Lord Lovat led 6 Commando to relieve Pegasus "A" Company to the sound of bagpipes
Lt. Brotheridge was the first soldier to lose his life in Operation Overlord...In particular the "A" Company, based in the nearby village of Bénouville, suffered the most severe fighting and were eventually cut off from the remainder of the 7th Battalion.
The first relief in force was from 6 Commando, led by the commander of the 1st Special Service Brigade, Lord Lovat (below), who arrived to the sound of the Scottish bagpipes, played by 21-year-old 'Mad Piper' Private Bill Millin.
The remnants of the 7th Battalion's "A" Company continued to hold out until 9:15pm on the 6th June when British infantry, in the form of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Warwickshires, arrived from the invasion beaches and secured Bénouville, and so allowed the evacuation
of "A" Company's many wounded.
A museum and memorial can now be found next to the site of the battle on Major Howard road. The most prominent item on display is the original bridge itself. In 1993 it was replaced by a larger, more modern bridge which emulated the design of the original one. The soldiers killed in these actions are mostly buried in the cemetery at nearby Ranville. Lt. Brotheridge's grave, located in the churchyard next to the cemetery, has a commemorative plaque that was installed by the family Gondrée, whose house near Pegasus Bridge was the first to be liberated during D-Day.
The Gondrée house still stands and now accommodates a café and a museum shop selling Pegasus memorabilia...
