Home
D-Day in 80 Objects

D-Day in 80 Objects

The D-Day Story has teamed up with a host of partner organisations around the country to bring together 80 fascinating objects relating to D-Day. Every day in the run up to the 80th anniversary we will be sharing one of the items on our social channels, so be sure to follow our accounts.

Below you can browse through all 80 objects to find out more about each one and the fascinating role it played on the invasion that helped turn the tide of World War 2.

D-Day in 80 Objects – The Book

There will be a D-Day in 80 Objects book on sale from 24th May – you can buy it in person at The D-Day Story or at our online shop. Plus, get a free limited edition D-Day 80 commemorative LCT 7074 tote back with every purchase.

All profits from the sale of this book support the museum to keep the stories of D-Day alive.

What is your D-Day object?

Do you have an object connected to D-Day and the Battle of Normandy? Share it on social media (including a photo) with the hashtag #DDayin80objects as in the future we may share some of these on our own channels. We are excited to see what you have!

Object 1 - LCT 7074

This 59-metre long ship is a unique survivor: the last remaining intact Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) that took part in the Normandy Landings.

Object 2 - Monty's plan for D-Day

The Allied plans for D-Day were detailed and complex, which was necessary given the size of the forces involved. But the key problem was how to seize a foothold ashore, and that demanded a simple plan – as well as ensuring that each part of the Allied war machine worked alongside the others.

Object 3 - "This is the year!" poster

Why did the British produce posters like this one showing what would happen on D-Day: wasn’t it secret? In fact it was common knowledge that D-Day was coming soon, but the location and date were closely guarded secrets. Propaganda like this was important for keeping up morale amongst both the armed forces and civilians.

Object 4 - Report on air operations before D-Day

This map is taken from an Allied report on air operations before D-Day, and shows airfields across northern France and the Low Countries that had been attacked in roughly the month before D-Day. This is just one example of the lengthy preparations made by the Allied air forces before D-Day.

Object 5 - US Ranger Thomas Ruggiero's boots and map

Imagine training for months as part of an elite unit, in preparation for a mission that seemed almost impossible. And then on D-Day, being prevented from carrying out that mission through circumstances outside your control.

Object 6 - Union jack flag given to tank crew

This small, battered union jack flag clearly has a story to tell. It was given to a tank crew by the family of Shirley Whittle, age four. The tank and its crew were parked outside the family’s house for several days before departing for Normandy. The flag flew on the tank for many months until near the end of the war.

Object 7 - Section of USS Arizona from Pearl Harbour

How is this section of a US warship that in December 1941 was sunk by Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, connected with D-Day? The answer involves the entry of the USA into the Second World War, and that country’s major role in the Normandy Landings.

Object 8 - Recruiting poster for the Free French forces

What role did the French play in 1944 in the liberation of their own country, which was under Nazi occupation? This poster encouraged French people to join the Free French Forces.

Object 9 - Censored letter from Albert Payne to his wife

During the Second World War, modern forms of communication such as mobile phones or email were of course not available to military personnel: they had not been invented yet. Letters and postcards were the main form of communication, and most people wrote regularly to family and friends. However there was a risk of enemy forces discovering military secrets through captured correspondence, so letters were censored. This meant that an officer (usually within the person’s own unit) would read the letter and delete anything that was considered secret.

Object 10 - Gold Beach map

What were the best places on the Normandy beaches to land? What would the troops find once they reached France? Maps helped to answer questions like these, and were an essential tool for the Allied forces.

Object 11 - Jack Gollin's letter during his army training

18-year old new recruit Jack Gollin wrote home as he started his British Army training. Sadly he was killed in the fighting in Normandy, almost exactly a year later.

Object 12 - Hawker Typhoon aircraft

Aircraft like the Hawker Typhoons of the Royal Air Force played a vital role in supporting the ground fighting in Normandy. They could attack enemy forces, particularly tanks, in support of British or other Allied troops.

Object 13 - Oscar Prasse Jr's reserve parachute

This parachute pack was worn by Private Oscar F. Prasse Jr. of the US 82nd Airborne Division on D-Day. Through an usual set of circumstances, he left it behind in a Norman farmhouse after D-Day.

Object 14 - Sherman Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle

Why is this vehicle so different from what a tank usually looks like? Unlike most tanks, it does not have a gun mounted in a turret that can turn from side-to-side. Look at its design however, and you will see clues to its intended role.

