As Remembrance Day falls on 11 November, we honour the silence that speaks of sacrifice. This year marks the 81st anniversary of D-Day—the daring launch of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944. The Allied masterstroke ignited the liberation of German-occupied Western Europe. Its opening act, Operation Neptune, was the largest amphibious invasion in history. The Royal Mint’s 2024 D-Day 50p Gold Proof Coin captures this moment in gleaming 22-carat gold—a limited-edition tribute to courage and unity.

Neptune secured the beachheads; Overlord pushed inland, linking airborne divisions and breaking toward Paris. Operation Fortitude—phantom armies and false radio traffic—misled the Germans into expecting an attack at Pas-de-Calais, thinning Normandy defences. By August, northwest France was liberated; by May 1945, Europe was free.

The cost was immense: thousands fell on D-Day, countless more in the 11-week fight.

5 Remarkable Facts About Operation Neptune

• Unprecedented Armada – 6,939 vessels.  
• First-Day Scale – 156,115 troops.  
• Air Supremacy – 11,590 aircraft.  
• Logistical Triumph – 850,000 men by 30 June.  
• Early Loss – USS Osprey mined; six lives lost.

 Victory in Europe – 8 May 1945

Germany surrendered on 7 May; VE Day was proclaimed the next. Joy erupted worldwide.

Now, eighty years after Allied victory, The Monnaie de Paris unveils The Story of Liberation—a four-coin series honouring the soldiers who turned the tide from D-Day to VE Day. Each coin follows one: British Tommy, French Resistant, American GI, Canadian infantryman—their journeys embodying multinational resolve. Each reverse unites 11 Allied flags around “RF”, with stars tracing Liberty Road. 

Allied Troops React: “The Guns Fell Silent” The news came over the wireless… We just sat there. Nobody cheered. We thought of the lads who wouldn’t see it.” Pte. Bill Betts, Royal Winnipeg Rifles  

“We were digging slit trenches near Berchtesgaden… I thought of Omaha. This was for them.”  Pvt. Frank D. Miller, 101st Airborne 

“We were in a Dutch barn when the wireless hissed: ‘Germany has surrendered…’ The guns stopped.”  Pte. Len Chester, 7th Armoured Division  

“In a forest near Brive, hiding from patrols, our hidden radio caught de Gaulle’s voice on 8 May: ‘La guerre est gagnée.’ We embraced in the rain, whispering ‘Liberté’ like a prayer. The boches fled that night; we lit bonfires on the hills. But joy mixed with sorrow—for my brother, executed at Montluc. The fight was over, yet the ghosts remained.” Maurice V., Maquis du Limousin

How South Africa Heard of Victory

The Union of South Africa received the VE Day news via urgent cables from London and BBC relays, with Prime Minister Jan Smuts broadcasting the surrender announcement on 8 May 1945, proclaiming a national day of thanksgiving. As a vital Allied partner that deployed over 342,000 troops to North Africa and Italy, the revelation brought profound relief after 38,000 losses; Johannesburg's streets overflowed with Union Jack-waving parades and church services, while in Durban, crowds danced the conga amid fireworks, though Afrikaner nationalists in rural areas marked the occasion with muted ceremonies reflecting lingering pro-Axis sentiments. 

How the World Found Out

• UK – Churchill’s 3 p.m. BBC broadcast; London danced in Trafalgar Square; Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret mingled incognito.  
• USA – Truman’s 9 a.m. White House address; Times Square swelled with 250,000 waving “IT’S OVER!” headlines.  
• Canada – CBC relayed Eisenhower’s telegrams; Toronto ticker-tape parades; Halifax sailors toasted liberation.  
• France – De Gaulle’s noon broadcast; church bells pealed; Parisians marched the Champs-Élysées.  
• Other Allies – Sydney street parties; Dutch orange sashes; Oslo bells; Belgian Armistice echoes; Polish radio freedom.
• USSR: The Soviet Union was still a full Allied power, and no nation paid a higher price in blood to defeat Nazi Germany. Stalin’s voice boomed over Radio Moscow at 6 a.m. on 9 May: “Comrades! The age-old struggle… has ended in victory.” 1.5 million flooded Red Square—red banners, vodka toasts, Baltic sailors dancing the kazachok. Joy was cathartic—tears for the fallen, cheers for survival—yet rationing and the Cold War loomed.

From Neptune’s thunder to Reims’ silence, The Story of Liberation humanises victory. These coins ensure ordinary heroes endure. This Remembrance Day, as the Last Post echoes, we honour all who served—from the Great War to today.