As the 70th anniversary of D-Day approaches, Lord Ashcroft travels to Sword Beach and stands, for the first time, where his father was wounded and where so many of his comrades fell.
This Friday is being billed as the "Normandy Swan Song", when Second World War veterans, now mostly in their nineties, will visit France for the last time in significant numbers.
On June 6 1944, more than 155,000 men crossed the Channel in the greatest sea invasion in military history. Their bravery ultimately turned the course of the war in the Allies' favour.
Lord Ashcroft's father Eric was among the men from The South Lancashire Regiment who landed on Sword Beach, where they were greeted by anti-tank, mortar, machine-gun and rifle fire.
Seventy years after that horrific day, he retraces their steps using original maps and recordings.
Get the latest headlines [ Ссылка ]
Subscribe to The Telegraph [ Ссылка ]
Like us on Facebook [ Ссылка ]
Follow us on Twitter [ Ссылка ]
Follow us on Google+ [ Ссылка ]
Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Daily Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2SJhllLrYR0/maxresdefault.jpg)