Object 15 - 15 inch naval shell

This was one of the largest types of shell fired by Allied warships. Each shell is the size of a person, and could be fired to a distance of 19 miles (30.5km).

Object 16 - COPPs beach reconnaissance suit

This type of specially-made suit was worn by members of Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP). Before D-Day they undertook secret night-time reconnaissance missions to assess the Normandy beaches.

Object 17 - German landmarks diagram from Gold Beach

This unusual drawing was taken from a German bunker on Gold Beach by a Royal Navy sailor, Mr W. Hobbs. It indicates the distances to various landmarks, to help the troops in the bunker describe the situation if enemy troops landed.

Object 18 - Photograph of Lorna Dean of ENSA in Normandy

The British armed forces humorously interpreted the acronym ENSA to mean “Every Night Something Awful”. In reality the troops generally appreciated the chance to have some entertainment that might, if only for a short time, distract them from the destruction and chaos of war all around them.

Object 19 - French Resistance armband

Members of the French Resistance wore armbands like this as a kind of uniform. This particular one belonged to a Resistance fighter who took part in the liberation of Paris, at the end of August 1944.

Object 20 - Douglas C-47 Dakota aircraft cockpit

This is the preserved cockpit section from a Dakota aircraft: the front of the aircraft, where the pilot and co-pilot sat. The aircraft that it originally belonged to was one of those that took part in D-Day in RAF service.

Object 21 - Biscuit tin radio

How could the Allies communicate with the French Resistance, when the occupying Nazi forces had confiscated civilian radios in France? The answer lay in this small radio set, known as a biscuit tin radio.

Object 22 - A Canadian's letter describing D-Day

Canadian forces played an important role in the Normandy campaign, on land, sea and air. This letter was written by a soldier of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, a unit that had landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. He gives a vivid description of his experiences landing in France, and over the following weeks of fighting.

Object 23 - British Army mine detector

During the fighting in Normandy, danger was present even if enemy forces were not nearby. The German army in particular made widespread use of landmines, which could pose a deadly threat when hidden in the ground. This detector was a British device to locate such hazards.

Object 24 - Jerzy Kobryner's 1st Polish Armoured Division badge

Jerzy Kobryner wore this badge of the 1st Polish Armoured Division on his uniform during his service in Normandy. That division was involved in some of the fiercest fighting of the campaign, as the Battle of Normandy came to an end.

Object 25 - Graham Airth's medical chest

This medical chest belonged to a sailor, Surgeon Lieutenant Graham Airth. He was a medical officer on board a Landing Ship, Tank that brought wounded troops back from Normandy.

Object 26 - British airborne jeep

The story of this jeep and many others like it reveals much about the ingenuity and manufacturing abilities of the Allied countries, as well as their ability to co-operate and share military equipment. All these factors played an important part in Allied successes on D-Day.

Object 27 - German mini-submarine

At first glance this small craft might not seem to pose a great risk to Allied ships. But German ‘Neger’ human torpedoes like this one did pose a significant naval threat in the weeks after D-Day.

Object 28 - German Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft

The German Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-8, was an effective fighter aircraft that was used by the German air force defending Normandy.

Object 29 - Drawing of a Gooseberry Harbour

This humorous drawing depicts one of the Gooseberry Harbours. These were artificial breakwaters that the Allies created off the Normandy beaches by sinking old ships in a line. Although they are less well known than the Mulberry artificial harbours, the Gooseberries played a vital role in providing shelter for small craft operating off the beach.

Object 30 - Edna Rushing's welder's mask

This welder’s mask was used during the Second World War by Edna Rushing, who worked at Higgins Industries in New Orleans, USA. This company was one of many that made naval and military equipment which played a vital role in the Second World War.

Object 31 - Postcard used by D-Day planners

This postcard contained vital military information! The Allied planners had so little information about possible places on the coast of continental Europe where troops could land, that they had to ask the public to send in their holiday photos and postcards. They received ten million of them!

Object 32 - US life preserver found on Omaha Beach

This US Army-issue life preserver was found by a British sailor on Omaha Beach shortly after D-Day. It was part of the special equipment that was issued to troops landing on the Normandy beaches, in case their landing craft was sunk or they landed in deep water.

Object 33 - "Bertie" the ventriloquist's dummy

This is Bertie, a ventriloquist’s dummy that belonged to Captain Ted North, an officer of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment who served in Normandy in 1944. North took Bertie with him on campaign, and used him to entertain the troops.

