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D-DAY AND THE VC MEMORIALS
On the 6th June 2009, the 65th anniversary of D-Day, we unveiled a unique and lasting memorial at Pegasus Bridge in Normandy, the scene of the first combat operation of D-Day and arguably one of the most vital objectives of that day.
The memorial is dedicated to the men of the 'Coup de Main' group who were tasked with seizing two vital bridges near the village of Benouville. This group was made up mostly of men from 2nd battalion (D Coy and B Coy) Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry together with 30 Royal Engineers, 3 medics and a Liaisons Officer from The Parachute Regiment as well as 12 pilots from the Glider Pilot Regiment.
Their task was to land in six Horsa Gliders and seize the two bridges intact. The missions was dubbed "a suicide mission which might just work" and despite the overwhelming odds against them, the group seized both bridges in under ten minutes!
Had this vital operation been unsuccesful, D-Day would have been a very different story!
LSjt Tich Rayner about to unveil the plynth for no.4 glider which he was on.
An early mock up of how the memorial would look.
The 6 stones pieces each way 400kgs and are cut from Nimes Stone. They were prepared by a local stonemason in Caen.
All 2400 characters were engraved entirely by hand by one man. It took almost 3 months!
The name of EVERY man involved in the operation is shown on the stones including the RAF pilots who flew the Halifax Bombers which towed the gliders to their objective.
General Sir Robert Pascoe, President of The Veterans Charity, inspects the stones and the runners before the unveiling ceremony.
Welcome and thank you speeches were made by the Director of Memorial Pegasus Museum, our CEO and General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, who led the unveiling.
Almost 1000 people attended the unveiling ceremony including many relatives of the Coup de Main.
We were deligthed to have four Veterans from the operation attending to help unveil the memorial stones.
The Veterans Charity Memorial to the Coup de Main sits proudly next to the original Pegasus Bridge in the grounds of the superb Memorial Pegasus Museum in Ranville, Normandy.
The memorial cost £75,000 to create. This money was raised by an amazing group of sponsored runners who took part in the RUN TO PEGASUS 4th-6th June 2009.
Over £250,000 was raised in total and excess funds were donated to charities which provide support to Veterans and Service Personnel of all generations.
In 2019, we repeated the Run To Pegasus to honour the 75th anniversary of D-Day. 100 sponsored runners covered 75 miles, helped us to raise more than £106,000 and played a vital part in the unveiling of a plaque which honoured the men of 22 Platoon, 2 Oxf & Bucks, who landed off course next to the River Dives and had to battle for almost 24 hours continuously to re-join their comrades at Ranville.
Along the way, 22 Platoon took several casualties and also assisted numerous men from other units who got separated or wounded.
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On 6th June 2024, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, we very proudly unveiled a memorial to the first allied soldier to lose his life on D-Day in 1944.
LCpl Fred Greenhalgh was part of the Coup de Main Operation to capture Pegasus Bridge. When no3 glider made a heavy landing, LCpl Greenhalgh was thrown from the glider and landed in a marsh pond where he sadly drowned under the weight of his kit. His weapon, a Bren Gun, was found some years later and is now on display in the Musee Memorial Pegasus.
Our memorial to Fred was unveiled by our President, General Sir Bob Pascoe in front of a crowd or relatives of the Coup de Main, former Oxf & Bucks and Royal Green Jackets, dignitaries from Benouville and many enthusiast and friends of The Veterans Charity.
To mark the 80th anniversary year of D-Day, and to complete our memorials to the operation which spearheaded the entire invasion, we hosted 'Ride To Horsa', a poignant cycling challenge from Tarrant Rushton in Dorset to Portsmouth and then once in France, along all five invasion beach areas.
The event began on 4th September and involved a 3-day ride. Along the route, the riders visited many poignant and famous locations to pay their respects.
On 8th September, we were very proud to be joined for the memorial unveiling by relatives of the men on Gliders 5 and 6 who captured Horsa Bridge, local dignitaries from Ranville and Benouville and also French Veterans.
The memorial at Horsa Bridge represent a Horsa Glider and is made from Portuguese Granite. It is located next to the bridge on the River Orne, close to the spot where the gliders landed.
