As the world prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, do you know if someone in your family fought in this pivotal military campaign of the Second World War? These resources can help you trace the stories of British and American soldiers who fought in D Day.
1. First-hand accounts
On both sides of the Atlantic, archives, museums and libraries have accumulated a wealth of first-hand accounts from those who participated in D-Day: from soldiers and sailors to nurses and other civilians. These include the National Army Museum, London, and the Imperial War Museum, London. In the USA, the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project Collection has a vast array of testimonies available. Finally, the BBC has collated thousands of Britons’ memories of the war, including hundreds from veterans of D-Day, on WW2 People's War.
2. Unit diaries and maps
The National Archives in Kew, South-West London, houses all of the official military records of D-Day, including WW2 war diaries and maps. The archive’s online catalogue Discovery has an excellent search engine. A limited number of records are available to view via Discovery, or on Ancestry's D-Day collection, but most are not digitised and can only be seen in person by appointment; see the website for more details. The US National Archives has a similarly comprehensive collection, and an equivalent online search engine.
3. Service records
Until recently, the Ministry of Defence held the 10 million service records of Britain’s war veterans, but a project is under way to transfer them to The National Archives at Kew with the first tranche, consisting of 600,000 records of non-officers, already transferred and searchable via its catalogue Discovery. Across the pond the National Archives at St Louis, Missouri, holds the Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) for veterans from all service branches with a discharge date of 1961 or earlier.
4. Newspapers
Old newspapers provide great insight into D-Day, despite the censorship that applied. Among the war reporters who witnessed the invasion were Richard Dimbleby of the BBC and the American Martha Gellhorn. Their dispatches, and pictures from the likes of legendary war photographer Robert Capa, can be seen on such sites as the British Newspaper Archive and Chronicling America, which is owned by the US Library of Congress.
5. Museums
There are many superb museums dedicated to D-Day, notably the Pegasus Bridge Museum and Memorial in Ranville in Normandy, which tells the story of the British airborne role, and the Overlord Museum, close to the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer and Omaha Beach. A comprehensive list of all of the museums related to D-Day can be found on Normandy Tourism’s website. There are also museums in Britain, such as Airborne Assault: the Museum of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, and the D-Day Story in Portsmouth.
