D-Day 6 June 1944 - Hammersmith Road, London, UK
N 51° 29.608 W 000° 12.961
30U E 693254 N 5708377
This plaque is placed to denote the location where the Normandy landings were planned.
Waymark Code: WMEMB6
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/13/2012
Views: 4
The plaque is mounted on a brick gate post and reads:
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"Hammersmith and Fulham Historical Buildings Group
D-Day 6 June 1944
The Normandy landings were
planned by General Montgomery
and others in St Paul's School, which
occupied this site from 1884 to 1968.
On 15 May 1944 the final invasion plan
was presented to General Eisenhower
and senior allied commanders in
the school lecture theatre, in the
presence of King George VI
and the Prime Minister,
Winston Churchill.
2009"
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The Old Pauline website (visit
link) tells us a little about Montgomery:
"Montgomery was educated at St. Paul's School, and even
used the school building in Hammersmith to work out the fine details of the
D-Day invasion of France in 1944. He has received many honours, including a
knighthood and the title of 1st Viscount of Alamein."
It also tells us:
"Bernard Law Montgomery, OP, entered the army in 1908,
two years after leaving St. Paul's. It was in August 1942 when he was appointed
as Commander of the British 8th Army in North Africa, where he rallied the
discouraged British troops and led them to drive the Nazi forces from El Alamein,
across the desert and into Tunisia. In 1943, Montgomery and Eisenhower both
commanded the Allied invasion of Sicily, and Montgomery became Field Marshall
just before he led the Allied D-Day invasion of 1944. Much of his planning for
the invasion was done in St. Paul's School, and the Montgomery Room of the
current school building is named to commemorate this. He received a knighthood
for his outstanding work during the War, and he is often considered to be one of
the greatest generals of British military history."