Police Memorial Chapel Southwick Park, Hampshire

POLICE MEMORIAL CHAPEL SOUTHWICK PARK, HAMPSHIRE

Commemorative window for D-Day (0.9m x 1.0m) 2019

The overall theme of the design is Operation Overlord, remembered now as the ‘D-Day’ landings in Normandy on 6th June 1944, and the pivotal role of the Royal Military Police in that operation.

The starting point of the design is the familiar British flag, overlaid with the letters D A Y signifying D-Day in the yellow colour of the beaches of Normandy. The arrow shapes of the flag show the police leading the way, as the forces arrive on the beaches and head inwards towards the green landscape of northern France.

At the heart of the D is a Military Police Officer in his distinctive red cap, beckoning our armed forces into France with one hand whilst stopping the German advance with the other. The arrow also points towards the East and the liturgical focus of the Memorial Church, and so the Officer ‘showing the way’ can also be read as the church’s role in showing the way to a Christian life in the love of Christ.

Approaching the Military Police Officer are representatives of the three armed forces, working together in this largest and most successful example of an All Arms Combined Operation. To the top, the Royal Air Force is depicted with AW41 Abermarle Aircraft jettisoning the British scouts of the Parachute and Air Landing Brigades. In the centre, the Royal Navy is represented by HMS Belfast, one of the largest warships in the invasion fleet in Normandy. Below, the land assault is represented by some of the 7,000 naval craft responsible for escorting and landing over 132,000 ground troops on the beaches of Normandy.

At the head of the D-day landings, directing and dispersing the men in-land from the beaches, were members of the Police Services. They are represented by their regimental badges, arranged around the curve of the letter D; from top, the Royal Air Force Police, the Royal Navy Police and the Royal Military Police.

The window was unveiled by Susan Eisenhower and Henry Montgomery during a special service on 2 June 2019, one of the events commemorating the 75th anniversary of D Day.

Commemorative window for D-Day (0.9m x 1.0m) 2019