2nd Royal Ulster Rifles Churchill AVRE

This Churchill AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers) stands next to the 41st Royal Marine Commando Memorial in Lion-sur-Mer, it was gifted to the commune by General Sir Ian Harris in 1994, who commanded the 2nd Royal Ulster Rifles on D-Day. The battalion landed in support of 41 Commando on the afternoon of 6 June.

One of Hobart's Funnies, the Churchill AVRE swapped its main gun for a 290mm Petard mortar, built to blast through beach fortifications rather than fight other tanks. Three AVREs saw action in Lion-sur-Mer during the landing and the days that followed.

CHAR CHURCHILL

OFFERT PAR LE GENERAL
SIR IiAN HARRIS
QUI COMMANDAIT LE BATALLION
D'INFANTERTE LE JOUR J
2nd R.U.R (ROYAL ULSTER RIFLE)

Which translates to:

CHAR CHURCHILL

OFFERED BY THE GENERAL
SIR IAN HARRIS
WHO COMMAND THE INFANTERTE
BATTALION ON D-DAY
2nd R.U.R (ROYAL ULSTER RIFLE)