D-Day

What were the D-Day landings?

On the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings in German-occupied France, we explain what went on.

Eighty years since D-Day

D-Day 80: We Were There. Video, 58 minutes
Eighty years on, Rachel Burden hears the stories and memories of the UK's D-Day veterans.
Attribution
BBC Two
Available for 6 months
John McOwan: ‘We hoodwinked Hitler’ Video, 00:03:29
Posted
23 May
Joe Cattini: I saw teen soldiers crying for their mothers. Video, 00:03:13
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UK
Posted
4 June
Bill Redston: 'We knew it could have been us killed' Video, 00:03:31
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UK
Posted
21 June 2023
George Spencer: 'I had the best view of the landings' Video, 00:02:32
Posted
31 May
Ken Cooke: 'I'd never been on a boat before' Video, 00:03:03
Posted
21 May
Bill Gladden: 'I made a rather unorthodox landing' Video, 00:03:27
Attribution
Suffolk
Posted
26 April

The BBC is looking to gather first-hand accounts of World War Two. Please get in touch.

Do you or someone you know have a story to share?

Sons retrace father's D-Day landing steps. Video, 00:02:04
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Somerset
Posted
6 June 2019
'I soon realised, I was paralysed' Radio Wales Breakfast with Claire Summers. Video, 00:02:08
D-Day: 'You remember the chaps who are no longer with us'
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BBC
Posted
5 June 2019
Veterans remember D-Day landings. Video, 00:01:15
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Humberside
Posted
6 June 2019
Photos show D-Day flypast from the air
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Bristol
Posted
6 June 2019
Veterans remember D-Day landings. Video, 00:01:15
Lincolnshire veterans have traveled to France to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Attribution
BBC
Posted
6 June 2019
D-Day landings in colour
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In Pictures
Posted
6 June 2019
The role Bangor played in D-Day landings
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Northern Ireland
Posted
6 June 2019
Nazi D-Day messages revealed in tweets
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Beds, Herts & Bucks
Posted
6 June 2019
D-Day veterans reject 'heroes' praise. Video, 00:01:48
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Lancashire
Posted
6 June 2019
'I drove a D-Day tank with a broken hand' Video, 00:02:02
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Suffolk
Posted
6 June 2019
D-Day veteran: 'I'm no hero - I was lucky' Video, 00:01:11
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UK
Posted
6 June 2019
D-Day: 'I saw the dead bodies on the beach and thought, this is the real thing' Radio Wales Breakfast with Claire Summers. Audio, 00:01:55
94-year old veteran Ted Owens shares his memories of D-day on Radio Wales Breakfast.
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BBC Radio Wales
Posted
6 June 2019
D-Day: Piper marks Normandy landings. Video, 00:01:04
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UK
Posted
6 June 2019
May and Macron say 'thank you' to D-Day veterans. Video, 00:01:48
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Europe
Posted
6 June 2019
D-Day veteran, 95, parachutes into France. Video, 00:01:22
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Cambridgeshire
Posted
6 June 2019
Life in Normandy hedgerows post landing #DDay75. Steve Harris. Audio, 00:01:33
D-Day75 - American GI remembers lost colleagues in Normandy.
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BBC Radio Solent
Posted
6 June 2019
Portland resident remembers D-Day American troops #DDay75. Steve Harris. Audio, 00:02:25
D-Day 75 - Portland resident remembers cheering D-Day troops.
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BBC Radio Solent
Posted
6 June 2019
Secret diary of Dorset D-Day private #DDay75. Steve Harris. Audio, 00:02:48
D-Day 75 - Dorset regiment private kept secret D-Day diary.
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BBC Radio Solent
Posted
6 June 2019
'I don't think we were frightened' on D-Day. Video, 00:02:08
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Wales
Posted
6 June 2019
Memories of operating a D-Day landing craft #DDay75. Steve Harris. Audio, 00:02:44
D-Day 75 - Operator remembers carrying American troops from Portland to Normandy.
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BBC Radio Solent
Posted
6 June 2019
‘The Nazis were like a big rash’ Video, 00:02:14
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Europe
Posted
6 June 2019
Witness History. Broadcasting D-Day. Audio, 9 minutes
How the BBC reported the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France, 6 June 1944
Attribution
BBC World Service
Unavailable
'This will be the last D-Day anniversary' Video, 00:02:31
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Scotland
Posted
6 June 2019
How George the horse helped win the war. Video, 00:02:11
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Hampshire & Isle of Wight
Posted
6 June 2019