Trinity House, the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) for England, Wales, Channel Islands and Gibraltar, will join the international commemoration events of the D-Day Landings with its own story of tight planning and close collaboration in service of the historic Operation Overlord.
In the lead up to the 80th anniversary of the historic D-Day landings on 6 June, Trinity House says it is proud to join with governments, charities and other organisations from within the UK and across the globe to commemorate the monumental effort that laid the path to ultimate success. We are equally proud to mark our role in that pivotal moment in our island nation’s story.
Trinity House’s people, whether at sea or ashore, worked exhaustively through May, June and July 1944 to mark the Swept Channel routes for the invasion of Normandy, laying 73 lighted buoys and mooring two fully-crewed lightvessels to indicate a safe route to the landing beaches.
In the month following D-Day nearly 5,000 ships were handled by 203 Trinity House river and sea pilots, working day and night without relief. To learn more about our close involvement with the preparations and mobilisation of one of history’s greatest sea-going operations, read the story in full.
Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief, recognised our vital role in a telegram sent in 1944: “I wish to place on record my high appreciation of the invaluable work performed by the vessels of Trinity House and their crews, as well as by those who have been responsible for the organisation and preparations ashore, during recent operations involving the landing on the Continent of Europe of the greatest seaborne expedition in history.”
Marking the occasion 80 years later, Trinity House’s Deputy Master Rear Admiral Iain Lower CB said: “This is a fascinating and humbling story of meticulous preparation and seamless cooperation between the Merchant and Allied Navies to get the job done, by day, by night and under constant enemy fire. It is a story of resilience, of courage, of fortitude and of sacrifice. I am incredibly proud that Trinity House’s work then, as today, was to mark a safe passage when needed most.”
In preparation for the 80th anniversary, with thanks to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), on 14 May we welcome the D-Day Torch at Trinity House in London, on its journey of commemoration from the UK to Normandy. As part of the ‘Lighting Their Legacy’ programme of events the D-Day Torch will be carried from Canada to the UK and then on to Normandy, via locations including Cardiff, Edinburgh, Portsmouth and London, as well as key Commonwealth War Graves sites. Events culminate in Normandy, with every CWGC grave being lit in silent tribute to the fallen.
On D-Day itself, 6 June, Trinity House will be lighting a number of D-Day Beacons at its lighthouses around England and Wales: Cromer, Caldey, Lizard, Longstone, Lundy South, Peninnis, Start Point and Portland Bill.
