Judging by this apparently 74 year old scribbling on a barn wall near Bayeux, it’s not just the youth of today who leave their mark in graffiti artwork. The search is on for a Blackpool Graffiti War Hero.
The find was made by Dan Hill (DanHillHistory), a historian staying at the French Farm. The scribbling appears to acknowledge a war hero from Blackpool amongst others.
The 32 year old historian now hopes to find the veterans named in the messages on the barn wall, or at least track down the families of those who are mentioned.
The barn itself was taken back from the Germans following the Normandy Landings which took place on June 6th 1944. The note carries the date of June 9th and refers to soldier “J Bibby of SS Blackpool” as “The one and only”. Other soldiers mentioned on the barn walls are from Manchester and Liverpool.
Dan, from Hertfordshire, believes that the men in the barn were from an infantry batallion or tank unit based in the North West. The group obviously were successful in surviving a gruesome fight with the Nazis to help to free France from the control of the Germans. He went on to suggest that the “S.S.” could possibly stand for South Shore, further narrowing down the potential area that the soldier came from. The historian would very much like to make contact with J. Bibby’s family, and would especially like to contact the soldier himself if he is still alive. Bibby was one hero of the war who managed to escape death or injury during the Normandy campaign, which Dan has verified as the soldier’s name does not show up on the list of casualties from the battle. Bibby’s rank is not known and Dan has struggled to find him so far.
If you think you know who the Blackpool Graffiti war hero J Bibby is, please contact the BPL Bible.
If you don’t know him, share the article and lets get him found!
