Batterie de Merville or Merville Gun Battery is an historic site situated in the eastern flank of the landing area Sword Beach where Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway carried out a heroic mission with his men of the 9th Battalion of parachutists before the dawn of D-Day by neutralizing the artillery of the German battery.
The seat had become vacant upon the death in action near Merville of the sitting Liberal MP, the Hon.
The citizens of Merville-Franceville-Plage in Normandy, France, decided to honour Otway by the placing of a bust depicting him at the age of 29 at the time of D-Day and the assault on the battery.
Merville, Nord | Merville Garden Village | Merville-Franceville-Plage | Merville |
By mid-day, and in spite of German resistance, the men of the battalion had achieved all their objectives; the bridges on the Dives and Divette in Varaville and Robehomme were cut, the left flank of the 9th Parachute Battalion at Merville was secure, and the crossroads at Le Mesnil was taken.
He was born Baudouin Lottin, in the north of France near what is today the Belgian border, in either Merville or Merris, a few kilometers away from Bailleul.
Merville Garden Village is a housing estate located at Shore Road, Whitehouse, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland created by structural and landscape architect Edward Prentice Mawson.
Merville House has undergone a £1.2m renovation and is now an important part of local Newtownabbey community life.
This was unveiled in the grounds of the Merville Battery Museum on 7 June 1997 by himself, Raymond Triboulet, a leader of the French Resistance during the war, and Olivier Paz, the Mayor.