‘Pressure film trailer hints at D-day forecast's true drama'

The international trailer for the war film 'Pressure’, starring Andrew Scott, Damian Lewis and Brendan Fraser, has been released. 

The movie follows the tense 72 hours before D-Day, when General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Fraser) and meteorologist Captain James Stagg (Scott) must choose when to stage the Allied invasion of Normandy after weather forecasts revealed impending hazardous weather conditions following a May heatwave.

Professor Andrew Charlton-Perez gave a lecture about this pivotal moment in history in March 2015, and alsogavean introductory talk for the stage version of Pressure in 2014.

For interviews with Professor Charlton-Perez, contact the University of Reading Press Office on 0118 378 5757 or pressoffice@reading.ac.uk.

Professor Andrew Charlton-Perez, Professor of Meteorology at the University of Reading, said: “My family history is closely connected to World War II. Both of my grandfathers fought and were prisoners of war in South East Asia. As a meteorologist, the major story of the war is the D-Day forecast. This is rightly regarded as the most consequential forecast in meteorological history as itarguably sealed the fate of the war in Europe. 

“What’s fascinating about the story of Captain James Stagg is not just that it was his responsibility to help decide if the invasion could go ahead but that he had to do so by bringing together forecasts from different forecasting teams with wildly different ways of predicting what might happen in June 1944. 

“The stage version of Pressure, by David Haig, did a great job of setting up just how difficult a challenge this was and the trailer hints at this playing a similarly pivotal role in the film. In many ways, making decisions about forecast guidance based on multiple conflicting predictions mirrors the challenge faced by modern forecasters. Though today, weather experts have access to powerful computer models that help assess that uncertainty."

“For Stagg, the pressure to give the best possible guidance given the stakes must have been almost unbearable. The severe storm on the 19th and 20th of June 1944, which destroyed the temporary American Mulberry harbour at Omaha beach and caused major damage to the British harbourat Arromanches shows just how important the forecast was to the overall landings. 

“I can’t wait to see how this fascinating piece of meteorological history finally makes it to the screen.”

The founder of the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, Professor Reginald Sutcliffe, also had a role in the D-Day forecast as one of those involved in the secure phone conversations with invasion planners, which will be dramatised in the film. Professor Sutcliffe had various key roles during the war, and wrote the book ‘Meteorology for Aviators’, which was widely read by RAF pilots.