War memorial, Vernon

WW2 Memorial to 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment, just outside Vernon (Vernonnet), Normandy, France. This lay-by is positioned off a wooded, steep road leading up towards Tilly. The Worcesters advanced on Tilly on 27th August 1944 to engage with about 100 of the enemy, having crossed the River Seine the day before. This clearing in the wood was briefly used as the BHQ and occupied by a mortar platoon and artillery battery.

The memorial was unveiled exactly 56 years later on the 27th August 2000, in the presence of several Worcestershire Regiment veterans. Its rock was quarried from the Malvern Hills. The 43rd Wessex Division's 3-day operation to cross the River Seine came at the end of the Battle of Normandy and cost 550 British casualties. It was crucial in allowing the Allies to advance across Northern France into Belgium.