The following is an edited extract from Beyond The Odds by John Scriven and Tim Dieppe, published in 2021 by Wilberforce Publications.
Revd Canon Llewellyn Hughes, the army Deputy Chaplain General, recorded that before D-Day there were ‘crowded pre-battle services everywhere… We aimed at a permanent attitude of mind at giving the soldiers such a vision of God’s will as would make the doing of it their main purpose.’
On Sunday 4th June there was a prayer vigil for an hour attended by 400 officers and men of the Second Army HQ. General Miles Dempsey, who commanded the Second Army (the main force on the British beaches) recorded that it was ‘one of the most moving experiences of my life’.
Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s message that was to be read out to all troops before the invasion included the following: ‘We have a great and righteous cause. Let us pray that “The Lord Mighty in Battle” will go forth with our armies, and that His special providence will aid us in the struggle.’
