VETERANS, their families and relatives of the fallen are being invited to a D-Day 77th Anniversary event.

The Royal British Legion and the Normandy Memorial Trust have issued the invitation ahead of the commemoration event, which will take place on Sunday, June 6 at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

A spokesman for the Royal British Legion confirmed the event, which is being held for the veterans and families unable to travel to Normandy because of the covid-19 travel restrictions will also be available to watch live online.

The event will include a live broadcast of the official opening of the newly completed British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, coverage of the RBL’s annual service of Remembrance in Bayeux War Cemetery, and a Two Minute Silence at 11am.

There will also be an opportunity for Normandy veterans to have their Legion d’honneur formally presented to them by the French Ambassador to the UK.

It will be the first major commemorative event of the year at which Veterans from around the country will be invited to gather.

The Royal British Legion’s Assistant Director of Commemorative Events, Bob Gamble OBE said: “With each passing year, it is increasingly important that we remember and pay tribute to all who served and sacrificed during Operation Overlord, a major turning point of the Second World War.

"We understand how much it means to the veterans and their families to be in Normandy for these commemorations, however we are also conscious that there is still great uncertainty surrounding international travel.

"Therefore, we have taken the decision to pay tribute to this important generation in the safe and secure environment of the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

"We invite veterans who intended to travel to Normandy to join us on June 6 as we reflect on a day that changed the course of history, and celebrate the peace and freedom won by all who took part.”

The Normandy Memorial Trust’s founder, the broadcaster Nicholas Witchell, said: “It is a matter of the greatest pride to the entire Trust team to have turned the dream of so many Normandy Veterans into a reality.

"This Memorial will stand as a permanent reminder to future generations of the sacrifice made by British forces in Normandy in the summer of 1944. As one of the inscriptions on the Memorial states: ‘They died so that Europe might be free.’”

The Trust’s Normandy Veteran Patron, George Batts MBE, Leg d’Hon., said: “Only those who were there on D-Day can truly know what it was like.

"We lost a lot of our mates on those beaches. Now, at long last, Britain has a fitting Memorial to them. I should like to express my deep gratitude to all those who’ve supported the Memorial and made its construction possible.”

In June 1944, the largest seaborne invasion force in history set sail for France on a mission to liberate western Europe.

Nearly 160,000 men from Britain, the Commonwealth and North America landed on the beaches of Normandy.

This year’s commemorations will recognise this historic achievement and salute the bravery and sacrifice of all those who contributed to Operation Overlord, which ultimately led to the liberation of France and Allied victory in Europe.

The event at The Arboretum will adhere to the latest government and industry guidance on Covid-19 that is in place at the time.

As such, places must be pre-booked and will be limited, with priority given to Normandy Veterans.

The Royal British Legion and the Normandy Memorial Trust invite all who would like to attend on June 6 to register their interest via the RBL and Normandy Memorial Trust websites www.rbl.org.uk/d-day77 and www.britishnormandymemorial.org/news-story/d-day-77 by May 21.