The Normandy Campaign Medal

The Normandy Campaign Medal

ID: PC_WD_WS_006 DESCRIPTION: This medal belongs to William Shand who was interviewed by pupils of Rosebank Primary School, Nairn, as part of a War Detectives project in 2005. It is the Normandy Campaign Medal, a commemorative medal commissioned by the Normandy Veterans Association as a tribute to those who took part in the Normandy Campaign of World War 2. It is available exclusively to veterans who took part in the Normandy Campaign between 6 June and 20 August 1944, or to their next of kin. The inscription on the medal reads: 'Blessent mon coeur d'une langueur monotone' ('Wound my heart with monotonous langour'). This is a line from Paul Verlaine's poem 'Chanson d'Automne', which was used in World War 2 as a code, signalling to the French Resistance that the Normandy invasion was imminent. On 5 June 1944, the BBC broadcast a group of unusual personal messages, of which only a few were significant. A few days before D-Day, the commanding officers of the Resistance had heard the first line of Verlaine's poem: 'Les sanglots longs des violons de l'automne' ('Long sobs of autumn violins'). When the second line was heard, they knew that the invasion would take place within the next 48 hours. It was time to sabotage communication systems throughout the country PLACENAME: N/A PERIOD: 1940s SOURCE: Am Baile and War Detectives COLLECTION: War Detectives (images) Asset ID: 30233 KEYWORDS: