Mark began the morning by laying a wreath at the British Memorial Service at Bayeux Cathedral and followed this by laying a second wreath at the open air Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Bayeux. In the afternoon Mark also attended a service at the American Cemetery (above Omaha Beach) and then a final ceremony further along the coast towards Utah Beach, at the US National Guard Memorial, where representatives of nine different nations who were at D-Day were in attendance.
The visit was particularly poignant for Mark as his father, Reginald Francois, served in a mine sweeper on D-Day and after sweeping the approaches to the beaches very early in the morning was re-deployed to stand off Omaha Beach (where the assaulting American troops famously had an extremely difficult task and took many casualties attempting to capture the hills above the beach).
Mark also met with his French opposite number, the Veterans Minister, Monsieur Kader Arif, to discuss the preparations for the 70th anniversary celebrations next year, which will be centered around Sword Beach (which was one of the British beaches during the invasion).
Commenting on his role in the D-Day commemorations, Mark said:
“It was a privilege for me to represent the Government in these very important commemorations. We should never forget the sacrifices that were made so that we can live in a free country – and so that other European nations could be free as well. As my dad was there 69 years ago this in some ways was also quite emotional for me, so I can understand how other families who had Veterans at D-Day would feel about this too. The 70th anniversary next year will be particularly important and I hope to be involved in the planning of all of that, to ensure it is a fitting tribute to those who did so much for their country.”