On the Record at The National Archives

Untold Stories of D-Day

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Episode notes

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, June 6, 1944, 24,000 soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy in Northern France. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history. Their mission: to liberate Europe and defeat Germany. Who were these soldiers? And who worked secretly to plan the operation and ensure its success? 

In this episode, Chloe Lee speaks to colleagues Sophie Stewart and Alice Bell about the people who contributed to this operation, whose stories we may not be familiar with: a tank driver on the frontline, one of the first black women in the Royal Air Force, and a femme fatale whose coded telegram saved many lives on D-Day. 

For a transcript and information about the documents used in this episode visit our show notes: https://bit.ly/D-Day1