The Longest Day

Museums are full of wonderful things, some with fantastic personal stories that highlight aspects of the past. Cumbria's Museum of Military Life is no exception, and it never amazes me how an object can give insight into a period of history. Today is the 76th anniversary of D-Day, when the Allies returned to French soil, a major moment in the Second World War. There have been many documentaries about D-Day on television and some well-known films, from the Longest Day to Saving Private Ryan. Most people have heard of D-Day and are aware of its impact on World War Two.

But within the Museum we have on display a champagne bottle with a note inside. It may look fairly insignificant but the story associated with it is fascinating and gives us a more personal aspect of the war, especially D-Day. The bottle of bollinger had been bought by nine officers from the 6th Battalion The Border Regiment during the Battle of Britain in 1940, when they were in southern England providing defence for RAF stations. The officers were keeping the champagne for a special occasion.

Four years later, the officers found themselves part of the D-Day forces. Why they decided to open the bottle and drink it beforehand rather than after landing on the D-Day beaches, we will never know. Perhaps they thought that they might not all make it through this day. Departing from Weymouth harbour, they embarked for Normandy taking with them the bottle. They wrote a message on headed notepaper, placed it in the bottle and threw it overboard. What were the men thinking at that point? As part of the invading force they must have realised that the next few weeks were not going to be easy.

Four days later, on the 10th June 1944, the bottle was washed up on the Isle of Wight and picked up by Sergeant Railton, 409 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery Royal Artillery, who carried out the instructions on the note. The bottle was posted to the Border Regimental Depot in Carlisle Castle, arriving on 25th September 1944.

The message inside the bottle, dated 5^th June 1944, reads; 

If found please post this paper (including the bottle) to The Castle, Carlisle, Cumberland, England. Signed H. J. Bartholomew, J. W. Triggs, J. Westoll, T. Graham (MO), C. Askew, R. C. Troughton, B. Oliver, T. Heath, T. Mackie.

All but one of these officers survived the landings on Gold Beach, and the War. The exception was Basil Oliver who, aged 23, was killed in Normandy on 17th August 1944. He is buried in Ranville War cemetery, north-east of Caen in France.