Ninety-Eight British Names Added to Normandy Memorial for D-Day’s 82nd Anniversary
The British Normandy Memorial has added 98 names to its roll of honour, recognising troops who died during the D-Day landings and the ensuing campaign to liberate France. This expansion marks a significant revision to the memorial situated above Gold Beach, as surviving UK veterans gather to observe the 82nd anniversary of the pivotal World War Two operation.
Many of these newly inscribed individuals were overlooked due to inaccurate initial record-keeping. In some instances, families provided evidence of a relative’s death in Normandy, while others included men mortally wounded in France but who died in British hospitals, thus being omitted from earlier lists.
Cecil Green is among those newly commemorated. His son, John, campaigned for his father’s recognition after learning that his death in a British hospital had precluded formal commemoration at the site. John expressed a mix of “glad and happy and sad at the same time” upon seeing his father’s name finally etched in stone.
The D-Day operation on 6 June 1944 saw British, American, and Canadian forces land on five beaches across the Normandy coastline, initiating the liberation of Nazi-occupied north-west Europe. This year’s commemorations will see the smallest attendance of Normandy veterans since the memorial’s 2021 opening, with only six confirmed participants. French schoolchildren and serving military personnel commenced events on Juno Beach, marking H-Hour, the time of initial British deployment.
