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D-Day tribute sculpture unveiled at former RAF base

Chris McHugh
BBC News, Harwell
The Horsa Sculpture was inspired by the fuselage of the wooden Horsa gliders which flew operations from RAF Harwell.

A memorial sculpture which commemorates servicemen who played a crucial role in the D-Day landings has been unveiled at a former RAF base.

The sculpture was inspired by the wooden Horsa gliders, an aircraft which delivered troops and equipment behind enemy lines during World War Two.

It was unveiled at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, the former site of RAF Harwell, where the glider unit was stationed.

Crews took off from the base on the night before D-Day as part of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France on 6 June 1944.

Alamy A black and white photo of around 26 RAF personnel sat on either side of the inside of a world war two plane. All the officers are wearing military uniform and holding large packs on their laps, and turn their heads to smile at the camera. The arches of the plans fuselage can be seen above their heads. Alamy
The wooden Horsa gliders were mainly built in furniture workshops and could hold up to 28 servicemen

The sculpture honours the 6th Airborne Division, the No. 38 Group RAF, and the Glider Pilot Regiment.

The division played a crucial role in the D-Day landings, carrying servicemen including members of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry to Normandy.

Those forces were involved in quickly securing Pegasus Bridge, near Caen, which protected the eastern flank of the D-Day landing zone.

PA Media A black and white photo from 1944 of a metallic bridge over a river in France. Troops can be seen crossing the bridge. In the background gliders can be seen landed on the ground, slightly obscured by trees. PA Media
Horsa gliders (visible to the right) containing men from the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry landed near and quickly secured Pegasus Bridge, near Caen, Normandy

The central form of the sculpture was designed to echo the glider's fuselage, which could hold up to 28 servicemen.

It's estimated that 3,800 Horsa gliders were built during the Second World War, constructed almost entirely from 3-ply timber, mainly in furniture workshops.

The 6th Airborne Division remained on the front line for 82 days. They suffered 4,457 casualties - 821 killed, 2,709 wounded, and 927 missing.

A metal ingot embedded in a brick paving is engraved with the words: "There's only one way, and that's down",
Engraved metal ingots embedded in the sculpture's paving feature testimonies from the glider unit's servicemen

Sculptor Charlotte Holmes said: "Their bravery and the inevitability faced by those involved is just breathtaking.

"What struck me... was that because it's a glider with no engine, there is no turning back."

"It was an honour to commemorate the men who took off from Harwell 81 years ago."

Major James Sibbald, from the Royal British Legion, said the sculpture was a fitting tribute to the servicemen from the glider regiment.

"RAF Harwell is still here in the heart of the Harwell campus," he said. [The sculpture] is vital to show the commitment that our forces had and the memory of their actions".

Sculptor Charlotte Holmes sits with her back against one of the sculpture's wooden arches, and looks left towards the camera. She has short, dyed blond hair, dark-rimmed glasses and is wearing a black jacket over a white top, with dark trousers and black boots.
The design and build process for the Horsa Sculpture took Oxfordshire artist Charlotte Holmes 11 months

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