Students from Alsop High School have laid a wreath on the 80th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings. This took place at the D-Day Memorial Stone at the Merseyside Service of Celebration and Commemoration in St John’s Gardens.

Alsop students Saffia Fielding and Dylan Hughes laid a wreath on behalf of Alsop and the young people of Merseyside in the presence the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Richard Kemp, as well as the Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside Mark Blundell and the High Sheriff of Merseyside Professor John Mohin OBE DL. The service was led by the the Rector of Liverpool, The Reverend Canon, Dr Crispin Pailing MBE.

Mr James Kerfoot, Executive Principal of Alsop High School writes:

“Today in school Alsop students paused to remember D-Day and those who embarked on the journey to liberate Europe. We are honoured that two Alsop students were chosen to lay a wreath on behalf of the young people of Merseyside at Commemoration in Liverpool.”

Saffia comments:

“It has been an honour and privilege to represent the young people of Liverpool and lay a wreath in memory of those who died and suffered during the D Day landings. I was thinking about how my great grandfather, aged 19, fought on the beaches of Normandy in 1944.”

Dylan Hughes reflects:

“I was proud to lay the wreath on behalf of Alsop. The readings and the music were very moving. I hope young people do not forget that so many gave their lives for the freedom of Europe.”

During the commemoration those assembled were able to reflect on the historic D-Day manoeuvres of 6 June 1944 which started the Battle of Normandy, or Operation Overlord. D-Day remains the largest seaborne invasion ever undertaken when approximately 160,000 men crossed the Channel in a single day. It is estimated that there were 10,000 Allied casualties on D-Day.

Liverpool-born D-Day veteran Joseph Carter who served in the Royal Navy attended the service and laid a wreath.  Mr Carter, who is aged 100, joined the Royal Navy in 1942, aged 18, and was serving on HMS Mackay on D-Day which bombarded defences on Juno beach and later also crewed a tank landing craft.