Object 34 - Helmet of James Dale Jones, US Navy

A key part of the Allied fleet was the LSTs (Landing Ship, Tanks) which transported to France many of the vehicles needed ashore by the Allied armies. James Dale Jones was part of the crew of one of these LSTs which went to Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Object 35 - White ensign from Landing Craft, Support (Medium) 79 at Gold Beach

Not all landing craft carried troops. The Landing Craft, Support (Medium) was a small British-designed craft armed with machine guns and a mortar. Because of its design, it could go close inshore and use its weapons to support the troops landing on the beach.

Object 36 - Royal Observer Corps badge

This badge was worn by members of the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) who served on Allied ships during the Normandy Landings. The ROC is better known for its role spotting enemy aircraft over the UK during the earlier years of the war, but its members also had an essential job afloat in 1944.

Object 37 - News report by BBC war correspondent Robert Dunnett

This is one of a number of reports made by BBC war correspondent Robert Dunnett from Normandy. He landed on Utah Beach with the American forces, and reported from that sector of the landings.

Object 38 - Photograph of British tank crew at rest

Even at times when they were not fighting or in immediate danger, soldiers in Normandy had very basic living conditions. Troops who operated a vehicle, like the tank crew in this photograph, at least had some advantages in trying to make their lives as comfortable as possible.

Object 39 - Diary of Joseph Newbold on a Royal Navy minesweeper

This is a page from the diary of Joseph Newbold, a Royal Navy sailor on board MMS (Motor Minesweeper) 261. This was one of a group of minesweepers that operated off the American beaches at the time of D-Day. He included sketch maps to show the area in which his flotilla operated.

Object 40 - Frank Draper's binoculars

The Second World War led to many changes in people’s lives: some travelled halfway round the world, and encountered other nationalities and cultures that they might otherwise never have met. Sadly in Frank Draper’s case, his experiences came to a fatal end.

Object 41 - Telegram announcing the death of 'Dickie' Dickson

“Dickie Died June 7th Mother Heartbroken.” In a few words this telegram gives some idea of the impact that each individual death had on family members.

Object 42 - Vomit bag issued for the crossing to Normandy

Does the thought of being on board a small boat that is being thrown around in rough seas make you feel queasy? Then you too might have needed a “Bag, Vomit” like this one, issued for the sea crossing to Normandy.

Object 43 - Section of PLUTO (Pipe Line Under the Ocean)

Take a close look at this object and you will be able to see more about how the PLUTO pipeline was made. This is a cross-section of the pipeline. You can see a series of layers wrapped around the inner pipe, which together provided both strength and flexibility.

Object 44 - Photograph of the Sword Beach landings

This photograph was taken on board a landing craft that was only seconds away from touching down on Sword Beach. Ahead, tanks and other vehicles can be scattered around the shore. Imagine what the troops on board must have been thinking as they glimpsed the scene ahead.

Object 45 - Flag from hospital ship HMHS Lady Connaught

This flag was flown on the hospital ship HMHS Lady Connaught at the time of D-Day. The ship had American medical staff on board, but a British ship’s crew: an usual but important example of Allied forces working together.

Object 46 - John Grice's medical kit

The fighting in the Normandy campaign, whether on land, in the air or at sea, resulted in many wounded personnel on both sides. This medical kit was used by a British Army medical officer in Normandy, Major John Grice.

Object 47 - Drawing by John Jenkins showing "Washing day somewhere in France"

British soldier John Jenkins was serving in Normandy when he sent this drawing home to his wife and daughter in Portsmouth. Mixing humour and glimpses into the reality of his life on campaign, it gives some insight into the living conditions experienced by the troops in France.

Object 48 - "Air observation post", painting by Denis Barnham

Why is the soldier in this painting flying an aircraft, rather than being based on the ground? The answer illustrates how different parts of the Allied armed forces successfully worked together.

Object 49 - "Bogus" map of Sword Beach

This is a map of ‘Cairo’ and shows the adjacent villages of ‘Mexico’, ‘Brazil’, ‘Calcutta’ and ‘Oslo’. This isn’t a mistake: it is what was known as a Bogus map. These maps were printed for preparing the troops ahead of D-Day: they could get familiar with where they were to land in Normandy, but the exact location was remained secret in case the information fell into enemy hands.

