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The D-Day Story

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Coordinates: 50°46.788′N 1°05.360′W / 50.779800°N 1.089333°W / 50.779800; -1.089333
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The D-Day Story
View from Southsea seafront
The D-Day Story is located in Hampshire
The D-Day Story
Location within Hampshire
Former name
The D-Day Museum
Established1984
LocationClarence Esplanade, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Coordinates50°46.788′N 1°05.360′W / 50.779800°N 1.089333°W / 50.779800; -1.089333
TypeWar Museum
Key holdingsOverlord Embroidery
CollectionsMilitary; 20th Century
Public transit accessD-Day Museum (Bus); Portsmouth Harbour (Train)
Nearest parkingOn Site (charges apply)
Websitehttps://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

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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

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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]

References

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  1. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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.
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