THE leader of Hampshire County Council has backed plans to secure the future of the historic map room in Southwick House which played a crucial role in the build-up to D-Day.

Allied commanders led by General Eisenhower used a large floor-to-ceiling wall map at Southwick House, near Portsmouth, to plan and co-ordinate the Normandy landings, which were a crucial turning point during the Second World War.

More than 70 years later, the map set to 06.30 hours, D-Day H-Hour, June 6, 1944, has remained unchanged. The Ministry of Defence has recently announced its intention to sell the Grade II Listed Southwick House as part of a larger sale, and concerns have been raised that the map could be removed.

Now, as county council leader, Roy Perry has written a letter to support a request by Southwick and Widley Parish Council to Historic England, asking them to change Southwick House’s Grade II listing status. The amendment would specifically include the map room and the map, to prevent any future risk of it being separated from Southwick House.

Mr Perry said: “Acknowledging the historical value of this site is essential, as it tells future generations how people, events and aspects of past life are connected through a place to the present. The D-Day beaches are important but so is the location where D-Day was planned.

“It’s vital that the events of D-Day are stated in the listing descriptions and that the surviving features from this time, including the plywood map, are specifically mentioned.

“D-Day was an event of such significance for the Hampshire region, and the whole of Europe, that I strongly support the amendments to the listing of Southwick House to ensure its crucial role in history is protected for future generations.”