and we pick up a few showers as you head further north. Most of those across the northern half of scotland. Quite frequent. A touch wintry over the highest ground but its not particularly cold air 7 8 degrees for the northern half of the uk. And into the weekend, well we could see some rain across the far north of scotland. Otherwise, its likely to be dry. Some sunshine at times, and still mild for the time of year. Australia deploys military aircraft and ships to help rescue people as bushfires continue to ravage large parts of the country. In the state of victoria, holidaymakers and residents took to the beach, preparing to head into the ocean as a last resort. Elsewhere, terrifying ordeals forfire crews who had to shelter inside their vehicles, surrounded by flames. Well bring you all the latest from our correspondent on the ground. Also on tonights programme. Warning flares from the us military over baghdad tonight after its embassy there was attacked by protestors. The former nissan boss carlos ghosn flees to lebanon from japan where he faces trial over charges