麻豆社

D-Day

The eightieth anniversary of D-Day will see me return to the coastline of northern France. Standing alongside an ever-decreasing number of veterans, we will remember the human story of war. The scale of the invasion was impressive even by modern military standards, but it is in letters home that we gain an emotional connection with those who served. In one we read:

鈥淭here is so much I mean to tell you, much of what you have heard before, but I mean it even more today. I shall always be grateful to the powers above for having been able to be with you, to have been loved by you.鈥�

Captain Norman Skinner鈥檚 letter to his wife repeats the sentiments many would communicate in the build-up to D-Day.

鈥淎lthough I would give anything to be back with you,鈥� he continued, 鈥淚 have not had any wish to back down from the job we have to do.鈥�

It was to be Norman鈥檚 last letter.

Over 150, 000 allied service personnel were engaged in land operations on D-Day. More than 130, 000 of these landed on the beaches, and nearly 10,000 were killed that day. But the numbers tell only part of the story 鈥� each letter home was received with a mix of excitement and trepidation, and for many families, it would be the way they learnt the true cost of war.

In his address to the nation on D-Day, King George the sixth described the cause as a fight 鈥榓gainst evil, and for a world in which goodness and honour may be the foundation of the life of men in every land.鈥� Words which may jar with some modern sentiments but were borne out in the full horrors of the concentration camps. The King encouraged the nation to offer up 鈥榚arnest, continuous and widespread prayer.鈥� A call which was followed by many, not least another Skinner who was to take part in the landings.

Padre Leslie Skinner was a Methodist chaplain and one of the first to set foot on the beaches of Normandy. Hundreds of Allied chaplains were to follow his lead and 21 were to lose their life over the course of the invasion. Padre Skinner put the needs of his soldiers first, placing himself in danger and ignoring orders to remain alongside the Doctor. His prayers were made through practical actions as much as the liturgy of the church. As chaplains would seek to do to this day, he busied himself tending the wounded, burying the fallen and writing to their families.

As I stand with the veterans of Normandy, we will together remember the fallen. There will be laughter as well as tears, thankfulness alongside sorrow. The future for which they fought is the future which we now live. Their challenge to us is to continue the fight against evil, to build a world in which goodness and honour is the foundation of life for all.

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