8 Places In London With Links To D-Day

Thursday 6th June 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It was on the 6th June 1944 that the allied forces landed on the Normandy beaches, to retake occupied Europe and therefore changed the course of World War Two.

There are a number of places that you can see or visit in London that relate to that momentous event. You can see a map of the eight locations I have picked out below.

A Quick Background to D-Day

D-Day was the largest amphibious operation in world military history, involving naval, air and land troops.

Launched in the early morning of the 6th June the operation involved 150,000 troops, across five different Normandy beaches.

On the first day just under 4500 allied soldiers were killed and roughly 5000 injured and there were around 9000 German casualties. However, by the end of that day a foothold had been gained by the allies in North-West Europe. It was from here over the course of the next year that the continent was retaken and the Germans forced to surrender.

The Allied invasion of North-West Europe was officially known as Operation Overlord, with ‘D-Day’ being a general term used for the first day of any large-scale planned military action. The D stands for ‘Day’, so D-Day actually, bizarrely, means ‘Day Day’. Some maintain that the ‘D’ stands for ‘disembarkation’. 

1. Where D-Day Was (Partially) Planned: St James’s/Grosvenor Square

There are a number of places in London that can claim to be where D-Day was planned.

The Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force was Dwight D Eisenhower. Plans were first made, throughout much of 1943, from Norfolk House at 31 St James’s Square, such as the size of landing forces and the analysis of intelligence. The building has been knocked down in the last few years and a new office block is being built on the site. 

The headquarters were then moved to Eisenhower’s personal headquarters at 20 Grosvenor Square.

There is a plaque on the outside of the building today.

Throughout the war, Grosvenor Square was colloquially known as ‘Eisenhower Platz’. 

This tree was planted in the corner of Grosvenor Square in 1994 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day.

2. The US Camp In Bushy Park

As well as Grosvenor Square, much of the planning of D-Day took place in Bushy Park near Richmond. During the war the park was home Camp Griffiss, home to 8000 American troops. 

In the months leading up to D-Day itself, Eisenhower moved the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) here instead, as he felt central London was too conspicuous. 

The wartime buildings were demolished in 1963 but the below memorial commemorates the site.

3. Presenting The Plan: St Paul’s School, Hammersmith

The pupils of St Paul’s school in Hammersmith were evacuated in September 1939 to Easthampstead Park in Berkshire. 

The school buildings were then taken over as the headquarters of the XXI Army Group, the entire land forces involved in the operation. They were led by, a former pupil of the school, General Bernard Montgomery.

Montgomery planned the land invasion from the school and presented the plan to Eisenhower, Churchill and King George VI in the lecture theatre here on the 15th May 1944. Montgomery apparently took great pleasure in occupying the Headmaster’s Office. 

The school buildings, that were here from 1884, were demolished in 1968 but the boundary walls, gate pillars and Highmaster’s House still survive. 

4. The ‘Eisenhower Centre’

Near Goodge Street station, on Chenies Street, you will find this unusual round structure.

It is one of two entrances to the deep level shelter constructed here in 1942, 100ft below ground. During the Blitz it was decided that a series of deep level shelters for civilians would be constructed along the Northern Line. I have visited the fascinating Clapham South deep level shelter before.

Since the war it has become known as the ‘Eisenhower Centre’ because he used as a headquarters, but there is no evidence of this. However, it was partially used as a US Army signals installation in the lead up to D-Day. Today it is used as archive storage. 

5. The Hotel Of Spies: St Ermin’s Hotel

During the war, one floor of St Ermin’s Hotel on Caxton Street was commandeered by the Secret Intelligence Services as the headquarters of the SOE or Special Operations Executive. 

The SOE were a volunteer group of highly trained agents that were sent behind enemy lines to carry out sabotage missions, reconnaissance and gather intelligence. They were nicknamed ‘Churchill’s Secret Army’ or, my personal favourite, the ‘Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ and were famously instructed by Churchill when they were established to ‘set Europe ablaze’.

Agents were parachuted into France before and after D-Day and helped delay German troop deployments. In the lobby of the hotel today is a display of gadgets SOE agents would have used, including a saw and compass hidden inside a hairbrush and a knife hidden inside a boot.

I have written a blog post on St Ermin’s before that you can read here.

6. The Final Sign Off: The Old War Office

The Old War Office on Whitehall has recently been turned into a hotel but was built in 1906 to be the home of the War Office. 

This room for example is the old Army Council meeting room.

This is where many British military decisions around D-Day and Operation Overlord would have been given the final sign off. 

You can read more about the Old War Office and its fascinating history here. 

7. On The Day: The Churchill War Rooms

There is, of course, the Cabinet War Rooms, or Churchill War Rooms, as they are now known. These set of rooms, below what is now the Treasury Building, were, from 1938, converted into a wartime British Government command centre. 

Churchill initially intended to watch D-Day himself from the bridge of HMS Belfast. King George VI stepped in to help avoid this foolhardy decision and wrote two letters to Churchill threatening to attend himself. These persuaded Churchill that it would not be sensible to have the leader of the country in such a dangerous situation and he backed down.

Instead, Churchill spent D-Day in the map room of the Cabinet War Rooms, receiving regular updates of progress. 

Find out more about visiting here. 

8. Leading The Bombardment: HMS Belfast

Finally, we have the iconic HMS Belfast. HMS Belfast is one of only three surviving bombardment vessels from D-Day, the other two being in the US. 

HMS Belfast led the opening bombardment on D-Day, supporting troops landing at Gold and Juno beaches. Being one of the larger ships, the sick bay was also used to treat the wounded. 

HMS Belfast spent 33 days in Normandy and fired over 5000 shells in total. 

Find out more about visiting HMS Belfast here.

Thank you very much for reading, more of London’s historical spots below.