To mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Camborne Redruth Community Hospital has sent a special poppy wreath on a journey from Cornwall to France.

The wreath, which began its journey on Armed Forces Day in Falmouth last year, will finish its tour in Normandy where it will join seven other similar wreaths from across the UK, NATO, and Commonwealth countries.

Iain Henderson, trustee of The Veterans Charity, said: "Cornwall is packed with its own, often hidden history of the build-up to D-D-Day.

"Some are obvious but perhaps overlooked.

"You can still see the ramps in Falmouth and Trebah Gardens where the landing craft were loaded, whereas there are very few signs of the huge D-Day storage areas around Shortlanesend.

"We need to keep remembrance alive before the history is lost.

"This wreath visiting groups and venues hopefully plays its part in this endeavour."

Citing his uncle's D-Day experience, he shared: "My own uncle landed on D-Day.

"This wreath will take a trip down the canal to Pegasus Bridge, which is exactly what he did shortly after D-Day.

"As they passed the bridge, they came under heavy machine gun fire and had to return to the safety of Allied lines.

"Thankfully, my uncle survived, however, we should remember the many amazing stories and individuals of D-Day and other campaigns."

The arrival of the wreath at Camborne Redruth was also marked as part of the celebrations to acknowledge the hospital achieving 'Veteran Aware' status.

The Veteran Aware status is given out by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance to sites proving their capacity to offer comprehensive care services for the local Armed Forces community.

Access to specific veterans' health services, including mental health, hearing loss, limb amputation and wheelchairs, are among the benefits it brings.

Turning into the second hospital within the Trust to receive the accolade, a special plaque was unveiled by Debbie Richards, chief executive, and Sue Greenwood, matron.

Mrs Greenwood said: "We are immensely proud of our ongoing work to ensure we recognise veterans, their families and our staff who have served.

"The D-Day celebrations ensure we remember what our Armed Services have done in the past.

"Before the plaque was unveiled, I had the privilege to have a coffee and catch up with the many veterans and serving Army personnel to reminisce about past experiences.

"This made the event mean something very special for the hospital."