High on the ridge above Gold Beach, at Ver-sur-Mer, stands the British Normandy Memorial — opened in 2021 to gather in one place, for the first time, the names of the 22,442 men and women under British command who died in the Normandy campaign. At its heart, on a 20-ton triangular granite plinth ringed by 160 stone columns of names, is a larger-than-life bronze by the sculptor David Williams-Ellis: three British Tommies frozen mid-charge, coming ashore and rushing forward into the fire. It is one of the great monuments of the war, and this King & Country set is a faithful miniature of that sculpture — the memorial's three running men rendered in 1/30 scale.

The three are badged as the 6th Battalion, Green Howards, of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division, who landed on Gold Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944 — battledress and scrim-netted MkII helmets, packs and webbing. A sergeant with a Sten gun waves the others on, a rifleman rushes forward at his shoulder, and a Lance Corporal Bren gunner brings up the light machine gun for covering fire. They are the same battalion as the beach's great hero, CSM Stan Hollis VC, and pair with the single Gold Beach Bren Gunner to build a full section on the move. I've written about the memorial itself, and K&C's tribute to it, on the Breagans blog. Advancing up the shingle toward a German position, they make a diorama that is also a small act of remembrance.

Model: DD397 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 3 piece set