A member of the Normandy Veterans Association views the headstones at Jerusalem Cemetery in Chouain, France, during a commemorative ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Hundreds of World War II veterans have begun commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Normandy Landings, with many crossing the Channel for what may be the last time.

More than 650 British servicemen, most aged in their 80s and 90s, have travelled to northern France for two days of official ceremonies marking D-Day and the start of the liberation of Europe from Nazi rule.

The Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, laid a wreath at Pegasus Bridge in Ranville, where British soldiers began the invasion after landing in gliders at 00.16am on June 6, 1944.

His hand-written note on the wreath says: “In ever-grateful remembrance of your service and sacrifice, Charles.”

Cyril Cook, 91, a former lieutenant with the 12th Yorkshire Parachute Battalion, was among those dropped into France on D-Day.

After speaking to Prince Charles, Cook, from Chester, said: “People often ask ‘weren’t you afraid?’ What a stupid question!

“Of course we were afraid. But it was a job and you just got on with it.”

US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron also paid tribute to the sacrifice of those who fought, during a summit of the G7 in Brussels.

Some 17,769 British soldiers who lost their lives during the invasion in 1944 are buried in Normandy.

Heads of state from 17 nations, including the Queen and Obama, will gather today for the international ceremony at Sword Beach, the easternmost of the five landing sites.

Prince Charles and Vladimir Putin will also be attending the ceremony, in a potentially awkward encounter following Charles’s recent remarks comparing the Russian President’s actions in Ukraine with those of Hitler.

US reinforcements landing on Omaha beach during the Normandy D-Day landings near Vierville sur Mer, France, on June 6, 1944. Photo: Cpt Herman Wall/US National Archives/ Reuters

The eyes of the world are focusing on Normandy for what is likely to be the last decennial anniversary involving troops who took part in the landings.

The Normandy Veterans’ Association (NVA), whose numbers have fallen to around 600 from some 15,000, has announced it will disband in November.

Denys Hunter, 90, from Romsey, Hampshire, was in Normandy for the first time since he landed with the Hertfordshire Yeomanry on Gold Beach on D-Day.

Of course we were afraid. But it was a job and you just got on with it

“It’s the last time I will ever get here,” he said. “At 90 I’ve not got much chance to come again. I suppose I did leave it a bit late. But there you are.”

One D-Day veteran yesterday recreated his arrival in Normandy 70 years ago.

Marine Commandos Tom Meehan (left) and Jonathan Bowen pose with veteran Fred Perkins, 89, after the Marines, along with their Dutch counterparts, performed a beach invasion near Southsea Common in Hampshire. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

Scotsman Jock Hutton, 89, was one of the first Allied soldiers to land in Nazi-occupied western Europe, jumping with 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion to secure Ranville, the first village liberated on D-Day.

In a tandem jump with the RAF’s Red Devils display team, he jumped from 5,000 feet on to the same drop zone.

After arriving on terra ferma, Hutton, who lives in Maidstone, Kent, joked that his only disappointment was the lack of Calvados on landing. The Stirling-born former paratrooper said: “It was very humbling and I’m highly privileged to be here.”

Meanwhile, the Queen honoured France’s war dead by laying a wreath at a national monument as her three-day state visit began.

Normandy veteran Jock Hutton, 89, 13th Lancashire Parachute Battalion (right) and Colour Sgt Michael Blanchard meet the Price of Wales following a tandem parachute drop with the Red Devils in Ranville, France. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

At the tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Queen joined France’s President François Hollande in leaving a floral tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the nation’s freedom.

A huge array of events to mark the invasion has been organised in the region. And a series of smartphone apps, GPS tours and virtual visits have been specially developed.

Tributes will not only be paid to those men who fought on June 6, 1944, but also the Normandy civilians who paid a heavy price for liberation from the Nazis.

Cracking the code to the invasion

Code names and acronyms were vital to help maintain the blanket of secrecy in the planning and build-up to the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944. Here are a few:

• D-Day: The date of the operation.

• H-Hour: The hour of the invasion.

• Bolero: The build-up to D-Day in Britain.

Documents on Operation Overlord on display before an upcoming auction of World War II artefacts at Bonhams in New York. Photo: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

• Operation Overlord: The overall invasion plan.

• Operation Neptune: The seaborne invasion.

• Mulberry: Artificial harbours towed across the Channel.

• Ham and Jam: The signal indicating the bridges at Benouville (Pegasus Bridge) and Ranville were secured by Allied forces.

• Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword: Code names for the five landing beaches in Normandy on D-Day.

What does ‘D’ in D-Day stand for?

The words ‘doom’, ‘debarkation’ and ‘deliverance’ have all been suggested as meanings for the ‘D’ in D-Day.

But the letter is derived from the word ‘day’ and means the day on which a military operation begins.

D-Day has been used for many different operations but is most closely associated with the Allied landings on Normandy’s beaches on June 6, 1944.

The day before D-Day was D-1 and the day after was D+1.

It meant that if the date for an operation changed, military planners would not have to change all the dates in their plan.

Such a thing happened for the Normandy landings D-Day, which was originally planned for June 5 1944 – but bad weather delayed it by a day.