The search

In 2016, archaeologist John Henry Phillips was volunteering 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 – 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 19-year-old Patrick’s 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.