Soldier brothers killed on the same day in Normandy remembered - 80 years on

The lives and sacrifices of two brothers killed on the same day in France during the Second World War have been remembered and honoured exactly 80 years on.

Harold and Hammond Lord were just 28 and 30 respectively. Both were killed in action in Normandy 80 years ago on Friday - June 28, 1944.

The brothers served with the same regiment - the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment - and their story is even more tragic because their father, John Lord, was killed in action in the First World War, on July 16, 1917. Their mother died before him, shortly after she gave birth to Harold, the younger brother.

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Following national commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy landings earlier this month, their relatives gathered at a war memorial on Friday for a small but poignant ceremony. Both men, who lived in Milnrow, Rochdale, were troopers with the regiment.

A short act of remembrance was held at Milnrow Memorial Park's war memorial on the anniversary on Friday. Harold Lord Junior - Hammond's son - is now 83. He attended the service with his son, Julian Lord, 52. Both live in Whitworth, Rochdale. Hammond was Julian's grandfather and Harold his great-uncle.

The regimental standard of the Royal Tank Regiment was raised in tribute to their sacrifice, and in honour of all the men from Rochdale and the regiment who lost their lives in the war.

The brothers' names are marked on the war memorial, together with their father's name. The fact that they were brothers wasn't officially recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission - and as such their story hasn't been told before.

Harold, reveals newspaper cuttings of the time, was called up at the outbreak of the war and was involved in the evacuation of Dunkirk. He was employed by a tanning company prior to his service and is believed to have lived on Kiln Lane.

His older brother Hammond, who is believed to have lived at Wildhouse Cottage, volunteered for service in November, 1939, and was also involved at Dunkirk. A member of Milnrow Workmen's Club at the time, he left a widow and a young son, Harold Jnr, who was four at the time.

The ceremony was organised on the back of research carried out by Lt Col (Retd) Gareth Davies, the historian of the Royal Tank Regiment. He said brothers losing their lives in the conflict sadly wasn't rare, but two brothers being killed in action on the same day from the same regiment was.

A total of 11 soldiers - including the Lord brothers - and one officer from 3RTR were killed during Operation Epsom on June 28, 1944.

Epsom was just one of several break-out attempts from the Normandy beachheads after the D-Day landings and was carried out to the west of the village of Caen in France. It's not known whether the Lord brothers fell as they fought together, side-by-side as brothers.

Research reveals they joined the Territorial Army, the Reserves, in the 1930s, serving with the Lancashire Fusiliers. It's thought they were both in France with the Fusiliers and were evacuated through Dunkirk earlier. Both also served in the Western Desert battles before D-Day.

Mr Lord Jnr, Hammond's son, and his son, Julian, laid a wreath and tribute at the memorial. A minute's silence was also observed.

Julian said: "We do not know much about it really. My grandmother used to talk about it but she struggled with it all her life.

"I am actually blown away that people have taken the time to come and do this. I only found out about it 10 days ago. The researchers approached my father's cousins at first. It was a lovely tribute and we are so very thankful."

The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment was a unit with the 11th Armoured Division and landed in France on June 16, 1944. Operation Epsom is said to have been one of Allied Commander General Bernard Montgomery's first attempts to break out of the D-Day landing's bridgehead to the west of Caen.

"The story of the Lord brothers, local men, is particularly tragic," read a brief eulogy read out at the service.

"Hammond was born in 1913 and Harold in 1915. Their mother died shortly afterwards and their father, John Lord, was killed serving in France on July 16, 1917. He is also commemorated on this memorial. The brother's were brought up by John Lord's father, Abraham.

"Harold was called up at the start of the war and Hammond volunteered in November, 1939. We honour their memory."

The service ended with the reading of Laurence Binyon's famous war poem, For The Fallen.

Sadly, Hammond's body wasn't recovered., but he's commemorated on the Bayeux Memorial in France.

Harold's body was recovered and he's buried at the Bayeux War Cemetery. No known photograph of the brothers exists, but both are listed on the British Normandy War Memorial.