British Normandy Memorial

Remembering the 22,540 men and women who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy. Free to visit & open year-round. [email protected]

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

📣 Get your bids in! The Remembrance 2026 Golf Auction in memory of our late Ambassador Harry Billinge is now open until Sunday 8th November. ⛳️
https://t.co/gboNPs6VC0

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

⛳ Golf clubs around the world are coming together for remembrance. Will yours join them?

The 2026 Remembrance National Golf Auction launches on 31 October, supporting education at the British Normandy Memorial in loving memory of our much-missed Ambassador and Veteran, Harry Billinge MBE.

An incredible 400 golf clubs have already pledged a midweek two-ball or four-ball, helping future generations learn about the lives and sacrifices we must never forget.

There’s still time to get involved. If you belong to a golf club anywhere in the world and have permission to donate a two-ball or four-ball, please contact us this week:

📧 [email protected]

Please share this with your club and golfing friends. Together, we can help Harry’s legacy live on.

#BritishNormandyMemorial #HarryBillinge #GolfForGood #Remembrance

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

We are so saddened to learn of the death of our great friend, Henry Rice, who has died aged 100.

Normandy Veteran Henry was a Signalman serving on HMS Eastway, which was a Landing Ship used to supply men and equipment to the various beaches. HMS Eastway arrived off Juno Beach on D-Day +5.

Henry was one of the first Veterans to visit the Memorial after its completion in October 2021, and has visited every year since thanks to our partners Spirit of Normandy Trust. His passion for remembrance was truly humbling.

We will miss Henry so very, very much. His beaming smile, infectious warmth and wonderful zest for life brought such joy to everyone fortunate enough to know him.

We send our deepest condolences to the Rice family and all Henry's friends.

Rest in Peace, dear Henry. ❤️

📷 This is Henry at the Memorial a few months ago for the 82nd anniversary commemorations. Credit - Florence Marsac / British Normandy Memorial

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

Our Memorial Ambassador, 101-year-old D-Day Veteran Ken Cooke, has released a book about his life! 📚

'Every Day Is An Adventure' was written by close family friends Amanda Stirk and Gillian MacDonald.

Their work started from a conversation the two friends had with Ken whilst he was gardening at home one day earlier this year.

Gillian said: "We were saying he'd had such an interesting life that someone should write a book about it. It just evolved from there - initially it was going to be a small undertaking, but it grew and grew."

The book costs £10 + pp and can be ordered by contacting Gillian - [email protected]
Congratulations, Ken! 📚❤️

[Daily Mail @DailyMail]

'Extraordinary' Normandy D-Day veteran who survived being captured by the Nazis dies aged 101 https://t.co/laYjXHSLtk

[Menna Rawlings @MennaRawlings]

Incredibly sad to hear this. I had the luck and pleasure of meeting Ken a few times at #DDay events, and we shared stories, laughter and a few tears.

Thinking of his family and friends today. Rest in Peace, “Grandad Ken”.

[BBC Breakfast @BBCBreakfast]

Ken Hay, a Normandy veteran and ambassador for the British Normandy Memorial in France, has died after a short illness at the age of 101.

https://t.co/DuIU7jKx5R

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

@JaneFranklin99 Thank you Jane and @ForcesNews for helping Ken share his story over the years. ❤️

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

We are deeply saddened to learn that Ken Hay passed away today, Sunday 20th September, aged 101.

Ken was a Normandy Veteran and a long-standing Memorial Ambassador who gave everything to support the Trust's work in sharing the message of Remembrance with the next generation. He attended the 82nd commemorations this June and participated in the ceremony, as he did in previous years.

His passion for education was unwavering. The countless schoolchildren whose lives he touched with his stories of courage and resilience nicknamed him 'Grandad Ken'.

We extend our most sincere condolences to Ken's sons Chris and Jeremy, all the Hay family and his very many friends.

Ken Hay MBE Leg d'Hon. An extraordinary gentleman whose remarkable life will never be forgotten. ❤️

Rest in Peace our dearest friend.

📷 Crown Copyright

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

Goodbye, Giants. ❤️

Today is the last day of the Standing with Giants installation at the British Normandy Memorial.

The installation will return to the UK for essential maintenance and repair. Standing with Giants, which is a separate registered charity, will also have the opportunity to display the installation at other locations across the UK during the winter months.

We hope to welcome the Giants back to Normandy in spring 2027. However, their return will depend upon securing sufficient funding: https://t.co/DgRgyENlp1

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

D-Day Veteran Harry Billinge would have been 101 today. One of our first Memorial Ambassadors and an extraordinary fundraiser.

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Harry. ❤️

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

Our 12-year-old Youth Ambassador Alexander Churchill (great great grandson of Winston Churchill) and 101-year-old Dorothea Barron pictured at the @StudiocanalUK premiere of 'Pressure'.

Dorothea was a Wren who served as a visual signaller in preparation for the Landings.

The film about the D-Day weather forecast is now out in cinemas.

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

📷📷 Thanks to @StudiocanalUK we were delighted to see our Veteran friends at the European Premiere of Pressure at ODEON Cinemas Leicester Square, the new film telling the extraordinary story of the D-Day weather forecast.

In attendance were Veterans Colin Bell, Mervyn Kersh, Ruth Barnwell, Dorothea Barron and Marie Scott, alongside members of the Churchill family.

Pressure is in cinemas 9th September.

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

We are deeply saddened to share that D-Day Veteran Donald Howkins has passed away aged 105.

From Buckingham, Donald served as a gunner in the Middlesex Regiment and helped waterproof vehicles and ammunition for the Normandy invasion before landing on Gold Beach.

Donald was one of the Memorial's earliest supporters nearly a decade ago, and one of the first Guardians. He also became one of the first Veterans to visit the site of the Memorial following the inauguration of the site in June 2019, and later when the Memorial was built. We will forever remember his support and kindness, and graciousness in sharing his story with us - a legacy that will live on.

Rest in Peace, dearest Donald. We will never forget you. ❤️

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

We were honoured to welcome John Churchill to the Memorial today.

John is the great-great-grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, and last visited the site for D-Day 75 when the D-Day Sculpture was inaugurated ahead of the building of the Memorial.

John visited with school friends and is pictured in the middle in the first picture, and with his family 7 years ago in the second.

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

The solar eclipse at the Memorial, overlooking Gold Beach. ☀️🌙

[British Normandy Memorial @britishmemorial]

Happy 101st Birthday, Ken! 🎂❤️

We wish D-Day Veteran Ken Cooke a wonderful day with family and friends.

Ken is a Memorial Ambassador and an incredible long-time supporter of the Trust's work.

He served with 7th Battalion the Green Howards and landed on Gold Beach, which sits below the Memorial, on 6th June 1944.

With Normandy Veteran Ken Hay's 101st on Monday, it's been a week of celebrations for the two Kens! 🎉🎉