![Warriors return to nerve centre of D-Day](https://cdn.magzter.com/1583504377/1717460091/articles/ZvHfPoPtO1717475035678/WARRIORS-RETURN-TO-NERVE-CENTRE-OF-DDAY.jpg)
Stationed in camps along the South Coast, they were among tens of thousands of fresh-faced soldiers who knew little, if anything, about the deadly mission they were about to undertake.
D-Day saw 156,000 troops cross the Channel as part of a giant armada, storming beaches along the northern French coast as part of history's greatest military invasion.
Some 22,442 soldiers under British command were slain on June 6, 1944, and during the bloody three-month battle of Normandy that followed, heroes who sacrificed their lives in the fight for freedom.
Portsmouth was the headquarters and main departure point for military and naval units.
And yesterday veterans of the campaign mustered at Southwick House, the nerve centre of D-Day, ahead of their departure to France for this week's 80th anniversary commemorations.
Eight decades on, the band of brothers and sisters who survived through fate, fortune and sheer good luck relived the moments before the battle cry rang out and the pandemonium that followed.
Among them Peter Smoothy, 99, serving on Landing Ship Tank 215, who said: "We loaded at Gosport eight days before D-Day, with several hundred Canadian and British troops, maybe 30 Sherman tanks on the upper decks and ammunition, food and water.
This story is from the June 04, 2024 edition of Daily Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 04, 2024 edition of Daily Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![Strong bond at heart of Swiss bliss](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/PMMVMA_pn1720157930046/STRONG-BOND-AT-HEART-OF-SWISS-BLISS.jpg)
Strong bond at heart of Swiss bliss
ZUBER LAUDS LASTING UNITY
![RON OF A KIND](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/VZ6NqSmGO1720157836854/RON-OF-A-KIND.jpg)
RON OF A KIND
Mbappe hoping to end hero Cristiano's Euro title dream
![REDS OF HEAVEN](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/0aqWkv4cA1720157719894/REDS-OF-HEAVEN.jpg)
REDS OF HEAVEN
Coleman's Wales live the dream
![RALLYING CRY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/ZvJcXvSDA1720157617639/RALLYING-CRY.jpg)
RALLYING CRY
Dart goes from tears to cheers to stun Boulter
!['You'll soon find out who my boys are'](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/1fCIK18jJ1720157486735/YOULL-SOON-FIND-OUT-WHO-MY-BOYS-ARE.jpg)
'You'll soon find out who my boys are'
JAMIE WARNS ALL BLACKS
![O'BRIEN LAUDS 'MATURE' TROY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/ywBLwgIPe1720157405807/OBRIEN-LAUDS-MATURE-TROY.jpg)
O'BRIEN LAUDS 'MATURE' TROY
CITY OF TROY has \"grown up and matured\" since his Betfred Derby triumph as he tackles older opposition for the first time in tomorrow's CoralEclipse at Sandown.
![Exec branded an 'old fossil' aged 58 wins £3m payout](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/TgJYUIMX31720157299824/EXEC-BRANDED-AN-OLD-FOSSIL-AGED-58-WINS-3M-PAYOUT.jpg)
Exec branded an 'old fossil' aged 58 wins £3m payout
A MAN told by his younger boss he was an \"old fossil\" who \"did not know how to manage millennials\" has won more than £3million in an age discrimination case.
![Cardiac arrest patients face agonising 9-minute wait for a defibrillator](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/LB4kDsmYI1720157178896/CARDIAC-ARREST-PATIENTS-FACE-AGONISING-9MINUTE-WAIT-FOR-A-DEFIBRILLATOR.jpg)
Cardiac arrest patients face agonising 9-minute wait for a defibrillator
Postcode lottery over access to vital equipment
!['I just wanted to shout: I've met my daughter'](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/XBLwhuk8u1720157046152/I-JUST-WANTED-TO-SHOUT-IVE-MET-MY-DAUGHTER.jpg)
'I just wanted to shout: I've met my daughter'
Mum’s joy six decades after being forced to give up child
![Sex predator teacher given six years in jail](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/21044/1755405/_jSYNbBOL1720156928329/SEX-PREDATOR-TEACHER-GIVEN-SIX-YEARS-IN-JAIL.jpg)
Sex predator teacher given six years in jail
A TEACHER who groomed and had sex with two teenage boys, and became pregnant by one of them, has been jailed after a judge slammed her \"breathtaking arrogance\".