Formerly the D-Day Museum, now called the D-Day Story, this museum provides an interesting and thought-provoking introduction to D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. The D-Day Story is situated along Southsea seafront, close to Southsea Castle, to the east of Portsmouth harbour. For visitors travelling by car, there is a car park behind the museum on Clarence Esplanade, postcode PO5 3NT. The nearest bus stop is across Southsea Common, a 10-minute walk away, in Palmerston Road. Visitors from the Isle of Wight can take the hovercraft and then a pleasant walk along the seafront. There has been a museum on the site since 1984. However, the D-Day Story, as we know it today, was officially opened by HRH Princess Anne in 2018, following a complete refurbishment funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Notsew Orm Sands Foundation.
Tickets are available at the door for adults at £13.50, seniors (over 60) at £10.80, students and children (aged 5 – 17) at £6.75 or online for adults at £12.15, seniors at £9.72, students and children at £6.08. Under 5s go free as to WW2 veterans. A family ticket is £33.75 on the door or £30.38 online. There are concessions for disabled visitors, holders of the Portsmouth Leisure Card and serving members of the armed forces. All standard and disabled tickets can be upgraded at the museum to an annual pass for a fee of £6.50 adults, £3.25 children and £11.25 family, subject to terms and conditions. Group discounted tickets are available, as are joint group tickets for The D-Day Story and Spinnaker Tower.
The D-Day Story is open 10am to 5.30pm (5pm from October to March) daily, except 24, 25, and 26 December. Last admission is 3.30pm to LCT 7074 and 4pm to the museum.
I have a love of history and everything French. Now retired from teaching, I enjoy visiting museums, historic buildings, monuments and gardens. I used to teach at a very good school in Portsmouth. Every year, Year 6 would spend a week in Normandy visiting the D-Day landing beaches, the Musée de Débarquement in Arromanches, the Pegasus Memorial and the city of Caen, which is twinned with Portsmouth. One day of the residential trip was spent at a secondary school in Ouistreham. The French exchange pupils would then take a day trip to Portsmouth to visit the school and the D-Day Museum. I have also visited The D-Day story once since the revamp, with an Isle of Wight school group. Now I had an opportunity to visit again without children and to see the new exhibit: the museum now features LCT 7074, the last Landing Craft Tank of its kind - painstakingly restored and now the first part of a visit to The D-Day Story.
I was fortunate with the weather. I had a smooth crossing from the Isle of Wight on the hovercraft and a lovely walk along the seafront. I got my ticket and headed out to the LCT, on which I was the only visitor. I had a chat with one of the volunteers, a retired naval servicewoman, who informed me that The D-Day Story is often quieter on sunny days. The views across Southsea common from the top deck were amazing. The Sherman and Churchill tanks, which used to be on show in front of the museum, are now displayed on board the 59-metre long LCT. The LCT carried ten tanks to Normandy for D-Day. I have, in the past, visited HMS Victory and HMS Warrior in Portsmouth harbour and am always fascinated by life on board ship. The officer’s quarters are small cabins, but they had much better conditions than the crew, who slept in a damp, dark place next to the engine room.
Through personal testimonies and artefacts, The D-Day Story immerses visitors in the entire operation, from the planning and build up to D-Day, to the Operation Overlord (the code name for D-Day) itself, and the legacy of those actions. There is a mix of ‘talking heads’, static displays, interactive games and touch screen activities that will appeal to all ages and levels of interest.
The first section, ‘Preparation’, covers the period from the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 to the eve of D-Day, 6 June 1944. Even though I had been before, I still find myself learning something new. On 17 May 1942 the BBC broadcast a radio appeal on behalf of the Government for postcards and holiday photographs to help plan the invasion of Europe. They expected 10,000 postcards and 30,000 arrived in the first post. In total 10 million were received. The display on Normandy vs Pas de Calais is also very interesting.
The focus of The D-Day Story is the liberation of Europe told through personal possessions and the words of civilians and servicemen. The museum is full of everyday artefacts and photographs that have been donated, many by local people. And this is what makes this museum so special: it focuses on the lives of people. There is also a section on the liberation and destruction of France, and their impact on the lives of French people. But there is plenty of military information and artefacts too: various methods of deceiving the enemy; campaign challenges; and the essential role played by the French Resistance in helping the Allies.
The final part of the visit is a gallery which contains the 83-metre Overlord Embroidery, which tells the story of D-Day through hand-stitched panels, created by the Royal School of Needlework. Beneath each panel, background information and archive photos give an extra insight into the scenes portrayed. In non-Covid time, there is usually a veteran or two in this gallery, keen to tell their stories to the public. Accounts of the loss of grieving families can be read on displays. There is an educational room within the Legacy gallery where school groups can learn about the sewing of a tapestry.
The visit took about two hours in total. There is a café and a gift shop. The D-Day Story website is also worth a visit for anyone who wishes to find out more.
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Pauline Stirling is a retired teacher, living on the Isle of Wight. She is Alternative Curriculum (Schools) Manager at the Association for Accredited Learning and an online tutor. She loves the outdoors: running, walking and horse riding. She is also a British Council Schools, a TeachSDGs and an Island Innovation ambassador as well as a Duke of Edinburgh award expedition assessor.