INVERCLYDE'S care homes were at the forefront of the commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings today. 

Residents and staff came together to remember those who had made the ultimate sacrifice and also to celebrate the freedoms won by the Allied forces on 6 June 1944.

Ninety-seven-year-old Margaret Copland, now living in Riverside Gardens in Gourock, was a teenager when the landings took place and victory over the Nazi's was finally in sight.

The former midwife who trained in the Rankin remembers growing up in the war years in Port Glasgow with German bombs raining down from the skies during the Blitz.

Margaret said: "I remember we had a shelter in our house but I wanted to see what was happening. I went to the window and a bomb came down and hit a house in Lilybank, everyone was killed.

"I also remember Canadian soldiers coming to Port Glasgow and spending time with us, skidding down the streets with us, they were all killed in the war.

"It was a terrible time, but I remember the day when it was all over."

Margaret went on to study nursing at Yorkhill and became a midwife, delivering generations of babies in the town.

She was one of the residents enjoying the party at Riverside Gardens with singer Sandra Harrison.

In Bagatelle Elvis was back, after taking Inverclyde by storm during the pandemic.

Joining in the fun was former RAF pilot David Hayes, now 90, who was a paper boy in Airdrie during the war.

Mr Hayes said: "When the war broke out , I said to my dad, why can't we send in the cowboys! My dad was a builder, he was essential and he actually built air raid shelters and buildings for the troops. He  was great man."

He settled in Greenock after marrying a local lady, is a keen accordian and used to play with the likes of Jimmy Shand.

There were lots of memories for residents in the care home as they made the most of the freedoms won by the men who fought Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

As well as Bagatelle and Riverside Gardens we had the chance to catch the action in Merino Court, Greenock, where the activity co-ordinators pulled all the stops and Kenny Wilson from the Wherries led the sing-song.

In Belleaire Care Home there was a real patrioric flavour with flags out and the music on.

There were also celebrations in Glenfield as the older generations paid tribute to the troops who landed in Normandy and began the liberation of Europe

Eastern View in Gourock also had a tribute in their garden to mark D-Day thanks to Inverclyde Council.