South Tyneside marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday with a historic beacon lighting.
Communities across England and France came together on June 6 to commemorate the event by lighting thousands of beacons.
But activities in the Borough started at 8am, with a Proclamation read out by the Mayor on the steps of South Shields Town Hall.
An hour-long event then took place in the evening, with a beacon lighting ceremony at the Lawe Top in North Marine Park in South Shields. The beacon overlooked Littlehaven Beach which was lit with lanterns and World War II characters representing air, land, sea and other heroes who told their war stories.
Boats representing groups including the RNLI, Sea Cadets and others, formed a flotilla watching from the harbour.
D-Day, on 6 June 1944, was the largest naval, air and land operation in history. It involved many hundreds of thousands of brave men and women who had to leave their families at home, not knowing if they would ever return home.
The heroism of those who landed on the shores of the Normandy beaches represented a beacon of light for the world during a dark period of war.
1. D-Day 80th Anniversary marked in South Tyneside
Veteran Joe Mills, Chair of South Tyneside NAAFI Break, lights beacon on Littlehaven Beach. | STC Photo: South Tyneside Council
2. D-Day 80th Anniversary marked in South Tyneside
Veteran Joe Mills, Chair of South Tyneside NAAFI Break, with actors (two centre) and veteran Barry Harrison, Vice Chair of NAAFI Break, who read a tribute on Littlehaven Beach. | STC Photo: South Tyneside Council
3. D-Day 80th Anniversary marked in South Tyneside
Floatilla of boats at Littlehaven Harbour. | STC Photo: South Tyneside Council
4. South Tyneside Council Mayor Cllr Fay Cunningham and Mayoress Mrs Stella Matthewson, reading D-Day Proclamation at South Shields Town Hall.
Proclamation read out by the Mayor of South Tyneside, Councillor Fay Cunningham, on steps of South Shields Town Hall | STC Photo: South Tyneside Council