The D Day Museum Portland

There are some places where history doesn’t just sit quietly behind glass cases it jumps out at you, tangible and immediate, a visit to the Castletown D-Day Centre on Portland is exactly that kind of experience, and made me both smile and shed a quiet tear.

In June 1944 Portland was one of the key embarkation points along with Weymouth for Allied forces, in particular US Troops, heading to Normandy.

Thousands of American and British troops along with tonnes of equipment passed through, formed up or embarked via Chesil Beach, Castletown and Portland Harbour destined for the beaches of France.

The Castletown Embarkation point June 1944, a short walk just past the D Day Centre

This museum is dedicated to them.

Run by a group of very knowledgable and enthusiastic volunteers you are encouraged to have a very hands-on experience.

Unlike many larger museums this is a place where you can get right up close to the artifacts and in many cases pick them up or even climb on them.

Outside and Inside, you’re greeted by an impressive collection, the gate guard is a Sherman Tank you can climb on, in the entrance is an M3 White Half Track with Quad AA gun mount, an M8 Greyhound 6 x 6 Armoured Car and inside a full-size Spitfire replica suspended overhead provides cover whilst you man a Bofors anti-aircraft gun with the kids, or play in a jeep.

You’re not just reading about history you’re stepping into it. You can try on helmets, uniforms, handle weapons and equipment, and climb over the machinery that would have been familiar to the men preparing for the invasion.

From the windows you can see the two Phoenix Units, two floating reinforced concrete caissons, built as part of the artificial Mulberry harbours.

Walking around Castletown, it’s easy to imagine the sheer scale of activity in 1944: troops, vehicles, ships, all preparing for what would become the largest seaborne invasion in history. The museum does a good job of anchoring its displays in that local story, reminding visitors that Dorset played a vital role in the success of Operation Overlord.

While the museum focuses heavily on the American embarkation from Portland, it inevitably ties into the wider Allied story, one that includes the Royal Marines’ own contributions to amphibious warfare, including their involvement in the Combined Operations planning and the coxswains that supported the Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc.

On Portland and in Weymouth you stand in a place where so many set off on a journey from which many would never return.

If you’re ever down on the Dorset coast, it’s well worth a visit.

My recomendation would be to take a boat from Weymouth, you board on the same pier that the Rangers loaded from, you can still see their etched names on the wall of a nearby building, from here you pass out under the Nothe Fort, once bristling with AA guns, and into Portland harbour.

You pass the old torpedo range, and the forts that protected the once grand harbour, passing close by the concrete Mulberry monolith's and land close to the Castletown embarkation point.

A one minute walk and you are at the museum, where you just dont learn more about D-Day, but feel a connection to it. Because on Portland, history isn’t distant. It’s right under your feet.

The D Day Museum Castletown Portland - Website