The D-Day Story

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The D-Day Story
D-Day Museum, Southsea, Portsmouth (rear exterior).jpg
View from Southsea seafront
Hampshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Hampshire
Former name
The D-Day Museum
Established1984
LocationClarence Esplanade, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Coordinates 50°46.788′N1°05.360′W / 50.779800°N 1.089333°W / 50.779800; -1.089333
TypeWar Museum
Key holdings Overlord Embroidery
CollectionsMilitary; 20th Century
Public transit accessD-Day Museum (Bus); Portsmouth Harbour (Train)
Nearest parkingOn Site (charges apply)
Website https://theddaystory.com/

The D-Day Story (formerly the D-Day Museum) is a visitor attraction located in Southsea, Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. It tells the story of Operation Overlord during the Normandy D-Day landings. Originally opened as the D-Day Museum in 1984 [1] by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, it reopened as the D-Day Story, following a refurbishment funded by a £5 million Heritage Lottery grant, in March 2018. The museum building was designed by the then city architect Ken Norrish. [2]

Contents

Contents

25pdr field gun display 25pdr field gun.jpg
25pdr field gun display

The story is told in three parts: Preparation; D-Day and the Battle of Normandy; Legacy and the Overlord Embroidery.

The Legacy gallery features the Overlord Embroidery, commissioned by Lord Dulverton to remember those who took part in D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. The embroidery took twenty members of the Royal School of Needlework seven years to complete and measures 272 feet (83 m) long. It consists of 34 different panels. [3] Film clips of veterans talking about their experiences give visitors further insight into what took place.

Other major exhibits include a Sherman tank and a Churchill tank, both displayed on the tank deck of the newly restored LCT 7074, the last surviving D-Day landing craft. [4] Other vehicles in the collection are a Sherman BARV and a DUKW amphibious vehicle. In addition there is a replica infantry landing craft as part of an audio-visual display. There are reconstructions of the operations room at Southwick House, a 1940s sitting room and an Anderson shelter. [3]

The museum is run by Portsmouth Museum Services, a branch of Portsmouth City Council, and is supported by the Portsmouth D-Day Museum Trust, a registered charity. [5]

Refurbishment

The museum closed in March 2017 for one year to undergo a £5 million refurbishment and allow for conservation work on exhibits. New exhibits include the "pencil that started the invasion" – the pencil used by Lt. Cdr. John Harmer to sign the order for Force G, the naval forces assigned to Gold Beach, to sail to Normandy. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juno Beach</span> Code name for one of the zones for amphibious landings in Northern France on D-Day, 6 June 1944

Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold, to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, and just west of the British beach Sword. Taking Juno was the responsibility of the First Canadian Army, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the Royal Canadian Navy and the British Royal Navy as well as elements from the Free French, Norwegian, and other Allied navies. The objectives of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on D-Day were to cut the Caen-Bayeux road, seize the Carpiquet airport west of Caen, and form a link between the two British beaches on either flank.

The Overlord Embroidery, echoing the Bayeux Tapestry created 900 years before to commemorate the reverse invasion of England from Normandy, is a narrative embroidery that depicts the story of the D-Day Landings of 6 June 1944 and the subsequent Battle of Normandy. The story is told across 34 hand stitched panels running in total to 83 metres in length. The embroidery was created between 1968 and 1974, and is now on permanent display at The D-Day Story, Southsea, Portsmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landing craft</span> Seagoing watercraft

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beach armoured recovery vehicle</span> British amphibious armoured recovery vehicle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah Beach</span> Code name for one of the zones for amphibious landings in Northern France on D-Day, June 6, 1944

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, Calvados</span> Commune in Normandy, France

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The landing craft, tank (LCT) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "tank landing craft" (TLC) by the British, they later adopted the U.S. nomenclature "landing craft, tank" (LCT). The United States continued to build LCTs post-war, and used them under different designations in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

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LCVP (United States) US built landing craft used extensively in amphibious landings in World War II

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">DD tank</span> British WWII amphibious swimming tank

DD or Duplex Drive tanks, nicknamed "Donald Duck tanks", were a type of amphibious swimming tank developed by the British during the Second World War. The phrase is mostly used for the Duplex Drive variant of the M4 Sherman medium tank, that was used by the Western Allies during and after the Normandy Landings in June 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">79th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist armoured division of the British Army created during the Second World War. The division was created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, D-Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warship Preservation Trust</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">27th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 27th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army that served in the Second World War and played a crucial role in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 and the following Battle of Normandy until disbandment in late 1944.

<i>Ike: Countdown to D-Day</i> 2004 American television film directed by Robert Harmon

Ike: Countdown to D-Day is a 2004 American made-for-television historical war drama film originally aired on the American television channel A&E, directed by Robert Harmon and written by Lionel Chetwynd. Countdown to D-Day was filmed entirely in New Zealand with the roles of British characters played by New Zealanders; the American roles were played by Americans.

USS <i>LST-494</i> American former military ship

USS LST-494 was a United States Navy amphibious tank landing ship that saw combat during World War II in both the European and Pacific Theaters of War. LST stands for Landing Ship, Tank.

USS <i>LST-288</i>

USS Berkshire County (LST-288) was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Berkshire County, Massachusetts, she was the only U.S. naval vessel to bear the name.

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HMLCT 7074 Mark 3 Landing Craft Tank

HM LCT 7074 is the last surviving Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) in the UK. LCT 7074 is an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks, other vehicles and troops on beachheads. Built in 1944 by Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn, the Mark 3 LCT 7074 was part of the 17th LCT Flotilla during Operation Neptune in June 1944.

<i>HMS LCT 147</i> Mark 2 Landing Craft Tank

LCT 147 is an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks, other vehicles and troops on beachheads. Built in 1941 by Stockton Construction, Thornaby-on-Tees, the Mark 2 LCT 147 took part in the Invasion of North Africa in June 1943. The ship was converted to a Landing Craft Rocket at Portsmouth Dockyard from March through May 1943 and renamed LCT(2)(R) 147.

References

  1. 1 2 "D-Day museum reopens after £5m revamp". BBC News. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. O’Brien, Charles; Bailey, Bruce; Pevsner, Nikolaus; Lloyd, David W. (2018). The Buildings of England Hampshire: South. Yale University Press. p. 480. ISBN   9780300225037.
  3. 1 2 D-Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery. Portsmouth City Council. 1984. p. 27.
  4. "Landing craft tank LCT 7074". The D-Day Story, Portsmouth. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  5. "Portsmouth D-Day Museum Trust, registered charity no. 1156976". Charity Commission for England and Wales.