They say that every picture tells a story and this is also
the case when it comes to Orange banners.
The banner in question is that of Newtownards Ex-Servicemen's
Orange Lodge. This Lodge was formed after the Second World
War of men who had served in various ways.
The old banner of the Lodge highlights this, as it portrays
the Normandy Landings on June 6, 1944. At that time 200,000
soldiers were landed on the coast of France with the aim of
pushing the German armies back.
The landing cost a lot of Allied lives, and the film Saving
Private Ryan gave some sense of the terrible conditions which
awaited soldiers as they landed on the beaches.
Among the men who took part in the D Day Landings were the
solders of the Royal Ulster Rifles, who landed both by sea
and by air, in gliders. They fought hard and well in helping
to regain territory occupied for too long by the Nazis.
The success of the Normandy Landings helped bring about victory
in Europe.
The old banner of the Lodge (pictured)gives some sense of
the scenes that took place on that 6th of June.
Behind the banner there were, of course, many stories of
individual soldiers. This year is the 60th anniversary of
the ending of the war, and many of those stories are set to
be retold as the nation looks back to brave men who helped
deliver freedom ......
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