The 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings was the theme of King’s Ely Senior’s latest History Café.
Our History and French Departments joined forces for the presentation, which was extremely well attended by students and staff. History Café is a shining example of our thriving co-curricular programme here at King’s. It is for Senior students who have a passion for History, and who want to explore the subject at every opportunity.
Mr Louis Pinier, Language Assistant and Teacher of French, gave a fascinating overview of the historical context leading up to D-Day, addressing the political and strategic situation in 1944. His main focus though was the individual stories that shine a light on the experience of those who took part, and still resonate today.
Mr Colin Currie, our Head of History, said: “We first heard the story of Fritz Niland (read by Will Shaw), a US paratrooper who survived the landings on June 6th and whose story inspired the film, Saving Private Ryan. Next, was the harrowing diary of Den Brotheridge (read by Alex New), who stormed Pegasus Bridge and was the first allied soldier to be killed on D-Day. It was then interesting to hear from the French perspective and the work of the French Resistance through the account of Simone Segouin (read by Clélia Bourdon). Lastly, we heard the story of Emily Lewis (read by Tara Nathan), a US flight nurse who took care of wounded GIs aboard C-47 planes and at bases in England. The stories about these four individuals truly brought the humanity of war home.”