French memorial to British soldiers who died on D-Day stolen - 'A shameful act!'

A memorial statue dedicated to British soldiers who fought at D-Day has been stolen from a town in northern France.

Officials in the commune of Bréville-les-Monts, just north of the city of Caen, woke on Friday to find the statue, which depicted a piper in the 51st Highland Division had disappeared.

The memorial was dedicated to Scottish infantrymen who landed on the shores of northern France on D-Day.

It comes just days before the town was due to mark the anniversary of the Allied troops’ amphibious invasion of northern France in 1944.

A spokesman for Bréville-les-Monts town council said: "It is with great sadness that we learnt this morning of the passing of the bagpiper statue, 51st Highland Infantry Division Monument.

"A souvenir of the history of France, of the commune. One week away from the commemorative landing ceremonies, a shameful act!"

One source close to the investigation told The Telegraph it was reported missing in the early hours of Friday.

They added: "It was forced off its plinth, and clearly loaded on to a vehicle.“A huge amount of effort went into the planned theft of a statue, which will be hard to conceal."

The source added they were becoming increasingly concerned scrap-metal dealers intend to break apart the statue to pieces in order to sell off the bronze.

Officials in Bréville-les-Monts confirmed a report had been filed with the police and have issued a plea for anyone who saw or heard anything to contact the city hall.

British and French officials were due to gather around the sculpture next weekend to mark the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings.

The statue was first erected 15 years ago in the grounds of the Château St-Côme, where 51st Highlanders fought alongside elements of the 6th Airborne Division against German troops.

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During the operation, the Highlanders lost 110 men in only two days as they helped secure the bridgehead across the River Orne.

The troop mostly belonged to the 5th Battalion of the Black Watch Regiment.

The road leading up to the château became so dangerous for Allied troops it became known as "Death Alley".

Nearby Pegasus Bridge acts as a memorial to British paras who landed in France in gliders, before being supported later by troops who arrived from the invasion beaches.

Over 4,400 Allied soldiers were killed during the Normandy landings, with it being a pivotal moment in the history of World War Two.

Data gathered from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 2024, the 80th anniversary of the landings, revealed that one in five young people "don't know" about the significance of D-Day.

The survey noted that one in 10 young people feel that the commemoration events are "boring" and "repetitive".

They felt the money for the commemorations could have been spent elsewhere.