When archaeologist John Henry Phillips volunteered with a charity that took D-Day veterans back to Normandy, due to an administrative error he found himself without a hotel room and reliant on the generosity of one of the veterans who had a spare bed. That veteran was Patrick Thomas - and it was an encounter that would change both their lives forever.
Patrick's landing craft, LCH 185, had led the first wave into Sword Beach on D-Day, and stayed off Normandy until the 25th June when an acoustic mine sent it to the seabed along with most of the crew. His story transfixed John, and the resulting search for the shipwreck was to consume him.
Jumping back and forwards in time, between vivid descriptions of the final days on board LCH 185 and John's thrilling search to find the shipwreck, The Search is an emotional story of a devastating time in history, an unlikely, life-changing friendship and a quest to honour a wartime home and family lost over seventy-five years ago.
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ix | |
| Prologue 25 June 1944 |
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1 | (6) |
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7 | (24) |
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Chapter Two 14 January 1943 |
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31 | (18) |
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Chapter Three 9 July 2017 |
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49 | (20) |
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Chapter Four 3 September 1939 |
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69 | (18) |
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Chapter Five Late April 1944 |
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87 | (18) |
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105 | (16) |
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Chapter Seven 14 July 2017 |
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121 | (36) |
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Chapter Eight 2 September 2017 |
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157 | (18) |
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Chapter Nine 22 April 2018 |
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175 | (20) |
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195 | (20) |
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Chapter Eleven 27 April 2018 |
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215 | (16) |
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Chapter Twelve 28 April 2018 |
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231 | (16) |
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Chapter Thirteen 4 June 2018 |
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247 | (16) |
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Chapter Fourteen 5 June 2018 |
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263 | (18) |
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Chapter Fifteen 7 June 2018 |
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281 | (16) |
| Epilogue 6 June 2019 |
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297 | (12) |
| In Memoriam |
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309 | (4) |
| Acknowledgements |
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313 | (2) |
| Index |
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315 | |
JOHN HENRY PHILLIPS is an archaeologist, film-maker and author who was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. In 2020, he produced and appeared in the multi-award-winning documentary No Roses on a Sailor's Grave. He presents The Great British Dig on Channel 4 and runs the non-profit Romani Community Archaeology. The Search is his first book.
