They are a dwindling brigade of old soldiers, but the Normandy veterans - including those from Norfolk and Suffolk - cross the Channel again every year to mark the day the tide was turned against the Nazis.

Eastern Daily Press: Veterans Len Fox, seated, and David Woodrow, second right, of the Norwich and District Normandy Veterans Association at the Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYVeterans Len Fox, seated, and David Woodrow, second right, of the Norwich and District Normandy Veterans Association at the Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Copyright: Archant 2018)

When Len Fox first saw the beach at Arromanches on the morning of June 6, 1944, it was a million miles away from the gentle French seaside town it is today: it was, he said, 'sheer hell'.

'I was 19 and had never been away from home,' said Len, a member of the Norwich and District Normandy Veterans' Association, 'I didn't know if I'd live to see another day. The shore was red with blood. I was terrified, but I was one of the lucky ones. The real heroes are the lads buried in the cemeteries here. That's why I come back. For them.'

Five of the region's veterans - Jack Woods, Harry Bowdery, David Woodrow, Alan King and Len - travelled to Normandy this week to return to the beaches, cemeteries and villages of northern France where they fought and where sacrifices and memories were made.

David, Alan and Len attended services at Bayeux Cathedral and cemetery yesterday, servicemen shoulder-to-shoulder at the Royal British Legion event 74 years after the Allied forces launched a combined naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied Europe. Bayeux was the first town to be liberated from Nazi occupation following the D-Day landings.

Eastern Daily Press: Veterans Len Fox, front, and David Woodrow, second left, of the Norwich and District Normandy Veterans Association at the Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYVeterans Len Fox, front, and David Woodrow, second left, of the Norwich and District Normandy Veterans Association at the Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Copyright: Archant 2018)

The veterans later attended a service at Bayeux Cemetery which bears the names of more than 4,100 of the Commonwealth land forces, including many British, who died in the Second World War.

There are also more than 500 war graves of other nationalities, the majority German and more than 338 unidentified men who died during the conflict also rest at the cemetery.

Afterwards the veterans reunited at a special set of ceremonies in Arromanches, known to the Allies as Sword Beach in 1944, one of five invasion beaches where 156,000 Allied trrops landed in 1944.

After being applauded by crowds and thanked for their bravery, the men all took a moment to reflect on a conflict that left so many of their friends lying beneath Normandy soil: 'We come back because we need to make sure that no one ever forgets what happened,' said Jack, 'not one of those we lost can ever be forgotten.'

Eastern Daily Press: The Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYThe Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Copyright: Archant 2018)

Eastern Daily Press: Lit candles during the Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYLit candles during the Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Copyright: Archant 2018)

Eastern Daily Press: Standard bearer Joyce Cooper, from Stradbroke, during the Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYStandard bearer Joyce Cooper, from Stradbroke, during the Royal British Legion Service at Bayeux Cathedral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Copyright: Archant 2018)