A LETTER sent by an officer killed in the D-Day landings will be read in the PM’s tribute this week.
Capt Norman Skinner wrote to wife Gladys and their two girls while preparing to liberate Europe in World War Two.
He wrote: “My thoughts at this moment, in this lovely Saturday afternoon, are with you all now.
“I can imagine you in the garden having tea with Janey and Anne getting ready to put them to bed.
“Although I would give anything to be back with you, I have not yet had any wish at all to back down from the job we have to do.”
Capt Skinner, 38, who was with the Royal Army Service Corps, landed on Sword Beach on June 6 but died the following day.
Sixteen world leaders will hear PM Theresa May read the heartfelt note on Southsea Common at an event produced by the BBC.
Listening to her will be the Queen, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The commemorations are part of the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings which were the start of Operation Overlord.
More than 4,000 personnel will be involved in the commemorations in the UK and in France.
And 300 veterans, all aged over 90, will retrace their journey across the Channel to northern France on Wednesday evening.
Mrs May said: “I am honoured to be able to mark the 75th anniversary of the landings alongside the veterans who were there.”
