SEVENTY years after York's Normandy veterans landed on the D-Day beaches - and with numbers steadily dwindling - their association is being wound up.

Six surviving members of the York branch of the Normandy Veterans Association held a farewell luncheon at a York hotel yesterday, attended by the Lord Mayor and many family members, friends and supporters.

But with a typical display of the fighting spirit which helped see Britain through the Second World War, they promptly decided to form a new, independent York Normandy Veterans group.

Former branch treasurer and secretary Ken Smith said they would continue to meet informally and he even hoped they would be able to head out to France again next summer to mark the 71st anniversary of the Normandy landings.

However, the group would not have charitable status and would therefore be unable to fundraise.

He told diners at the Beechwood Close Hotel that he was saddened by the closure of the association nationally but said it was explained by the reduction in numbers, from more than 30,000 members in the 1980s to 15,000 ten years ago and just 650 this year.

Mr Smith told The Press that the remaining members in the York branch were aged between 89 and 95.

He and fellow veteran Ken Cooke read out all the names of the scores of York members who have died over the years.

Mr Smith said the Normandy landings was the greatest sea-borne invasion of all time. "Had we failed, we should be under Nazi rule now," he said.

The Lord Mayor, Cllr Ian Gillies, spoke of his great pride in what the veterans had done, and said it was an 'absolute delight' to be a guest at their luncheon.

Another speaker was Cllr Brian Watson, who had the idea of giving the veterans the freedom of the city after meeting them on a number of occasions while Lord Mayor in 2008/09. He said it had been an honour to become their acquaintances and he now considered them as friends.