THE D-Day landings marked the beginning of the end for a dictator who had threatened to bring tyranny to much of the western world.

Young men died in countless numbers on the beaches of Normandy.

They gave their lives to help make the world a better place. We should never forget the sacrifice they made.

Those who survived the Normandy landings have rightly been regarded as heroes. And, for almost 65 years, they have helped keep the memories of their fallen comrades alive.

The D-Day veterans are old men now, in their 80s and 90s. Many are keen to revisit the scene of the Normandy landings for one last time, to remember those pivotal events and pay tributes to the friends and colleagues who died.

But what a pity it is that they felt the only way they could raise the money to do so was by going cap-in-hand to the public.

The cost of visiting Normandy for the 65th anniversary of the landings is about £400 per person. The Government has now belatedly pledged that it will make money available so those unable to afford the cost of the trip can take part.

But members of the York branch of the Normandy Veterans Association have already been out at Asda with their collecting tins, worried that unless they raised the money themselves, they may not be able to go.

The York branch did receive a lottery grant of £10,000, but that was not enough to meet the total cost of the trip.

Veteran Ken Smith, who landed on Gold Beach on D-Day in June 1944, said he had been staggered by the generosity of shoppers at Monks Cross. “I have never seen so many notes being handed over,” the 84-year-old said.

It is good to see that the people of York have not forgotten what these veterans of D-Day did.

And it is wonderful that even in their 80s, these indomitable old heroes still have the grit and determination to rattle a few tins for a good cause.

It is just a shame the Government could not have pledged its support a little earlier.