“The Greatest Day Since 1066”: D-Day Army Officer

A diary of an army officer involved in D-Day described the World War II landings in Normandy as “the greatest day since 1066”.

Jack Parham, who grew up on a farm in rural Wiltshire, kept a tiny, meticulous pocket diary with sketches of his involvement in the conflict.

He landed on the afternoon of D-Day, 1944, coordinating and leading the troops.

His diary is now held by the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre. Ruth Butler, center, called him “the consummate artist, inventor, and soldier.”