A Vacation Opportunity in Normandy, Part 2

The last part part of our brief sojourn in Normandy before heading off to the delights of family, crepes, kouign amann and cider of Bretagne was a visit to the British D-Day Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer.  This is close to Gold Beach.

As you might expect from something looked after by the British and Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the site was spotless and lovingly tended.

It stands as a memorial of the 22,442 individuals, including British personnel and those from over 30 countries that served and died in British units while taking part in D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.

The entrance to the memorial.

What surprised me was the scope of personnel included in the memorial.  This included not just the three services engaged in Normandy, but also secret agents and special forces personnel who were operating behind enemy lines in support of the landings.

For more information on the memorial follow this link.

What the site also included was a monument, not to combatants but to French civilian lives lost in the conflict to liberate France from Nazi occupation.

The memorial dedicated to the French civilians who perished during the liberation of France.
Image courtesy of wikimedia 

One of my reasons for wanting to visit the memorial this summer was to take in the "Standing with Giants" remembrance installation before it is taken down at the end of August this year.

There are 1475 life size silhouettes to represent the number of servicemen who died serving under British command on D-Day.  The figures include infantry, sailors and aircrew seemingly marching up the slope from the beaches below.  A lovely touch is the inclusion of figures to represent two nurses, Mollie Evershed and Dorothy Field, who died while saving 75 men from a sinking hospital ship.

The "giants" seen from the memorial.

The D-Day sculpture representing three British infantrymen, stands as a tribute to all who, under British command, landed on 6th June and fought in the Battle of Normandy.

The D-Day Sculpture by sculptor David Williams-Ellis.

The sculpture.  From this perspective you can see down the slope to the "Giants" and down to Gold Beach.

Both my better half and I found this an incredibly moving site to visit.  The "Giants" added an emotional atmosphere and a real sense of walking with and amongst the ghosts of these heroes.  It was clear from the reverence that all the other visitors (young, old and from many countries) exhibited, that they must have felt the same.  In this respect it is a shame that the Walking with Giants installation cannot remain in place longer.

A Vacation Opportunity in Normandy, Part 1

Whilst motoring our way south in France, my better half and I decided to split our journey to stay with family in Bretagne with an overnight stop in Normandy.

Having visited the Normandy beaches on previous stays, I had requested a visit to the Merville Battery and the British D- Day Memorial. My darling wife was very obliging.

The entrance gates to the museum of the Merville Battery.

For those not acquainted with this less recounted part of D-Day, the battery was on the eastern flank of the landing beaches. The guns could range up to 10km and consequently able to fire upon the forces as they attempted to land at Sword beach.  The plan was for 700 British paratroopers to assault in the early hours as a number of gliders with extra equipment landed in the battery for support.

Alas, circumstances led to the drop being scattered, with many drowning in the areas already flooded by the Germans.  So, with only 150 men, light weaponry, and the gliders not landing where they ought to have, Lt. Col. Otway improvised a plan and assaulted.

Some of the gun emplacements viewed from the entrance.

The first of the fortifications captured by the paras.

The second!

Against the odds, but with surprise on their side, Otway's men forced their way through the perimeter fence and mines and after fierce fighting captured the battery.  A number of the defenders surrendered shouting that they were not Germans but Russians.

The site is well worth the visit.  Each of the bunkers contained informative displays and video presentations.  At 9 euros it is a bargain.  

With the morning well spent, we drove west towards the memorial.  As we had to pass through Benouville en route, my better half proposed we stop at Pegasus Bridge for lunch.  Surprised and delighted, I was not going to refuse her offer.

I know it's not the original but it is an iconic site.  Photo taken from our picnic position.

One of the inscriptions at the landing sight of the gliders.

This stone, with the above inscription, shows the landing position of the first glider relative to the bridge.
This is a real testament to the extraordinary piloting of the gliders that allowed the coup de main to be so successfully executed.  

The first building in France to be liberated on D-Day, the Cafe Gondree.  Literally ten steps from the bridge. This was used as a medic station for Major Howard's men.

So, having been refreshed in body and mind, and having visited the museum etc. on a previous visit, we set off for Ver-sur-Mer, the site of the British D-Day Memorial.  More on that next time.