Troops 'stronger together', says VE Day procession leader
The soldier in charge of the military procession to mark the 80th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day has said the troops are "stronger together"Garrison Sergeant Major Andrew "Vern" Stokes of the Coldstream Guards, from Telford, said the day was about honouring the veterans who inspired him and other soldiers.A fly-past featuring the Red Arrows and 23 current and historic military aircraft is being carried out over Buckingham Palace on Monday as the Royal Family watch on.The military procession - involving more than 1,300 people, including members of the Armed Forces - made its way from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast ahead of the procession, he spoke about the Ukrainian and Nato soldiers marching alongside the British troops.GSM Stokes said: "Because 80 years ago we were stronger together and today we are stronger together and it is a reminder that allies really do matter."It is nice for them to be able to take part."The occasion commemorates the end of nearly six years of war in Europe on 8 May 1945 when Nazi German forces surrendered unconditionally to the Allies in World War Two.The senior soldier, who was also heavily involved in the funerals of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, said the veterans were VIPs.He added: "They inspired people like like me and many other soldiers, sailors and aviators that year and today is very much their day and we are are very proud to be able to honour them."
Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
20 hours ago
- Times
Teaser 3271
Uncut Diamonds Andrew was building a rhombus-shaped patio. He could have paved it with equilateral triangular slabs with 1ft edges, but he wanted a layout with a hexagonal slab in place of six triangular ones at various places. He considered two layouts that were symmetrical in two perpendicular directions: Layout 1: every triangular slab touches the perimeter of the patio in at least one point. Layout 2: each group of three adjacent hexagonal slabs encloses exactly one triangular one. The triangular and hexagonal slabs come in boxes of 12, and Andrew chose layout 1 because he would only need a third as many boxes of triangular slabs as layout 2. What length were the sides of the patio and how many slabs in total would be left over? Send your solution to: The Sunday Times Teaser 3271, PO Box 29, Colchester, Essex CO2 8GZ or email The first two correct solutions opened after next Saturday each win a £20 Waterstones voucher. Open to 18+ UK & ROI residents only. Solution to Teaser 3269 912 The winners are: J Kelly, Walsall, West Midlands; K Walne, Heighington, Lincolnshire.
Daily Record
20 hours ago
- Daily Record
Prince Harry's plan for kids' future 'makes no sense', says royal expert
A Royal expert has questioned Harry and Meghan's plan for their children's futures. The Sussex family may no longer be active as royals or carry out duties for the King Charles. But despite their controversial withdrawal from the royal family, they reportedly are open to their children playing their part in the monarchy. Sources close to the Sussexes have said that the pair do in fact want Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who just turned four, to retain their royal titles, so they will be able to choose to become working royals if they want to when they reach adulthood. It comes after the source claimed Harry and Meghan feared passports for their children were being held up due to the use of their HRH titles. It was claimed that the Sussexes were left frustrated as they waited months for British passports to arrive, and reportedly believed it was due to the fact they included their children's royal titles on the application. But former BBC royal expert Jennie Bond has questioned why Harry and Meghan appear so keen to cling onto titles for their children - even though they have previously hit out against the institution of monarchy. The expert told the Mirror: "I really don't understand why, having extricated themselves from a life they did not enjoy and in which Harry has publicly spoken of 'feeling trapped', they want to give their children the option of re-joining. It makes no sense. "Who knows what's going to happen in the future? But it's very hard to see how two children who are clearly now more American than British would want to change their whole way of life and become working members of the royal family." Archie and Lilibet were given prince and princess titles when their grandfather King Charles became monarch in 2022. The first time their titles were formally announced was after Lilibet's christening in March 2023. It is said that the passport delay caused Harry to approach the possibility of changing his family surname to Spencer in a nod to his late mother, Princess Diana. And Jennie added: "I think Harry has always been more Spencer than Windsor, so if he was ever going to change his name, it would be to Spencer. "But this would be a final nail in the coffin of his relationship with his father and his brother. It would amount to a public declaration that he no longer saw himself as part of the royal family." There has been continued controversy over the Sussexes' HRH titles since the pair quit their royal roles five years ago. As part of their Megxit negotiations with the Palace, Meghan and the Duke of Sussex agreed to stop using 'Her Royal Highness' and 'His Royal Highness' at the end of March 2020. They still retain the styles, with Harry having had his since birth, but they are essentially held in abeyance, and so are not in active use. However, earlier this year, it emerged that Meghan had used her HRH style on a gift basket sent to make-up entrepreneur Jamie Kern Lima last year, with a monogrammed card reading: 'With Compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex'. Kern Lima showed an image of the present in footage of her podcast interview with Meghan. It contained a jar of Meghan's jam which she has started selling as part of her As Ever lifestyle business brand. A source described the basket as a 'personal gift'. The duchess's representatives denied that the couple used their royal titles, but a source later said that the Sussexes did not use HRH publicly, but retained the style, and did not use it for commercial purposes. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
South Wales Guardian
a day ago
- South Wales Guardian
Veterans attend Normandy commemorations on 81st anniversary of D-Day
Along the coastline and near the D-Day landing beaches, tens of thousands of onlookers attended the commemorations, which included parachute jumps, flyovers, remembrance ceremonies, parades and historical re-enactments. Many were there to cheer the ever-dwindling number of surviving veterans in their late 90s and older. All remembered the thousands who died. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth commemorated the anniversary of the D-Day landings, in which American soldiers played a leading role, with veterans at the American cemetery overlooking the shore in the village of Colleville-sur-Mer. The June 6 1944 invasion of Nazi-occupied France used the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to breach Hitler's defences in western Europe. A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself. In the ensuing Battle of Normandy, 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded. The battle – and especially Allied bombings of French villages and cities – killed around 20,000 French civilians between June and August 1944. The exact German casualties are unknown but historians estimate between 4,000 and 9,000 men were killed, wounded or missing during the D-Day invasion alone. 'The heroism, honour and sacrifice of the Allied forces on D-Day will always resonate with the US armed forces and our allies and partners across Europe,' said Lieutenant General Jason T Hinds, deputy commander of US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. 'Let us remember those who flew and fell. Let us honour those who survived and came home to build a better world. 'Let us ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain by meeting today's challenges with the same resolve, the same clarity of purpose and the same commitment to freedom.' Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on D-Day. Of those, 73,000 were from the United States and 83,000 from Britain and Canada. Forces from several other countries were also involved, including French troops fighting with General Charles de Gaulle. The Allies faced around 50,000 German forces. More than two million Allied soldiers, sailors, pilots, medics and other people from a dozen countries were involved in the overall Operation Overlord, the battle to wrest western France from Nazi control that started on D-Day.
