"There were so many ships, it looked as if they were towing the Isle of Wight out to sea," reported an RAF pilot flying over the 5,000 ships of the D-Day armada. Fifty years on, the biggest military operation of the Second World War is being commemorated with seven events taking place in Portsmouth, the English Channel and Normandy over the next two days.

As well as live coverage of each occasion, the programmes will feature eye-witness stories of Normandy veterans and specially shot filmed inserts putting the events into historical context.

Today the Queen Mother, heads of states of the wartime Allies and thousands of veterans gather at Portsmouth Naval Base where bands from Britain, the United States, Canada and France commemorate the embarkation of 156,000 Allied troops on this date in 1944. Introduced by John Tusa.