On Tuesday 5th November the Collections Access and Research team will be participating in the 10th Annual History Day, held at Senate House. History Day is a day for researchers, students, and enthusiasts to explore the collections of libraries, museums and archives from all over UK. The theme for this year’s event is anniversaries and in honour of this theme, this blog will look at the commemoration of D-Day through materials held in the Imperial War Museums’ Library collection.
The D-Day Landings
2024 marks the 80th anniversary since the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy. D-Day, also known as Operation Overlord, occurred on 6th June 1944. The operation was a collaborative effort between Allied forces to begin the liberation of North-West Europe from German occupation. This was the largest operation in the history of land, naval and air operations warfare. The operation began with the deployment of eighteen thousand paratroopers dropping into the invasion area to act as support for when the ships and land crafts arrived at the five beaches. Fourteen thousand sorties flew unchallenged by the Luftwaffe. Seven thousand naval vessels helped to escort 132,000 troops.
The invasion of the five beaches in Normandy, Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold and Sword, helped set the stage for the beginning of the end of the Second World War. This operation was successful after careful preparation and deception to lure the Nazis away from Normandy. D-Day would not have been possible if not for the major international collaborative efforts.
Operation Overlord did not end the war in Europe, but it was an important stepping stone in allowing for the eventual victory. The ingenuity, perseverance, and courage of those involved has been commemorated in many ways over the last 80 years.
The Library Collection
The Library Collection at IWM contains a wealth of material relating to the D-Day landings. Our reference library includes unit histories, technical manuals, biographies, autobiographies, and other secondary source books which are all available to view in the Research Room at IWM London.
Within this rich body of material, the printed ephemera collection is a treasure trove and includes aerial propaganda leaflets, collectibles, knitting patterns, greetings cards, political pamphlets, theatre programmes, and song sheets.
The D-Day ephemera collection (Eph.C. D Day) contains literature relating to the anniversaries of D-Day. Newspaper cuttings, programmes for military events, posters advertising film screenings, and menus from dinners illustrate how the anniversary of D-Day has been commemorated over the past 80 years. The collection also includes items from IWM’s own commemorations such as a resource pack from the 50th anniversary exhibition. Other highlights from this collection are listed below.
D-Day: the human stories
This is a three-part special edition news supplement from the Daily Mail from February 1994 in honour of 50th anniversary. These 44-page souvenir editions contain personal stories from both soldiers and civilians about where they were and how the contributions of many helped to power the success of Operation Overlord.
IWM LBY K. 95/2188
Commemorative beer labels from 1994 D-day anniversary
Commemorative beer labels
Four colourful commemorative ale bottle labels. This specialty brew was made by Young’s and Co brewery in honour of the 50th anniversary commemoration of D-Day.
Programmes, correspondence and orders of ceremony relating to the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy landings
A collection of programmes collected by Lord Molloy for the 40th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy landings. The programmes include an order of ceremony for a review of veterans at Arromanche-les-Bains by her Majesty The Queen at 19:15 hours on Wednesday, 6th June, 1984.
Included is a letter addressed to Molloy from the MOD explaining transport logistics and expressing the dress code for the event, ‘it would be sensible to take a light mackintosh or an umbrella in case of bad weather.’
IWM LBY K. 01/1130
Items from Lord Molloy's collection of programmes from the 40th anniversary celebrations
We'll meet again: Harold Cordell's 21st annual music hall extravaganza commemorating the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings
A leaflet depicting the line-up for Harold Cordell’s music hall extravaganza commemorating the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The music performances featured songs from the 1940’s as a special tribute.
The future of "D-Day" collecting
As new anniversaries pass, further commemorative material is being added to the Library D-Day collection, through offers of donation and direct acquisition. For example, one of the items catalogued this year is a collection of badges produced by IWM which visitors could collect when taking part in various D-Day anniversary learning activities across the IWM sites this summer.
These items from the IWM Library collection keep the stories of those who were part of the assault from land, sea and air at the forefront and, as the 80th anniversary passes, they demonstrate the importance of commemoration to continue their legacy.
All of the material mentioned in this blog can be viewed in the Research Room at IWM London for free. Appointments are essential and must be booked through our schedule at least seven days in advance.