Normandy veterans gather for final farewell

They gathered at the Royal British Legion in Little Common for a momentous occasion having already laid-up their standard in Langney, Eastbourne, last month.

Around 100 veterans, wives, widows, family members, and carers took part in the final parade. From now on their regular monthly meeting at the Old Comrades' club in Beach Road in Eastbourne will be social get-togethers only.

Branch secretary Ron Dunham, 86, who travelled down from Crawley, said: "I'm very sorry to say we are all finished as we are. But this is a bit more of a joyous end than just walking out of a branch meeting and saying goodbye.

"The problem is all of us are now getting older and so many of us not well enough to come to meetings these days.

"It just means the time has come to close the branch."

It's almost 66 years since Ron arrived as a 20-year-old Royal Marine at Sword Beach. It was June 6 1944, the first day of the Normandy invasion.

He came from Hayling Island on a small landing craft, and the task was to pick up troops and supplies and get them onto the shore.

Ron was there for three weeks before he was struck by shrapnel and sent home.

"It was pretty rough," he said.

"It was not easy, let's put it that way.

"We had to go in. We had our job to do. We were visible to the Germans all the time... you can't hide a landing craft anywhere, there was nowhere to hide.

"You had to push it all to the back of the mind as much as possible. There are certain things you don't wish to remember."

Chairman Ernie Frobisher, who is almost 90 and comes from Eastbourne, said of the branch: "We have been together for 17 years since the branch was born.

"We formed a very strong friendship. It has been a happy branch. There has been no disagreement, no falling out... the meetings are going to be missed.

"But it is happening all over the country bit by bit."

Ernie arrived at Sword Beach nine days after D-Day, on June 15, having left Tilbury Docks.

His abiding memory is of "confusion, and all the chaos as it appeared to be".

Don Orr of Danecourt Close attended the lunch with his wife Doreen. As a saxophonist in the band of the Dorsetshire Regiment he arrived in Normandy on June 16, 10 days after D-Day.

"It was just a job," he said.

"We had to go. If you are in the army, you follow instruction... they don't give you any choice. It is sad today because we have been together a long time now, all of us.

"It is sad to break up completely so we are going to get together for a while. But there is emotion there '“ there has got to be."

The lunch in Little Common was organised by Eric Levy, 85, of The Gorseway.

He said: "It is a big day for everybody. I am glad to see it has worked out so well. It is a memorable occasion because it is the last time we shall meet all together. But we would rather do it like this '“ we didn't want to wait until our numbers went down."

At the beginning to the celebration Eric spoke the words of the Exhortation, followed by the two-minute silence, and branch padre Canon Bob Butler shared the Normandy Prayer.

During lunch wartime tunes and songs were played, and afterwards everyone joined in the words of We'll Meet Again, Auld Lang Syne, and Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye.

For 89-year-old Frank Barber, from Eastbourne, this last meeting was about "sadness, but no regrets".

He added: "To me this is the saddest day. All the veterans here, they will always stand for comradeship. I don't think that we will ever forget. It was 65 years ago... a lot of my friends have passed away, but the branch is about remembrance and respect. To me they are all my friends and my comrades. This is a big day for all of us."