Memorial arboretum marks significant year of 1944

A commemorative exhibition using personal stories to explore a particularly significant year of World War Two has opened at the National Memorial Arboretum.

The Year Was 1944, captures how major developments on the homefront and the battlefield made it a year of seismic change and a turning point in the war, the arboretum said.

It marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings which, in June that year, heralded the beginning of the liberation of western Europe.

The exhibition takes visitors on an interactive and sensory journey telling real people’s stories of what life was like at home and away, Rachel Smith, head of participation and learning, said.

Ms Smith said the arboretum had asked people around the country to share their stories to help create the exhibition.

It includes photos, artefacts and music that enables visitors "to put themselves in the shoes of those who lived through this year of momentous change”.

“1944 was undoubtedly a turning point of the Second World War,” Ms Smith explained

“On the home front, continued food rationing, evacuations, and the new terrifying threat of missile attacks were having a huge impact on daily life at the same time as families worried about fathers, sons, and brothers involved in conflict overseas.”

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