THEY were the torchbearers of liberation - the air and seaborne forces who landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

It is a day that will be remembered for as long as there are history books.

The day when more than 150,000 Allied troops stormed the Normandy beaches supported by a further quarter of a million airmen and naval personnel.

Like dozens of British men, Citizen reporter Jane Willis' father Alfred John was one of those soldiers who landed on the shores of northern France for what became known as D-Day.

More than 7,000 ships, 11,000 aircraft and three million fighting men took part in the liberation of Nazi-occupied France in what General Dwight Eisenhower called 'the great crusade'.

Hurricane-force winds and violent seas forced Eisenhower to postpone the mass attacks by 24 hours.

With the weather conditions still treacherous, but another delay out of question, the Supreme Allied Commander took his toughest decision - and the Longest Day began.

The surprise Allied invasion began soon after midnight with intensive sea and air attacks to secure the east and west areas of the five landing beaches.

To the west, American troops dropped on the Cotentin peninsula, while to the east British airmen landed by parachute and glider.

A strike force commanded by Major John Howard captured Pagasus Bridge over the Orne Canal and adjacent to Gondree Cafe - the first building in France to be liberated.

Meanwhile, at sea, thousands of troops were suffering from sea-sickness as their flat bottomed landing craft rolled violently on the choppy waters.

As dawn broke, they began to storm the 35 miles of landing beaches. Ahead lay Hitler's Atlantic Wall defences of barbed wire, trucks and men and a variety of lethal mines.

By the end of the day, all five beachheads were secure at a cost of 10,000 killed, injured or missing, and the greatest combined military operation of all time was a success.

If you have memories of Preston and Leyland past, call us on (01772) 255523 or write to us at 3 Winckley Square, Chapel Street, Preston, PR1 3JJ.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.