Speke piper to lead troops on Normandy beach in D-Day 80 ceremony

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Alex Smith will play the role of legendary Bill Millin who played the bagpipes under enemy fire in the D-Day landings

Eighty years ago, a lone bagpipe player led his battalion over sands at Normandy as Britain embarked on the biggest, most ambitious seaborne invasion in military history.

His story was immortalised in WWII history as he was portrayed in the 1962 war epic film The Longest Day. Now another young bagpipe player hopes to continue his legacy by re-enacting his famous 15km walk along Sword Beach on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landingsplaying the same traditional tunes "Highland Laddie", "The Road to the Isles" and "All The Blue Bonnets Are Over The Border".

He said: "I feel honoured. I've been around pipes and drums most of my life> My grandad was in the army and went on to be a drummer in the army band and after that he went on to teach the drums. My way of taking a break was going to band practices with my grandad. When I was six I started learning the pipes and, from then, I've not looked back."

 

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