Object 50 - Chaplain Leslie Skinner's notebook

The role of chaplains during the Battle of Normandy extended far beyond carrying out religious services. Leslie Skinner showed dedication to his role in his care of the wounded, and in trying to ensure that the dead had an appropriate burial.

Object 51 - Eric Harris's mother's mourning ring and locket

Over 100,000 Allied and German troops were killed during the whole of the Battle of Normandy, as well as around 20,000 French civilians. This is a huge number, but of course for each individual family it was a very personal loss. After British soldier Eric Harris was killed, his grieving mother had this mourning ring and locket made, both bearing his photograph.

Object 52 - Sydney Jary's Denison smock

The Denison Smock was originally produced for use by airborne troops, but was soon adopted by other when they could get hold of one. This one was worn by Lieutenant Sydney Jary who served with the Somerset Light Infantry in Normandy.

Object 53 - Leaflet from General Eisenhower warning French civilians

“Urgent message from the high command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces to the inhabitants of this town.” That was the wording printed in French on this leaflet which was dropped from the air at certain places in Normandy, on and after D-Day. If you were a French person in Normandy in 1944, what would you think if this leaflet landed near your house?

Object 54 - Whale floating roadway, from the Mulberry Harbour

How were whales involved in the Normandy Landings? “Whale” was the codename for a section of floating roadway: part of the Mulberry Harbour which was specially developed to speed up the rate at which troops and supplies could be landed in France.

Object 55 - Portsmouth Branch standard, Normandy Veterans Association

This is the standard of the Portsmouth Branch of the Normandy Veterans Association. For many veterans, membership of a veterans’ association became an important part of their later life. The standard was carried at parades and other ceremonial occasions.

Object 56 - Colin Maud's shillelagh stick, Juno Beach

Beaches are usually associated with fun and relaxation, but that was certainly not the case for the Normandy beaches on and after D-Day. At that point the beach was one of the most dangerous places, as the defending German troops knew that all Allied forces had to cross it to come ashore. Colin Maud, to whom this ‘shillelagh’ or ‘knobkerrie’ stick belonged, was a senior naval officer ashore who co-ordinated the flow ashore of troops, vehicles and supplies across Juno Beach.

Object 57 - Map of Portsmouth marshalling and embarkation area

This map shows the area near Portsmouth, from which thousands of troops left for Normandy. It also shows the secret camps a few miles inland, where the troops waited before loading onto ships bound for France.

Object 58 - Eureka beacon used by airborne troops

On D-Day the Allied airborne forces needed to land accurately in Normandy despite it being in the middle of the night. This Eureka beacon was a device used by these airborne units to try and make precise parachute drops and glider landings. But did it work in practice?

Object 59 - Coat of arms from the Underground Headquarters, Fort Southwick

Women played a vital role in supporting the Normandy Landings. This unofficial coat of arms illustrates their part in communications and controlling the naval operations for D-Day.

Object 60 - Roy Bishop's damaged watch

This watch saved the life of British soldier Sergeant Roy Bishop. On 8 August 1944 while serving in Normandy, he was struck by shrapnel from a shell which hit his shirt pocket. Although the shrapnel passed through his notebook and wallet, the watch absorbed the shock.

Object 61 - Letter to Wally Hansford's mother after his death

British soldier Walter (Wally) Hansford was only 19 when he was killed in the fighting in Normandy, on 1 August 1944. In this moving letter, one of his comrades, Albert White, wrote to Wally’s mother to tell her more about her son’s death.

Object 62 - Replacement skipping rope made by soldiers for Hazel Perkin

On 3 June 1944, thousands of Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen and women were poised to launch the greatest amphibious operation ever known. A few kind servicemen still had time to make Hazel Perkin a replacement for her lost skipping rope.

Object 63 - Sexton self-propelled gun

This vehicle is not a tank, but a type of artillery known as a self-propelled gun. In both attack and defence, artillery played a vital role in the fighting in Normandy, from D-Day onwards.

Object 64 - Wilf Townsend's signal flags from Utah Beach

This pair of small flags were used by Sub-Lieutenant Wilf Townsend of the Royal Navy at Utah Beach on D-Day. He was on the staff of a unit of British landing craft that delivered US troops to that beach: an example of inter-Allied co-operation.

Object 65 - "AA gunners, No. 219 Squadron RAF Regiment, Normandy." Painting by Frank Wootton

We naturally associate the Royal Air Force (RAF) with fighting in the air over Normandy. In fact the RAF also had a significant presence on the ground in France from D-Day onwards, including that of RAF personnel like those depicted in this painting.

