I recently had the honour of taking part in a DIO battlefield study in Normandy, focused on the monumental events of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings. Battlefield studies are something our military colleagues sometimes undertake to learn from strategies …
As we mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, we at DIO are reflecting on our own experiences and stories of the invasion. Tom Niblett, from our External Communications team, has shared his family’s experience. Tom’s granddad, Thomas Payne was part …
In June 1944, the official order to launch the Normandy Landings was made from a small room in an Officers’ Mess. That room, and the history it holds, is cared for by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) as part of …
This year, the UK will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944. There will be a series of major events across the UK and in France. D-Day saw the Allied Forces mount a large-scale invasion …
Defence Infrastructure Senior Archaeologist Richard Osgood led an Op Nightingale Dig at a site in Aldbourne, Wiltshire which has significant links to the preparations for the D-Day landings. The dig, which aligns with the 80th anniversary year of D-Day landings, …
Hidden away deep in the Surrey countryside sits a piece of iconic British history. A structure that Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) proudly cares for that helped the Allies prepare for the D-Day landings in 1944. A replica of the Nazi-built …
As the country turns its attentions to the beaches of Normandy for this week’s 75th anniversary of Operation Overlord, more commonly known as the D-Day landings, my focus is closer to home. I’m responsible for several of DIO’s training areas …