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.