We’re drifting momentarily away from Doctor Who because Lovarzi, makers of a load of Who items like the Fourth Doctor Scarf and TARDIS Folding Umbrella, has made a special scarf to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Sales of the scarf aid the Imperial War Museum (IWM).
The design shows a map used by a British naval officer in 1944, a key component in planning and preparation for the landings. It features the western sector known as Omaha Beach around Vierville-sur-Mer in Normandy, France, and includes annotations added in red to show the obstacles placed by the Germans to prevent an invasion. The plan was jointly issued by the British and Americans through the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force to Allied troops in an effort to coordinate the operations at sea.
While a bird’s-eye view of the coast occupies the lion’s share of the document, the map also shows an illustration of the landscape at eye-level, so you can appreciate what troops would have seen upon their approach on 6th June 1944. Maninder Singh Sahota, Lovarzi’s Director, says:
“It was important for us to accurately capture the details of the map as clearly as possible, which is why we’ve printed the design on silk. It means anyone looking at the scarf can see the map’s legend, warnings about land mines, and its scale, among much more minutiae. The annotations about potential obstacles underline the Allied forces’ bravery and resilience, and serve as a reminder of the sacrifices made some 75 years ago.”
The D-Day landings launched Operation Overlord, a campaign which saw British and American forces fighting through France for nearly two months before reaching Germany itself. However, those arriving at Omaha faced considerable difficulties, including bad weather conditions leading to navigation problems. The aim was to establish a beachhead 8 kilometres deep, but there were heavy casualties; nonetheless, survivors managed to secure two footholds in the sector and further exploitation of in-land defences meant the original objective was achieved.
The Omaha Beach D-Day Landings Silk Scarf is available to order from Lovarzi now.
