D-Day 75 Garden
About D-Day 75 Garden
The D-Day 75 Garden is a memorial garden overlooking Gold Beach and the Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches. Designed by gold medal winner John Everiss, it was first exhibited at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2019 before being gifted to Arromanches by British Normandy veterans on June 6, 2019, the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The 32m x 12m garden features two life-size sculptures of veteran Bill Pendell MM: one carved from Millstone Grit showing him elderly with his medals and beret, and another ethereal figure representing him at age 22, made from thousands of welded metal washers. The garden includes 10,000 sea thrift plants, the same flowers troops would have seen along England's south coast before embarking. Cor-Ten steel poles represent 'Rommel's asparagus' beach obstacles. The site offers views across the bay where the Allied forces landed in 1944. Access via Rue du Calvaire, next to the Arromanches 360 circular cinema.
Interesting Facts
Bill Pendell, the veteran depicted in both sculptures, sadly passed away in December 2018 at age 97, just months before the garden's inauguration. In 1944, he landed on Gold Beach at 22 years old. With his family's blessing, the artist John Everiss created dual portraits: one showing Bill as he was at his death, the other capturing his youth as a soldier—frozen forever at the moment he stepped onto French soil.
The garden cost £450,000 to create, entirely funded through public donations, business contributions, and government support. The project received backing from the families of both Field Marshal Montgomery and General Eisenhower, as well as celebrities including Stephen Fry, Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden, and the D-Day Darlings singing group.
The ethereal sculpture of young Bill Pendell is made from thousands of individually welded metal washers, deliberately creating a hazy, dreamlike quality. Designer John Everiss explained this technique represents 'a memory that fades'—acknowledging that living witnesses to D-Day are passing away, and our connection to this history is becoming increasingly indirect.
Planning Your Visit
Opening Hours
Location & Practical Info
Address
Rue du Calvaire, 14117 Arromanches-les-Bains, France
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