Pegasus Bridge Memorial Flight

Meet “PEGGY” – this is our nickname for the Pegasus Bridge Memorial Flight. This memorial has been created from an original sketch by Mike Colton and brought to life by Bromley O’Hare – Artist/Blacksmith and many specialist companies in the West Midlands.

At just after midnight on D-Day the 6th June 1944 around 150 soldiers of the 2nd Battalion Ox and Bucks Regiment were air landed by Horsa Gliders. The soldiers stormed the bridges over the Orne River and Caen Canal and then set about defending them from German Counter Attacks.
Each Horsa Glider carried 30 soldiers including the two Glider pilots. The landings were described as the most incredible feat of flying!
The concept of using Gliders was to get as many fully armed soldiers onto an objective as quickly as possible.
  • Memorial Text
  • The Pegasus Bridge Memorial Flight
  • “Operation Deadstick”
  • On D-Day 6th June 1944, siz Horsa Gliders were released by Halifax aircraft pilots of 298 and 644 Squadrons Royal Air Force.
  • Gliding down over enemy territory the crews from the Glider Pilot Regiment crash landed 5 of the Gliders very close to the bridges over the Orne River and Caen Canal. Glider No. 4 landed by a bridge over the River Dives about 10m miles away.
  • Capture of these bridges was vital to defending the D-Day landing beaches to the North and the Airborne drop zones to the East in the vacinity of Ranville.
  • The operation was planned by Major John Howard and the successful assault by soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry who were supported by Royal Engineers, Royal Army Medical Corps and a 7 Para liaison officer.
  • A most SECRET operation, carried out in SILENCE with SPEED, STEALTH and achieved complete SURPRISE.
  • Operational Orders
  • “Your task is to seize INTACT the bridges….
  • and hold them until relief by 7 Para….
  • you must expect a counter attack any time after one hour….
  • it is vital that the crossing places be held.”
Plaque detail of the landing zones where the Glider Pilots crash landed the Horsa Gliders at just after midnight on the 6th June 1944. No. 1 landed closest, then No. 2 but No. 3 had to jump over No. 2 and broke in half by the pond. Nos. 5&6 had no problems. No. 4 went to a bridge over the River Dives and the troops had to fight their way back to Pegasus Bridge.

This memorial was completed in May 2018.

“PEGGY” is set at the end of the Allied Special Forces Memorial Grove with a backdrop of the WW I Hornbeam Copse and the Railway Viaduct.
“PEGGY” has as its neighbour the Christmas Truce Shelter which is set in the background.

PAGE UPDATED 20TH OCTOBER 2025