Safeguarding memory, shaping legacy

In 2023, Barker Langham was appointed by the Normandy Memorial Trust to define the creative vision and develop the concept for the permanent Experience and Learning Centre at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver‑sur‑Mer. This centre will safeguard the stories of the 22,442 servicemen and women under British command who fell on D‑Day and during the wider Battle of Normandy in 1944, ensuring that as living memory recedes, future generations understand how the freedoms of today were won.

Alongside this long‑term project, we were commissioned to design and deliver a temporary pavilion to mark the 80th anniversary of D‑Day. The Winston Churchill Centre for Learning was completed in just five months and inaugurated by King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 June 2024, providing a powerful stepping stone toward the permanent centre.

Our brief was clear: craft an immersive space that harmonises with the memorial’s solemn setting while offering a fresh visitor experience distinct from other Normandy sites. We developed a compelling creative vision that balances the weight of history with hospitality, fostering learning, reflection, and remembrance in equal measure.

Set above Gold Beach, the British Normandy Memorial records the names of those who paid the ultimate price in 1944. The indomitable generation who fought for Europe’s freedom is passing from living memory, and with it, the visceral power of personal testimony. Our vision positions the new centre as a guardian of these narratives, an immersive installation centred on a vast panoramic artwork that evokes the Normandy campaign, supported by traditional galleries telling the complete British story of D‑Day and its aftermath.

To secure long‑term investment, Barker Langham developed a bespoke fundraising prospectus combining historical gravitas, emotional resonance, and robust financial modelling. Our business planning and visitor projections demonstrate how the centre can operate sustainably, strengthening the case for its future development and ensuring its legacy endures.

While fundraising continues for the permanent centre, we designed and built the Winston Churchill Centre for Learning to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D‑Day. Appointed in 2023, our team delivered full architectural services from vision and concept through to completion. Employing an environmentally responsible, low‑energy design and off‑site prefabricated panel technology, we completed ground‑breaking to fit‑out in just five months.

To foster meaningful engagement with younger audiences, we worked closely with local French schools, inviting children to respond to the story of D-Day through writing and drawing. Their work now forms a poignant feature of the exhibition, bringing together remembrance and renewal, and connecting the veterans of 1944 with the schoolchildren of 2024.

The pavilion was completed on schedule and inaugurated by King Charles III and Queen Camilla on June 6, 2024 during the official 80th anniversary commemorations. The opening brought together surviving veterans, local schoolchildren, and dignitaries, symbolising the bridge between living memory and history, and reaffirming our shared responsibility to remember.