GUERNSEY people were among thousands of veterans on the French coast yesterday to mark the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Chairman of the Guernsey Military Vehicle Group Russell Doherty laid a wreath on behalf of the island after the multinational ceremony at the British cemetery in Bayeux.

Bas Dodd was a DUKW amphibious vehicle driver with the Royal Army Service Corps in 1944 and also travelled to France with his family to take part in the commemoration.

‘We were very fortunate to get a pass to the ceremony in Bayeux, with about 2,000 other people,’ said Mr Doherty.

‘The veterans could not believe the response and the number there. One man told me he had not realised there were so many fellow veterans left. There were coachloads of them.’

The Queen joined French president Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister Tony Blair, US president George W. Bush and other heads of state to pay tribute to the thousands killed in battle and all the soldiers who helped liberate Europe.

‘There was some sadness, but there has also been a phenomenal atmosphere and wherever you go there are people waving and flashing their car’s lights,’ said Mr Doherty.

‘The campsite we are staying in is surrounded by military vehicles and every hotel has been booked up for years in advance.’

Mr Doherty also watched about 1,200 veterans parade though the village of Colville Montgomery and spent about an hour-and-a-half listening to people’s stories, taking photos and soaking up the atmosphere.

‘I met a commander who was one of the very first men to hit the beach. He was a lovely man and so interesting.

‘For me, just to do the parade and service was all I wanted, but it has been phenomenal. It has also been fantastic for our children, especially as there were so few who got passes to the ceremony. So many of the veterans came over to speak to them.

‘It is very important that people continue to remember this, if for no other reason than to make sure it doesn’t happen again. My children can say that they were here for the anniversary, maybe in 70 years’ time, and so it perpetuates the memory.’

The memories were particularly strong in Mr Dodd’s mind.

He returned to Normandy where he landed just before nightfall on 6 June. He attended the medal-giving ceremony yesterday morning, returning to the village of Couselles, where he was having a siesta late yesterday afternoon.

‘It has been very emotional, but he is so pleased he came over,’ said Milly Dodd, who is married to Bas’ son, Colin. His three children, Carole, Jackie and Colin, plus their spouses, all travelled and Bas and his wife, Ruby, stayed with French woman Micheline Boutin, who was a child during the war and to whose family he used to give rations.

‘He was given a trip yesterday on the DUKW craft that he landed on 60 years ago and he thought it was just wonderful; he was so excited the years just fell away from him,’ said Mrs Dodd.

‘In the village we are in now, there are surprisingly few veterans around and because there are so few, the Canadian chief of staff, General Renault, actually stopped and came over to Bas and said how much respect he had for him.

‘I have heard the most wonderful stories and it has been a wonderful experience. We are heading south for a couple for weeks now to relax.’

Local accountant Martin Wright also took his vehicle over to Normandy as part of the ceremonies and was captured by The Times newspaper as he drove his 14-year-old daughter, Eleanor, kitted out in her own battledress, along Asnelles beach in his Humber Scout car. The three-ton vehicle, complete with two roof-mounted machine guns, was featured in Friday’s edition.

‘Some 4,000 of these were built but probably no more than a dozen survive; after the war, they were used as target practice,’ he said.

Mr Wright bought the vehicle from a collector in Yorkshire and took it to the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

He estimated that he spent 10 hours working on the vehicle for every hour at the wheel, but added: ‘It’s a lot more fun than sitting in front of a computer all day or sorting out people’s tax.’

The Humber joined an estimated 2,500 other vehicles for the anniversary, with some of the largest contingents coming from Belgium and the Netherlands, where the departing armies sold off or abandoned their military vehicles by the thousand.