The D-Day Story

The D-Day Story
Former name The D-Day Museum
Established 1984
Location Clarence Esplanade, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Type War Museum
Key holdings Overlord Embroidery
Collections Military; 20th Century
Public transit access D-Day Museum (Bus); Portsmouth Harbour (Train)
Nearest parking On Site (charges apply)
Website https://theddaystory.com/
View from Southsea seafront

The D-Day Story (Formerly the D-Day Museum) is located in Southsea, Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. Opened in 1984[1] by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, it tells the story of Operation Overlord during the Normandy D-Day landings. The brand new D-Day Story reopened during March 2018 after a complete refurbishment funded by a £5 million Heritage Lottery grant. It is a 'must see' museum when visiting Portsmouth, on England's south coast. Told through the personal accounts of people who were there and the museum's iconic collections, from landing craft to Betty White's coat, brought to life with stunning audio visual presentations; this is the story of the liberation of France from Nazi Germany.

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 magnificent Overlord Embroidery commissioned to remember those who took part in D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. The Overlord Embroidery took five years to complete and measures 272 feet (83 m) long. It is the largest work of its kind in the world. Film clips of veterans talking about there experiences give visitors further insight into what took place.

The museum is run by Portsmouth Museum Services, a branch of Portsmouth City Council, and is supported by Portsmouth D-Day Museum Trust, a registered charity.[2]

Refurbishment

The museum closed in March 2017 to undergo a £5 million refurbishment and allow for conservation work on exhibits. Exhibits that have never before been on display are being made available as part of the refurbishment. Amongst artefacts making a first appearance is the 'pencil that started the invasion'. This was the pencil used by Lt. Cdr. John Harmer to sign the order for Force G (naval forces assigned to Gold Beach) to sail to Normandy.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "D-Day museum reopens after £5m revamp". BBC News. 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  2. ↑ Charity Commission. Portsmouth D-Day Museum Trust, registered charity no. 1156976.


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