SEVENTY-FIVE years may have passed, and those who survived D-Day may be fewer in number than ever, but the indelible mark left by the Normandy landings in June 1944 was evident at a memorial event in Garelochhead last Thursday.

Officers from HM Naval Base Clyde joined village residents and pupils from Garelochhead Primary at a special event for veterans organised by the recently-formed Garelochhead Station Trust, which is planning to establish a facility for veterans in the empty platform buildings at the village’s railway station.

READ MORE: Trust outlines plans to revive Garelochhead station for veterans

The community event was attended by many people who saw active military service, including the Trust’s chairman Alan Moodie, who served in the Falklands and was the compere for the event, RAF Squadron Leader Murdo MacLeod, who saw active service in the Gulf and Afghanistan, and ex Army private George McFerson, who gave a reading of Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem, The Veterans, as well as several current and former personnel from HM Naval Base Clyde.

Garelochhead Primary pupils gave poetry readings and musical recitals and were presented with prizes for a D-Day logo competition by local MSP and former Army officer Maurice Corry, while the assembled gathering sang along to three songs made famous during the war by Vera Lynn.

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