Battledress "Major" - 8th Bataillon - 6th Airborne Division

Battledress "Major" Officer of the 8th Parachute Battalion - 3rd Parachute Brigade - 6th Airborne Division, with its specific "Slip-on"

Manufactured S. Simpson Ltd and dated January 1942 & receipt stamp O corresponding to 1942

All the embroidered insignia mounted in the original, as well as on the epaulettes the grade "pips" and its two "Slip-on" corresponding to the 8th Battalion

Decorations "Ribbons" corresponds to an officer engaged in Northwest Europe (1939-45 Star - France & Germany Star - Defence Medal, War Medal)

Copy worn and in magnificent condition, with all its buttons

The 8th Parachute Battalion was part of the 3rd Parachute Brigade, integrated into the British 6th Airborne Division.

As part of Operation Tonga, the battalion was deployed on the night of June 5 to 6, 1944.

During the first hours of D-Day, the men of the 8th Battalion jumped east of the Orne, with the mission of securing the eastern flank of the British bridgehead and preventing any German counterattack from the Dives sector.

The assigned objectives included the neutralization of German positions around Bures-sur-Dives as well as the destruction or disuse of strategic bridges in order to delay enemy movements.

As with many airborne units that night, the drops were dispersed and the officers had to quickly gather their men under fire.

The 8th Parachute Battalion faced elements of the 716th Infantry Division, then units of the 21st Panzerdivision.

Despite the initial losses and dispersion, the battalion managed to fulfill its missions, holding the sector east of the Orne and contributing directly to the protection of the British landing on Sword Beach.

Shoulder width: 42cm (16,5")

Sleeve length: 62cm (24,5")

Total height: 60cm (23,5")