A GROUP of ex-servicemen marked the 60th anniversary of D-Day by staging their final get together.

Members of the Exbury Veterans' Association were based in a New Forest village that became one of the launching pads for the Normandy invasion.

Exbury House, now part of Exbury Gardens, was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1942 and became HMS Mastodon.

The new owner, Edmund de Rothschild, was summoned back from his regiment in Scotland and given just 48 hours to clear the huge house.

Many of the landing craft that took part in D-Day left from the adjoining Beaulieu River.

On Saturday, members of the veterans' association returned to the village for a commemorative service that marked their final reunion.

The service was conducted by the Rev Reg Sweet, RN, who said: "We meet today to remember the men from many nations who sailed from this and other ports along our coast.

"We also remember those who gave their lives not only to defend their country, but in the struggle for freedom and right."

New Forest East MP Dr Julian Lewis and the New Forest's former official verderer, Maldwin Drummond, were among the VIP guests at the service. D-DAY - 60 YEARS ON: 16-pages of reports and pictures saluting the heroes of 1944 in today's Daily Echo.