D-Day Talk: Logistic Build-Up to D-Day

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, the REME Museum will be hosting talks about the build-up to D-Day.

This talk is included in your general admission ticket and will take place in our Conference Room at the stated times.

Taking place at 15:00

The Logistic Build-Up to D-Day

Much has been written about D-Day and the Normandy campaign, but how the troops and their equipment were marshalled, protected, fed, supplied, trained, hidden, armed, mended etc. has not been well documented. Since "Tactics is the art of the logistically possible" (attributed to General Omar Bradley), this seems an omission.

Chris Barrington Brown is building a website to explain the build-up and to enable users to see what happened in their area. In trawling through hundreds of files from UK, US and Canadian archives, he has brought together a collection of maps, diagrams, photographs and reports which tell that story. You can find the work-in-progress on The Build Up to D-Day website.

A typical Recovery Section raised from Static Workshops in South Eastern Command for Operation Overlord, 1944. From the Museum's collection, A:1960.0252.022.

About Chris Barrington Brown

Chris Barrington Brown spent 12 years in the Regular Gunners and 33 years in the Reserves.

He describes himself as a proud computer geek, occasional orienteer, and amateur map-maker and historian. He retired from his defence and counter-terrorism software business last year and has embarked on a (perhaps 10-year) project to document and explain the logistic build-up to D-Day.

Further Information

We expect this talk to last approximately 40 minutes, with plenty of time at the end to ask any questions.

Included in your general admission ticket, taking place in our Conference Room at the stated times. You do not need to book a space.

Crowns Cafe will be serving refreshments, hot barista-style drinks and freshly cooked food. Find a souvenir from your visit in our gift shop.

We have a large, free car park with Blue Badge spaces and dedicated coach parking.

Our D-Day 80 Events

Interested? You may wish to also join us for another talk earlier in the day on the subject of the Waterproofing in WWII by Mike and Ann Jones.

Who Am I? The D-Day Trail offers an opportunity to discover the stories of REME soldiers who served on D-Day in an interactive trail through our galleries. The trail will be running until we close at the end of 2024.

The D-Day Gnome Trail will be a fun family trail showcasing the roles of the different REME trades on D-Day through the medium of... you guessed it, gnomes! The trail runs from June to September 2024.

A special D-Day Wargaming Display has been created by the Calne Wargaming Club and will be taking place in our WW2 Gallery over the weekend of 8 - 9 June.

Check out all our D-Day 80 Events and related articles.

Plan your visit now