September is an important month in the history of World War II. This single month saw both the start of the war and the end – September 3, 1939-September 2, 1945.
Earlier this year, Board of Trustee member, Mr. David C. Drysdale, donated over 2,500 books about WWI, WWII, the interwar, and post-WWII periods. Not all the books are strictly history books about the wars, the people, the events, the experiences, or the memories; some of the books are on esoteric topics that in one way or another relate to these water-shed years in human history.
Did you know that five years in the 1960s and 1970s were devoted to the creation of what is now known as the Overlord Embroidery? Neither did we until this donation was being reviewed over this summer:
This herculean effort is documented in this book which is now part of our Special Collections. To read more about the work that went into creating these pieces of artwork, please visit this article published September 1, 2020 by the Royal School of Needlework.
https://royal-needlework.org.uk/behind-the-scenes-of-the-overlord-embroidery/
According to this article, the image used for the front cover of the dust jacket is panel 28, the most famous, portraying important men in the Allied effort against Germany and who had an impact on D-Day.
The Museum where this artwork is displayed was opened by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother in 1984. Her husband, King George VI is pictured on the far left of the dust jacket above.
For more information about the Drysdale donation or this book, please contact our Special Collections Librarian, Katherine Owens at kowens@flagler.edu.
