Veterans, military personnel and visitors gathered in Normandy to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings, the Allied operation that began the liberation of Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War.

The commemorations took place on 6 June, marking 82 years since British, American and Canadian forces landed on the beaches of Normandy in one of the largest amphibious military operations in history.

A significant aspect of this year's ceremony was the addition of 98 previously omitted names to the British Normandy Memorial, located above Gold Beach.

Historical research and evidence provided by families helped identify service members whose deaths were connected to the Normandy campaign but who had not been included on the memorial because of incomplete or inaccurate records.Some of these soldiers died after being transferred to hospitals in Britain following wounds sustained in Normandy.Among those newly recognised was Cecil Green.His son, John Green, described feeling emotional after learning that his father's name had finally been inscribed on the memorial.

Veterans attending the ceremony reflected on the personal significance of the names engraved there, remembering former comrades rather than simply viewing them as historical records.Only six Normandy veterans were confirmed to attend the event, making it the smallest veteran presence since the memorial opened in 2021.

One of them, 100-year-old Kenneth Hay, emphasised that the names on the memorial represent real people whose faces and memories remain vivid to surviving veterans.

The commemorations also included French schoolchildren crossing Juno Beach, military representatives, pipe bands and the laying of wreaths by UK Defence Secretary John Healey.The British Normandy Memorial now honours 22,540 British service personnel who died during the Normandy campaign.