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Richard Gaisford
@richardgaisford
, 4 tweets, 3 min read Read on Twitter
Beautiful morning in #Portsmouth ahead of #DDay75 commemorations. The sacrifice of so many remembered in a service on Southsea Common. Hundreds of veterans will be joined by the Queen, @realDonaldTrump and others. Public will have to watch on screens behind security barriers.
Was an honour to meet Harold Smithard - now 94. As a 19 year old Able Seaman he was on one of the first troop carriers to arrive on the Normandy coast. He doesn’t want Presidents or Prime Ministers at today’s event - says they’ve turned it into a political stunt.
Leader of Portsmouth City Council @geraldvjuk is keen the spotlight falls on veterans and not high profile guests. He wanted the public to be able to meet and greet the veterans today. The city is hosting more #DDay75 events this week where that should be possible.
Our @GMB broadcast from Southsea Common. I know there are many wanting more on #DDay75. I promise we have significant coverage planned for Thursday and Friday from the Normandy Beaches.
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Richard Gaisford
@richardgaisford
“There was blood everywhere”. Violent late night brawl in the buffet onboard @pocruises Britannia left staff who intervened injured, as passengers used furniture and plates as weapons. Witnesses told me they were so frightened they had to hide, as family groups fought.
The violence occurred on the final leg of a week long cruise to Norway’s fjords. I became aware of trouble when officers made an emergency tannoy at 2AM for security staff to rush to the 16th floor restaurant. I went too and found passengers shocked by what they’d seen.
One witness, part of a group involved in the trouble, explained to staff that things kicked off when another passenger appeared dressed as a clown. This upset one of their party because they’d specifically booked a cruise with no fancy dress. It led to a violent confrontation.
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Richard Gaisford
@richardgaisford
Horrific crash at a modified car meet in #Stevenage has left 14 injured, some seriously. Organisers asked for no racing or anti-social behaviour at last night’s event. Two cars crashed, ploughing into spectators. I’m at the scene @GMB
Seems clear that those attending the Hertfordshire car cruise event didn’t stay static as organisers asked. Car parks show evidence of drivers doing “donuts” and stunts before the horrendous accident.
Footage posted on social media shows the accident - a car pulling out of a side turning, colliding with another being driven at speed up the road it was joining. Spectators lining the road were hit by the vehicles. Evidence of emergency first aid treatment visible today. @GMB
Read 4 tweets
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Richard Gaisford
@richardgaisford
A week of @ExtinctionR protests begins today across the UK - in Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, London and here in Bristol, where they will occupy a city centre bridge. The aim to get Govt to change #climate policy, but police are concerned about local short term effects. More @GMB
Police are expecting around 1000 @ExtinctionR protestors in #Bristol, with a large number already in the city. They promise a non-violent campaign to change climate policy, starting this morning with a mindfulness gathering in early morning sunshine.
Protestors urging the government to #actnow on #ClimateChange.
Read 3 tweets

Related threads

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Giles Udy
@GilesUdy
1/ OTD 10th June 1944, 4 days after #Dday, German SS troops on their way to Normandy entered the French village of #Oradour sur Glanes. They murdered 642 people & destroyed the village. On Gen De Gaulle's orders, it was never rebuilt. This is that story.
2/ 254 buildings, including those where the killings took place, were torched. Of the 642 dead only 52 were identifiable. 247 women & 205 children died, the youngest just a few months old. Some were just day visitors. Less than 20 people escaped. Photos from my recent visit.
3/ At 2pm on Sat 10th June 1944, responding to a wrong tip off by the collaborationist French Vichy police, lorries of German SS troops arrived in #Oradour. Two drove to either end of the village & blocked the road into it. The population were herded onto the village green.
Read 24 tweets
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Lindsay Gibson
@ls_gibson
I have conflicted feelings about the #Canadian #DDAY commemorations that took place over the last few days, and I struggle during #RemembranceDay because of increasing glorification of war, militarization, and platitudes about honour, duty, and sacrifice. /1
My family has a long history of military service in both World Wars. My great-uncle joined the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, fought at Gallipolli, and died at Beaumont-Hamel. My great-grandfather also enlisted in the RNR and survived the Great War except for a missing finger. /2
My paternal grandfather was a member of the Canadian militia in the interwar years, was a Major during WW2 and remained in Canada throughout the war at Shilo, MB and other bases where he was involved in training enlisted men headed overseas. /3
Read 15 tweets
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LockHRCUP
@QWarrior1917
Today we commemorate the 75th anniversary of #DDay – a day where more than 160,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to fight Nazi Germany. May we always remember those brave souls who made the ultimate sacrifice 75 years ago to preserve our many liberties & freedoms
#DDay75thAnniversary #DDay75 #DDay today D Day
#DDay75 #DDay75thAnniversary #DDay
Read 6 tweets
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Pagey
@thepagey
Tonight I’m at @RUSI_org attending Reflections on #DDay The Battle for Normandy. I’ll try and LT as much as I can!
First up Sir Antony Beevor. Setting the scene. First major strategic factor was failure of Hitler to destroy the Red Army in 1941 and declaration of war on the US. Story of 1942 is overstretch of Germany and Japan.
The cross channel operation owed much to the Eastern front - opening of a second front to relieve pressure on Red Army. But in mid period of the war there were no troops available in the UK to conduct an invasion.
Read 42 tweets
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Giles Udy
@GilesUdy
A #DDay Story: This is British Military cemetery at Hermanville, just inland from #SwordBeach and at the end of a quiet country lane. It was deserted & peaceful when I was there recently. Among the rows of graves, each with its own story, one drew my attention. #DDay75
Four men of the 22nd Dragoons, Royal Armoured Corps killed on #DDay 6th June 1944, but two gravestones, adjoining each other. I guessed the explanation & the 22nd's war diary tells to story of the opening moments of the battle for #SwordBeach and confirms how they died. #DDay75
The 22nd Dragoons operated flail tanks which were to clear path through the mines on #SwordBeach for troops to follow. Awakened on their landing ships a 5am, many were seasick. As the battle began, they examined the shore to see what to expect. #Dday
Read 9 tweets
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Peter Kaufman
@PeterKaufmanSOC
Beautiful
(A microburst Twitter essay--to be finished before I'm done with my cough drop)

I just had an epiphany: #beautiful has become my new favorite word. That may seem strange given my circumstances. In June 2017 I was diagnosed with incurable stage IV #lungcancer.
I naively thought that maybe my lifetime of being a health and fitness junkie would insulate me from such a medical fate. Wrong. And So here I am, fifty-one years old and not sure how much time I have left on earth. I know I could, or maybe should, feel angry, cheated, jaded.
But I don't. I have this epiphany that my new favorite word is beautiful and I'm not sure why. There is nothing beautiful about what I've gone through since my diagnosis--lots of physical and emotional distress to be sure. But yet, I keep find
Read 15 tweets

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