D-Day beacon lamp

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Shining a light on history: D-Day beacon lamp used to direct troops onto Normandy beaches is bought at church fete for 50p

The beacon lamp (left) was used to flash Morse code signals from the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day landings in 1944 (bottom right). Martin Billenness, of Eastbourne, East Sussex, had no idea of the lamp's history when he was given it as a present from his mother. To understand the inner workings of the lamp better without damaging it specialists at London's Science Museum and Imperial War Museum took x-rays of it (top right).