RBL issues invite to Normandy veterans

To mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in June next year, the Royal British Legion (RBL) has announced plans to take 300 Normandy veterans to France on a specially chartered ship.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Dec 2018, 10:55 BST
Updated 10th Jan 2019, 10:24 BST
D-Day veteran Alan King, 95, pays his respects at the grave of a fallen comrade.D-Day veteran Alan King, 95, pays his respects at the grave of a fallen comrade.
D-Day veteran Alan King, 95, pays his respects at the grave of a fallen comrade.

The voyage will take veterans who helped liberate France during the Second World War, plus a relative or carer, to a series of commemorative events on both sides of the Channel, at no cost to them.

The journey of remembrance is being funded by the RBL’s LIBOR grant, in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence and Arena Travel.

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The vessel – the cruise ship MV Boudicca – will depart from Dover on June 2, taking in commemorative events in Portsmouth and Poole before crossing the English Channel and arriving in Normandy on June 6, exactly 75 years after the D-Day landings.

Operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, the Boudicca is named after the British warrior queen.Operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, the Boudicca is named after the British warrior queen.
Operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, the Boudicca is named after the British warrior queen.

Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in 1944 on a mission to liberate Europe.

Any local D-Day veterans interested in travelling on the ship are invited to contact the Legion for an application form, which needs to be completed and returned by February 4.

For further information log on to www.rbl.org.uk/dday75

Related topics:Royal British LegionFrance