It’s the 80th anniversary of D-Day on 6 June. 

In 1944, it saw the launch of Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious invasion in military history. bringing together land, air and sea forces of the allied armies in one giant push.

Five beaches in Normandy coast were targeted - codenamed UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO, and SWORD. Almost 133,000 troops were landed from 7000 ships and landing craft, crewed by 195,000 naval personnel from eight different allied countries.  

And one cat. 

This was Thomas Oscar, the mascot of No 3 Mess on the S-Class destroyer HMS Scorpion. He had already cheerfully endured several tours of Arctic convoy duty and seen action in Norway. On D-Day, Scorpion providied covering bombardment for troops landing on SWORD Beach, and Thomas Oscar was right there.with his shipmates. He came through unscathed, as did the ship and her crew. In October, his messmates applied for him to be admitted to the Allied Forces Mascot Club; he signed his application with his own paw print.  Salute to you, AB Seacat Thomas Oscar, and all ship’s cats everywhere.