A visitor's view: Reporter Tom Cotterill takes a look at The D-Day Story

It is dark and has an ominous feel to it.

This soon changes as I reach the first room, which glitters with objects, military plans and artefacts of the pivotal invasion.

In front is a large screen which plays a video on repeat of a smartly-dressed officer giving visitors a briefing on the war.

Walking through the museum there are displays and pictures of people who served during the conflict – from those in the forces, to those in the factory.

There’s even a dress of a five-year-old Gosport girl, Betty White, who collected dozens of badges from soldiers on their way to Normandy.

A tank and landing craft dominate the second room, with another video playing in the third.

However, it was the final part of the museum that hit home.

The lights are dim and the loud clatter of machine gun fire echoes.

It’s here that shows the horror the men faced on the beaches.

Another landing craft takes centre stage. A team of soldiers are projected onto it, crouching as they ride into war – it feels so real. They look like they are there in front of me.

The attention to detail is stunning. It was meant to be the museum that was transformed. But what’s really changed is how this epic story is told: it’s energised, tangible – it’s exciting.