Day One (Thursday)
The Group travelled down the evening before and stayed overnight at Premier Inn’s close to the Euro Tunnel, to break up the long journey that lay ahead on Thursday.
Our journey down South had been in wind and rain and the weather had forecasted much of the same in France for Thursday, following a hearty breakfast and with waterproofs at the ready, we headed for the Euro Tunnel and our ride to The Crocus Hotel, Caen, our base for the next few days.
Our destination was Caen a route of 214miles, with tolls and fuel stops, the ride took longer than anticipated, but despite the predicted weather, we stayed dry until we reached Caen. On entering Caen, it started to rain as we headed through the town traffic to our hotel.
Day Two (Friday)
D-Day Experience Museum
Our first stop of the day was to the D-Day Experience Museum, 2 Village de l’Amont, 50500, St. Come-du-Mont, where we had a tour booked for 10.30am.
Our tour started with a trip to see the an authentic C-47 which had been converted into a high tec simulator, on entering the C-47 we were strapped into the seats and waiting to experience one of the largest landing operations in history, reliving the mythical crossing of the channel on board the authentic C-47.
Also, as part of the Museum tour we then headed to the 3D Movie Theatre, on the screen were two short movies, composed of a remastered version of Pascal Vuongs documentary D-Day Normandy 1944 and a short film dedicated to the battle of Carentan, reliving the days that changed the world forever, with the Normandy landings vividly bought to life.
We then had time to take in the Museum exhibits, the exhibition was full of artifacts of exceptional rarity, that belonged to the Soldiers who fought for our liberation, the story was told through the eyes of Colonel Wolverton, who helped us to understand what was at stake and an insight into the state of mind of the soldiers as they took part in the events.
The Museum was inspiring and thought provoking, it certainly made you think about what the soldiers went through for our freedom.
Lunch was a pre-booked restaurant, a short ride from the Museum, with freshly cooked pizza and a welcome cold drink, waiting for us. The pizzas were a lot larger than expected and an afternoon nap would not have gone a miss!
Following lunch, we headed to our next stop, Maisy Battery, 7 Route de Perruques, 14450 Grandcamp-Maisy.
Maisy Battery
Maisy Battery was buried for over 60years, now uncovered, you can walk through 2Km of original German trenches and explore WWII bunkers, the bunkers were built in secrecy, under strict security, using forced labour from the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Poland, avoiding any local involvement that might reveal the trenches to the French Resistance and the Allies.
For reasons unknown, the battery was backfilled and covered over by military engineers, before the end of the war.
The battery was rediscovered in 2004 by a British Historian, based on a hand drawn map found in an Army Veterans uniform that he had purchased.
The final stop of the day was a short ride to The Longues-sur-Mer Battery.
Longues-sur-Mer Battery
The Longues-sur-Mer Battery (also known as Batterie Allemande) the battery is situated on a 60m cliff, overlooking the Baine de Seine and formed part of the Germanys Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications, between the Allied landing sectors of Gold Beach and Omaha Beach. The battery shelled Allied Naval forces off both beaches on D-Day but was damaged by Allied shore bombardment the same day, it was then captured by British ground forces on 7th June 1944, playing no further part in the Normandy campaign.
La Cambe German Military Cemetery
Some of the Group headed back to the Hotel, with a few us deciding to have one more visit for the day, with our tour Guide Bob A, we headed off to La Cambe German Military Cemetery.
In the summer of 1944, more than 100,000 people died during the fighting that followed the Allied landings in Normandy. At least 14,000 French civilians lost their lives. Even as the fighting in Normandy continued, the American Recovery and Identification Service already laid out two large cemeteries with both their own and German fallen, near the small village of La Cambe. After 1945, the American forces transferred their dead to the cemetery of St. Laurent-sur-Mer, 15 kilometres away. The bodies of the German soldiers were exhumed there and buried in La Cambe.
As one of our small group (namely Bill) was riding on fumes, Andy led us to the nearest fuel stop, with us all holding our breath, in the hope that he did not run out and we would be pushing him back to the hotel!
The evening was spent in the restaurant near the Hotel that we had found the night before, Restaurant La Boucherie, were we contemplated the events and sights of the day and enjoyed fabulous food and a few drinks.
The Light of Day (Poem by David Rhys Geraint Jones, died of wounds 1944)
The light of day is cold and grey and there is no more peace
By the high moon-washed walls, where we laughed and where we sung;
And I can’t go back to those days of short unthinking ease,
When I was very foolish and you were very young.
For you the laurel and the rose will bloom, and you will see
The dawn’s delight, firelight on rafters, wind, seas, and thunder,
Children asleep and dreams and hearts at ease, when life will be,
Even at its close, a quiet and an ageless wonder.
For me the poppies soon will dance and sway in Haute Avesnes:
The sunrise of my love slides into dusk, its day untasted:
Yet as I lie, turf-clad, and freed of passion, and of pain,
I find my sacrifice of golden things not wasted;
Your peace is bought with mine, and I am paid in full, and well,
If but the echo of your laughter reaches me in hell.