23/08/2026
After finishing the restoration of the Douglas Gascoigne diorama, team WAR‑drobe felt there was only one thing left to do — travel to Normandy and pay our respects to Douglas in person.
Standing at his grave was a powerful moment. A young Yorkshire lad who left Lotherton Hall, served with courage, and never made it home. Seeing his name among so many others brings the scale of the sacrifice sharply into focus.While researching further, we learned that five men were killed in the same Sherman Firefly on the day Douglas died. Their names are harder to trace, their stories less recorded, but they rest close to him — brothers in service, lost together in the same moment of the campaign.Five men, one tank, one day.
All buried within sight of Douglas Gascoigne.
All part of the same fight for the liberation of Europe.
Normandy is full of places like this — quiet corners where history still speaks. Hedgerows, fields, and villages where British forces pushed forward under unimaginable pressure. Visiting these graves reminds you that every name belonged to someone with a home, a family, a life waiting for them.
We went to honour Douglas.
We left honouring all of them.Proud to represent WAR-drobe here, and proud to help keep their stories alive.
