In the early hours of Friday 29th May 2026, the bronze statue of a Highland piper was stolen from the 51st (Highland) Division memorial at Bréville-les-Monts in Normandy. It was taken just days before our community was due to gather at the site for the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings.

For over twenty years, the piper has stood near the grounds of the Château Saint-Côme, on the ground where Scottish soldiers of the 51st Highland Division fought alongside the men of the 6th Airborne Division in June 1944. Between the 8th and 13th of June, these Highlanders held the line against fierce German counter-attacks. In the fighting around the Bois des Monts and the Château Saint-Côme, 110 men were killed in just two days, helping to secure the vital bridgehead over the River Orne. The memorial was comissioned by the Division Trust itself, organised by Dr Tom Renouf MBE, in honour of the comrades they lost on this soil.

The statue was more than bronze. It was a place where families, veterans' descendants, and visitors from The United Kingdom, France, and around the world came to remember an enormous sacrifice. The fear now is that it has been taken to be broken up and sold for scrap.

We are raising funds to commission a faithful replacement so the piper can stand watch over Bréville-les-Monts once again, and so future generations can continue to pay their respects.

Every contribution, however small, brings us closer to restoring this place of remembrance. If you are unable to give, please share this page — and if you saw or heard anything in the area on Thursday night or Friday morning, please contact the Bréville-les-Monts town hall or the local police.

Thank you for helping us keep their memory standing