By For those who have been wondering what will happen to the 1,475 silhouettes of World War 2 military personnel currently standing on the slope in front of the British Normandy Memorial, Normandy*; the answer is, they will move to the National Trust’s Stowe Gardens in Bedfordshire.
It’s a question several people asked at our D-Day Guidebook promotion at Stanfords London last week. All knew the dramatic installation would only be in Ver-sur-Mer till September, but wondered what would happen to it after that.
The life-size silhouettes are of World War 2 military personnel representing the British casualties on 6 June 1944. They include the silhouettes of two nurses who died when a hospital ship was sunk off the Normandy beaches**.
The artwork by artist Dan Barton, is officially titled ‘For Your Tomorrow – the People’s Tribute’. (‘Standing with Giants’ is the name of his Oxfordshire-based charity whose volunteers constructed the figures using recycled building materials). The figures will be installed in several areas of the 245-acres of landscape gardens at Stowe, and will be open to the public from the end of September until mid-November 2024.
Tanya Brittain, General Manager of the National Trust gardens at Stowe says, “The 18th-century landscape garden at Stowe is well known for its many historic buildings and statues and has also featured in many well-known films and TV series. The Capability Brown designed landscape is renowned for its precise placement of eye-catching monuments to create the picture-perfect view. Its beautiful avenues, temples and lakes will provide an impressive outdoor gallery space and backdrop for this celebrated artwork.”
*The British Normandy Memorial has just tweeted a video of them.
** They were Sister Mollie Evershed and Sister Dorothy Field who died while helping to save 75 men from the hospital ship SS Amsterdam which sank off the Normandy beaches on 7th August 1944. Both were given posthumous commendation for their actions and are the only two women commemorated on the British Normandy Memorial.
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