Object 66 - German map from Gold Beach

This rare map gives some insight into the German forces defending Gold Beach. It was brought back from Normandy by a British soldier, Colin Paxton. We do not know who it originally belonged to, but he appears to have been a soldier of the German 352nd Infantry Division, which was defending Omaha Beach and the western part of Gold Beach.

Object 67 - Photograph of French Resistance fighters

At first this might look like a simple photograph: a young girl leads a parade of Frenchmen, happy that their town has been liberated. In fact there are more tragic stories behind it.

Object 68 - HMS Belfast

On D-Day and over the following weeks, the Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Belfast fired its guns in support of Allied troops ashore. Naval gunfire from the large fleet of Allied warships gave Allied land forces in Normandy an important advantage.

Object 69 - German naval message decoded at Bletchley Park

“Immediate readiness. There are indications that the invasion has begun.” This is the decoded version of a secret message sent early on D-Day by German naval headquarters to three submarines based in Norway. One question that concerned the Allied commanders before D-Day was this: when would the Germans realise that the landings were about to take place? With even a few hours’ warning, German units could have made preparations that would have made the landings even more difficult for the Allied forces. This message was one of the first intercepted by the codebreaking station at Bletchley Park to indicate that the Germans suspected a major Allied landing was taking place.

Object 70 - The Overlord Embroidery

The unique Overlord Embroidery has been on display at this museum in Portsmouth since 1984. At 272 ft (83 metres) in length, it is one of the longest embroideries in the world. It was originally inspired by the famous Bayeux Tapestry, which was made centuries earlier and depicts the Norman invasion of England in 1066. That invasion took place across roughly the same section of the English Channel that the Allied fleet crossed for D-Day, though of course it went in the opposite direction!

Object 71 - Sword Beach briefing model

This is part of a detailed model that was used to brief troops who would land on the Normandy beaches on D-Day. In other words, officers used it to talk through the lie of the land, the plan of attack, and the locations of German defences. But to preserve secrecy, most soldiers were not told exactly where this was.

Object 72 - Barrage balloon winch as used by African-American troops in Normandy

Barrage Balloons were heavily used at the time of D-Day both at sea and on land, as a means of defence against enemy aircraft. This Very Low Altitude Barrage Balloon Winch was the type used by the only African-American unit to go ashore on D-Day: 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion.

Object 73 - Betty White's coat and badges

The badges displayed on this coat were collected at the time of D-Day by five year old Betty White, from Gosport.

Object 74 - Pegasus Bridge

Pegasus Bridge is one of the most famous D-Day sites in Normandy. It was probably the first location to be liberated, in the initial minutes of 6 June 1944. The bridge had to be captured by British 6th Airborne Division right at the start of D-Day, to prevent German counter-attacks against the eastern side of the beach landings.

Object 75 - Raymond Hoback's bible

This bible belonged to one of the two Hoback brothers who were killed on D-Day. Both men are part of a group of twenty soldiers from Bedford, Virginia, USA, who died at Omaha Beach on that day, and are now known as the “Bedford Boys”. Soon after Raymond Hoback’s death, the bible was returned to his family and became a precious reminder of his life.

Object 76 - Peter Young's medals

The fighting in Normandy was only one part of a long conflict, as the medals of Brigadier Peter Young illustrate.

Object 77 - Rupert paradummy used for D-Day deception

Was this three-foot high dummy filled with sand and straw really an Allied secret weapon that was used on D-Day? Amazingly the answer is yes, and a secret weapon that worked well, too.

Object 78 - The Southwick House wall map

The famous D-Day wall map at Southwick House witnessed the meetings of the Allied commanders in the days leading up to 6 June 1944. The big question on their minds was whether the conditions were right to launch D-Day.

Object 79 - James Stagg's D-Day weather forecast

The Allies had spent years preparing and gathering information for D-Day. Yet there were still things outside their control which could disrupt the landings. One of those factors was the weather. The Allied commanders were relying on James Stagg to give them a reliable weather forecast for Day.

Object 80 - Gustav the pigeon’s Dickin medal

A pigeon may seem an unlikely participant in conflict. Gustav was awarded this medal for bringing the first news of D-Day back to the UK.

D-Day 80

1. Contrast

2. Font size

D-Day in 80 Objects

TICKETS

Find us