21-05-2025
D-Day diorama to go on display at North Yorkshire regimental museum
An 'incredibly detailed' D-Day diorama will be on display at a North Yorkshire regimental museum.
The Green Howards Museum in Richmond will showcase the model, which marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, from May 29.
The diorama was created by 15-year-old Ted Hemsworth, the youngest member of the North Riding Scale Model Club.
The model commemorates the role of the 6th and 7th Battalion, Green Howards on June 7, 1944 - the day after D-Day.
The model commemorates the role of the 6th and 7th Battalions of the Green Howards on the day after D-Day (Image: Green Howards Museum)
The scene features a model of CSM Stanley Hollis VC, the only soldier awarded the Victoria Cross on D-Day.
Ted's model was recently exhibited at the National Scale Model Show in Telford, where he was named Junior National Champion by the International Plastic Modellers' Society (IPMS).
Ted began building Warhammer models at the age of 11 and founded a Warhammer club at his school, Stokesley School, in Year 8.
His interest in historical military models led him to recreate scenes from different periods, and he is currently working on British Infantry soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815).
His D-Day diorama is constructed using a mix of materials.
The soldiers are hand-painted with precision (Image: Green Howards Museum)
The base is layered cardboard, shaped and built up to create terrain.
Soldiers are hand-painted with precision, right down to CSM Hollis's rank stripes.
Landscape elements are created from matchsticks, foam, and even cotton wool to simulate explosions.
The North Riding Scale Model Club meets fortnightly and welcomes all ages and abilities, with members working across genres from fantasy to historical subjects.
The group offers support, advice, and a community for anyone interested in the hobby.
The Green Howards Museum pays tribute to over 300 years of Green Howards regimental history.
The regiment was raised in 1688 and amalgamated with The Yorkshire Regiment in 2006.
The museum is 50 years old and is located in the old Trinity Church in Richmond's Market Place.
Its archives contain more than 35,000 artefacts and there are more than 4,500 medals on display in the Medal Room (including 18 Victoria Crosses and George Crosses), as well as the regimental silver and Richmond Town Hall silver.
The Green Howards have seen action in almost every country in the world.
Their bravery is renowned and this new exhibition pays homage to the 2,000 Green Howards who served in Normandy on D-Day, having arrived both by sea and by air.
At the heart of the Green Howards Museum's mission is its specialist research service centred on the discovery, recording and preservation of artefacts, stories and memories for future generations.
The museum is a charitable trust committed to conserving 300 years of Green Howards military history and providing a continuing, accessible narrative of its prestigious past.
Based locally in Richmond Castle and then in the barracks on Barrack Hill (now The Garden Village), the Green Howards served in every major conflict around the world, including the Crimean War, World Wars I and II, and more recently, the Gulf War.
The museum's regular exhibitions and events commemorate not only the history of the Green Howards but also reinforce the unique heritage link between the regiment and Richmond's local community.
