D-Day 80th anniversary commemorated as The Longest Yarn comes to Southwell Minster
An 80-metre woollen depiction of D-Day is to go on display in a cathedral, to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
The Longest Yarn, a 3D wool-art recreation of the fateful day on June 6, 1944, will be on display in Southwell Minster later this year, in a UK first for the piece.
It features 80 displays, each measuring one metre in length, depicting scenes of the world’s largest amphibious invasion, including the build-up to D-Day in England, the horrors on the landing beaches and the bloody inland battles.
The installation will be first on display in Carentan, France, before coming to Southwell Minster in September.
Created with guidance from professional historians to be accurate, each scene has been selected by the creator to depict the story of this momentous day in history.
Some of the scenes depict actual second world war veterans that were in the theatre of war in Normandy on June 6, plus the lesser-known events in towns and villages in Normandy.
Sandbags filled with sand from the Normandy beaches will be used to weigh down the structures showcasing the art.
Over 1,000 knitters from across the world, including the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France and even people with NATO stationed in Europe, have joined in to help make the project happen.
Tansy Foster, who came up with the idea and has led the operations from France said: “One of my favourite scenes that will be on display is the depiction of the famous moment Lord Lovat and Piper Bill Millin crossed Pegasus Bridge, and another is when he plays his pipes on Sword Beach. Piper Millin’s son donated his father’s favourite jumper to us which we unravelled and used the wool to knit the figures of Piper Bill — it’s given a real poignancy to these scenes.”
The Very Revd Nicola Sullivan, Dean of Southwell, added: “We are honoured to be the first place in the UK to host this prestigious exhibition. We look forward to welcoming visitors to Southwell to view these scenes from what is one of the most important days in European history. We are extremely grateful to Big G Logistics who have kindly agreed to collect the exhibition from France and bring it over at a discounted rate, and also to Brittany Ferries who have waived their transport costs.”
The exhibition is free of charge and is due to be on display from September 9 to 27, 2024. Final haulage details are still being arranged from Normandy so these dates are subject to change.
An accompanying book will be on sale, giving more information on each of the 80 scenes, including a picture from 1944 to show viewers what each scene was based on.
The Longest Yarn are a non-profit association and self-fund the exhibition. Donations can be made via its website.
