D-Day landings: Royal Mail stamps issued to mark 75th anniversary

A new set of stamps has been issued by the Royal Mail to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

The landings marked the start of the campaign to free north-west Europe from the Nazis during World War Two.

It took place on 6 June 1944 and it was a very important moment during the war.

The 11 stamps include images of British paratroopers, who invaded France by parachuting out of planes, and soldiers wading ashore onto the beaches.

Soldiers make sure all their watches tell the same time as they prepare to parachute as part of the invasion of Normandy in France

D-Day was the start of an operation named Overlord, in which Britain, US and other allies invaded Europe to try and free people from Nazi occupation.

The start of the invasion was the largest of its kind by sea. It involved 156,000 allied troops in the first day of the operation alone.

Early on 6 June 1944, Allied airborne forces parachuted onto drop zones across northern France, followed by ground troops who landed across the five targeted beaches.

These beaches were code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, and spread across a 50-mile stretch along the coast of Normandy, France.

The beaches at Normandy were given code names - the new stamps commemorate all of the beaches where the invasion took place

Richard Palusinski, chairman of the Spirit of Normandy Trust, said: "D-Day was one of the most significant events of the 20th century and had a massive impact on world history.

"It is fitting that those who participated in securing the freedom we now enjoy should be remembered by the issue of these excellent special stamps."

The stamps are on sale from 6 June - the anniversary of when the invasion took place.