Viewers have slammed the BBC after a D-Day special of Antique Roadshow appeared to confuse Weymouth with Poole and put Amsterdam 50 miles out of place.
During the hour long episode a series of maps were shown to the audience which showed the ports in the south of England where thousands of Allied troops embarked for Operation Overlord – the codename for the military operation which culminated in the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany.
Weymouth in Dorset played a vital role as more than 100,000 men were staged there ahead of the invasion of Normandy.
But, inexplicably, the BBC confused the Georgian harbour town with Poole and placed it 30 miles to the east on its maps.
The Beeb also bizarrely relocated Amsterdam 50 miles south to where Rotterdam is on another map.
Weymouth in Dorset played a vital role as more than 100,000 men were staged there ahead of the invasion of Normandy. But, inexplicably, the BBC confused the Georgian harbour town with Poole and placed it 30 miles to the east on its maps
The Beeb also bizarrely relocated Amsterdam 50 miles south to where Rotterdam is on another map
Fiona Bruce hosted the special edition of Antique Roadshow which commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It included special guests including Field Marshal Montgomery’s grandson – Henry Montgomery
Viewers to last night’s show were left stunned and confused by the very basic errors.
One posted on social media: ‘Excuse me, Fiona Bruce, but where exactly is Weymouth?
‘I was stunned that something so basic could be got so wrong; on such an important episode of one of their flagship programmes.
‘Some poor researcher is probably getting the hairdryer treatment right now; how embarrassing.’
Another view said: ‘Although Poole and Weymouth are in the same county they are miles apart.
‘Weymouth was a major embarkation point for the Americans who went to Omaha Beach and it should not have been overlooked like this.
‘It’s a good job that those who planned D-Day didn’t make such basic errors on their mapping.’
The correct location of Weymouth in relation to Poole
A map of The Netherlands showing the correct locations Amsterdam and Rotterdam
MailOnline have approached the BBC for comment.
The special edition of Antique Roadshow commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day which included special guests including Field Marshal Montgomery’s grandson – Henry Montgomery.
Field Marshal Montgomery was Ground Forces Commander in Chief during Operation Overlord. His grandson met with militaria specialist Mark Smith to talk about his grandfather.
In a letter sent out to troops the night before D-Day on June 6, Monty wrote: ‘Good luck to each one of you, and good hunting on the mainland of Europe.’
Explaining the importance of the letter, his grandson Henry said: ‘Grandfather really understood that all the careful planning, particularly in the run -up to Normandy and the D-Day invasion, he knew that however good the plans were, it was the men on the ground who had to do the work.’
He added: ‘Grandfather always almost bullet points. Very pithy. Very to the point. Limited use of words, which was very much his style of speaking and writing.’
