The people of Launceston came together on Thursday, June 6 at 5pm to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

The Launceston branch of The Royal British Legion led the ceremony with their chairman Mr Paul Oliver giving an eloquent monologue remembering local serviceman and troops who served during the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Wreaths were laid by Mr John Knights and Mr Dave Gordon, town mayor.

A two minute silence was observed and The Last Post was played by Mrs Ann Brown from Launceston Town Band.

The event was well attended, with several people commenting on the poignancy of the event.

A spokesman for the Launceston Royal British Legion said: “A thank you to all who attended, it was lovely to see the people of Launceston (young and old) join together to remember.

In the days leading up to June 6 1944, Launceston, like many towns in the South West, became aware that something big was happening.

No-one could fail to notice the departure of the US 29th Division, which was spread across Cornwall with Service and Construction Battalions based here at Scarne and Pennygillam.

Perhaps people were finally able to forgive them for the gun battle here in the town square of the previous year?”

The 29th Division embarked at Trebah at the beginning of June and landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day. 3533 men were killed between D-Day and the end of the war in Europe, and many of them wrote home to tell family and friends just how warmly they had been welcomed in Launceston.

Less well known was the importance of the meterological flights operating out of St Eval airfield.

It was these RAF and USAAF aircrews that provided the detailed weather forecasting that allowed General Eisenhower to make his informed decision to proceed with the invasion on June 6.

Townspeople would also have been thinking about HMS VIGILANT, a V Class destroyer, officially adopted by Launceston Town Council in October 1943.

On D-Day, she provided close-in NGS from her 4.7” guns and laying a smoke screen without which casualties among the landing force would have been even higher than the 4,414 killed and 6,000 wounded on that day alone.