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29 October 2014
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D-Day on the 91热爆
Simon Weston presents Weston's Warriors

D-Day on the 91热爆




Nations and Regions Radio & Television


All parts of the UK are involved in the D-Day celebrations.

Many 91热爆 Local Radio stations are commemorating the anniversary with broadcasts from France and wartime-style entertainment, while television specials have been commissioned in Northern Ireland and Wales, the latter featuring Falklands veteran Simon Weston.


We Fought On D-Day (91热爆 Northern Ireland)

Using rare archive footage and stunning eye-witness interviews, this documentary recounts the previously untold stories of the local men from Northern Ireland who fought for the beaches, towns and villages of Normandy on 6 June 1944.

The Royal Ulster Rifles was the only Regiment in the Allied Forces to have two battalions serve on D-Day; one airborne and the other by sea.

The film reveals the vital role that Northern Irish servicemen played in D-Day, as they landed on Sword beach then experienced heavy German resistance as they liberated several villages in their push towards the city of Caen.

Central to the film are interviews with veterans of the Royal Ulster Rifles, such as Bill McConnell, who, as a fresh-faced teenager flew into battle in a glider; and Stanley Burrows who fought and was badly wounded in the battle for Cambes Woods.

The programme is directed by Brian Henry Martin and produced by Diarmuid Lavery, DoubleBand Films, for 91热爆 Northern Ireland.


Weston's Warriors (91热爆 ONE Wales)

Falklands veteran Simon Weston 聳 no stranger to the horrors of war 聳 follows six members of the 'Welsh Band of Brothers', the Royal Welch Fusiliers, as they return to France, Belgium, Holland and Germany to retrace the route they took from Normandy to Hamburg in 1944/45.

From the fierce battles in the bocages of the French countryside to the staunch German resistance around the Pas de Calais; from liberation celebrations in Holland to the Battle of the Bulge; from the West Wall to victory and peace, their tale is the story of the campaign in northern Europe.

"Two hundred and fifty five men died throughout the whole of the Falklands campaign," says Simon.

"One hundred and twenty Royal Welch Fusiliers lost their lives in the first two nights of battle in France.

"In the campaign to liberate Europe, nearly 1,500 men from the regiment were killed and nearly 9,000 were injured or listed as missing.

"We must never forget those who never saw home again.

"I think the journey for the veterans was at times poignant, at times emotional, at times sad. It was a special journey because their story has never been told before.

"I just hope we have done them justice because they were heroes." (DC)

Look North, 91热爆 North East & Cumbria

Veterans of the D-Day landings from the North East of England and Cumbria travel to France with Look North to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

In the week before Sunday 6 June, Look North broadcasts a series of five interviews (one per evening on the nightly weekday news magazine programme) with old soldiers reminiscing on the D-Day landings.

Senior reporter Keith Akehurst travels to Normandy on the weekend of the 60th anniversary with some of the veterans to record the ceremonies in France.

His reports can be seen on Look North on Monday 7 June and heard on 91热爆 Radios Cleveland, Cumbria and Newcastle. (MC)

South and South East

91热爆 South Today broadcasts live from various locations in Normandy throughout the week leading up to the anniversary and beyond.

Its main presenter Sally Taylor will be in France, fronting specials into the main evening news programme, reflecting the huge impact D-Day had on the south of England; the part played by those from the region; and the on-going and strong relationships that exist between towns and cities in England and Normandy.

Cameras will also be present at the march past of veterans in Southsea near Portsmouth.

91热爆 South East Today has a week-long build-up to output with one-minute personal stories.

It broadcasts from France on Friday and covers activity all weekend with a round-up of Remembrance on Monday.

Robin Gibson fronts the coverage. Highlights include a father taking his son to France for the first time and a veteran telling his story to a 16-year-old - connecting the past with the present.

Through 91热爆 South East Online's Wish You Well viewers can send their messages to British veterans in France.

The messages will be bound and presented to them at the D-Day celebrations.

Radio Kent offers one personal account of D-Day each day in Good Morning Kent during the week leading up to 6 June, and there are plans for a live phone link-up on the Friday from the ferry to France.

The Drive programme comes live from Arromanches, Normandy, on Friday 4 June, between 4.30 and 6.00pm.


A documentary tells the story of D-Day and the Normandy campaign through the personal accounts of more than 50 veterans, plus music and archive news audio from the time.

Jonathan Witchell's afternoon show, between 2.00 and 6.00pm, is totally focused on D-Day, with studio guests including historian and author Richard Windrow, and Field Marshall Erwin Rommel's son, Manfred.


West and East Midlands

91热爆 WM's Community Ambassador, Carl Chinn, is going to Normandy for the anniversary.

Carl reports for programmes across the weekend and presents his Sunday show (2.00-4.00pm) live from Normandy.

The Shane O'Connor show on 91热爆 Radio Derby is being transported back to June 1944 for the sounds, news bulletins, food and events of the time.

The station continues to follow the World War Two diary of Derby's Percy Richardson and his sweetheart, Betty.

91热爆 Hereford & Worcester is following veterans from the two counties as the station marks the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings and reports live on the moving ceremonies and events.

91热爆 Midlands Today's Nick Owen is in Normandy on the Friday before the big D-Day weekend.

The programme also has a series of World War Two digital style storytelling features produced and voiced by the veterans themselves, after a series of workshops in Wolverhampton.



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