A group of D-Day and Normandy veterans gathered in London ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Ken Hay, Alec Penstone, Stan Ford, Henry Rice, Donald Howkins, Richard Aldred, Gilbert Clarke, John Dennett and Mervyn Kersh, aged between 98 and 103, gathered at the Union Jack Club, near Waterloo.

The nine men, along with relatives who travelled from across the UK, laughed and shared stories about the D-Day and Normandy landings.

Event organisers believe it will likely be the last time they are seen together outside the official D-Day commemorations in Portsmouth and Normandy in June.

Pupils aged between 10 and 14 from three schools in London were invited to ask three of the veterans about their experiences.

Mr Aldred, 99, who served as a tank driver and landed on Gold Beach in Normandy the day after D-Day spoke to the children about the camaraderie within his regiment.

He said: “You all stick together like glue and the main thing is ‘how soon can I have a cup of tea and a bully beef sandwich?'”

Mr Aldred recalled hearing a “god awful thump” when the gearbox of his tank was hit by enemy fire in France.

When asked what he hoped his pupils would take away from the event, Rob Ashton, a year six teacher at Norfolk House school in Muswell Hill, said: “They will remember that they’ve had the experience of meeting somebody who was there and they’ll tell their future generations.

“They’ll go back to school today telling other children ‘wow, I’ve met a veteran who was there at the war at the D-Day landing.'”

General Lord Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, addressing the gathering, said: “It’s all about the veterans, bon voyage to them!

“Let’s take the opportunity now to get to know them, to meet them, to hear their stories, to write about their stories, to film their stories, to record their stories so that this bit of living history is captured.”

The Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944 was the largest seaborne invasion in history, along with associated airborne operations, and marked the beginning of the liberation of France and Western Europe.

A series of major commemorations and events are planned across the UK and in France, with this year being the 80th anniversary.

You can find out what’s on and how you can get involved here.