Standing in the shadows of the giants: 1,475 statues occupy the landscape next to the D-Day memorial overlooking Gold Beach in France to honor each of the servicemen who fell during a heroic mission.

A staggering 1,475 statues filled the landscape next to a D-Day memorial overlooking France’s Golden Beach in honor of each of the servicemen who fell during this historic mission.

The Standing with Giants silhouettes are part of the For Your Tomorrow installation at the British Normandy Memorial, Ver-Sur-Mer, France.

In a stunning nod to the servicemen who fell on D-Day almost 80 years ago, the fields of the British Normandy Memorial campus have been filled with two-metre-high statues of soldiers, representing all three military services.

In addition to the 1,475 silhouettes, the project will also install custom-made “giants” to represent the only two women on the Memorial, nurse sisters Evershed and Field.

The two heroic women died saving 75 men from a sinking hospital ship.

The impressive number of silhouettes represents the number of deaths under British command on June 6, 1944.

Statues of around fifty French resistance fighters will also be placed around the French Memorial.

Images from the project, launched this spring and open next summer, show green fields dotted with figures casting long shadows on the grass as the sun sets in the distance.

The somber mood captures the deep emotion and tragedy behind the project as statues of men wearing helmets and rifles strapped to their backs stand proudly in the French landscape.

The staggering number of silhouettes represents the number of deaths under British command on June 6, 1944.

According to the British Normandy Memorial website, the instillation can be visited throughout the summer of next year.

Standing with Giants is a community project, set up in 2019 by Oxfordshire community artist Dan Barton and a group of local volunteers.

They create large-scale art installations using recycled building materials and provide meaningful spaces for people to visit, reflect and remember.

Since February, families and organizational groups have been invited to help prepare the 1,475 statues at a workshop in Oxfordshire ahead of the instillation in Normandy, which is due to take place this month.

According to the British Normandy Memorial website, the instillation can be visited throughout the summer of next year.

The British Normandy Memorial records the names of the 22,442 servicemen under British command who fell on D-Day.

Those who lost a loved one during this historic mission also have the opportunity to commemorate them with a tribute plaque next to one of the statues.

The British Normandy Memorial said: “Plaques ordered by 6 May 2024 will be displayed alongside the Standing with Giants installation for summer 2024, allowing ‘your giant’ to stand among his peers.

The plaques will remain on the ground for at least five years.

For £150, people will be able to dedicate a black plaque with printed white inscription, attached to a 1.2m stake which will stand in the wildflower meadow at the British Normandy Memorial in the summer of the 80th anniversary of the landing. .

They will also have the possibility of having the silhouette of a soldier, sailor or pilot on their plate.

The British Normandy Memorial records the names of the 22,442 servicemen under British command who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944.

This includes people from over 30 different countries.

Inscribed in stone, their names have never, until now, been united.

The site also includes a French Memorial, dedicated to the memory of French civilians who died during this period.