Day Three (Saturday)
Pegasus Bridge Memorial
Today’s itinerary included a first stop at the Pegasus Bridge Memorial, 1 Avenue Major John Howard 14860, Ranville.
The capture of the River Orne bridge at Ranville and the bridge across the Caen Canal at Bénouville is the most famous mission of the airborne division. 180 troops of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry, commanded by Major John Howard, captured the bridges after landing in Horsa gliders only metres from their objectives.
In less than ten minutes both bridges had been captured intact. The sea borne reinforcements commanded by Brigadier Lord Lovat, preceded by his bagpiper Bill Millin, were able to cross the waterways to reinforce 6th Airborne Division on the eastern flank. Among these Green Berets, 177 French Commandos commanded by Philip Kieffer.
On June 26th, 1944, the Caen Canal bridge was baptised Pegasus Bridge as a tribute to the British troops. Pegasus, the winged horse, was the emblem worn on the sleeves of the men of the airborne division. The insignia was chosen by the author Daphne du Maurier, wife of the wartime commander of British airborne forces General Sir Frederick Browning.
In 1961 the bridge acquired celebrity status due to the D-Day film, produced by Darryl Zanuck, The Longest Day.
Replaced in 1994 by a new bridge the original Pegasus Bridge is now on display in the park of the museum.
On leaving the Pegasus Bridge Memorial, we headed out towards the coast road to The British Normandy Memorial, 13 Avenue Paul Poret, 14114, Vers Sur Mer.
The British Normandy Memorial
“From the very beginnings of an idea to a place of serene beauty where people will gather to remember and reflect for generations to come”
The British Normandy Memorial was officially opened on 6 June 2021 by His Majesty the King (then Prince of Wales) as Royal Patron of the Normandy Memorial Trust.
The Memorial records the names of the 22,442 servicemen and women under British command who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944.
Dedicated to Soldiers who died under British command, during the Normandy Landing, the memorial includes people from more than 30 different countries.
Inscribed in stone, their names were finally brought together on a hillside overlooking Gold Beach.
The site also includes a French Memorial, dedicated to the memory of French civilians who died during this time.
Lunch was at Hotel Le Mulberry, the Owner Vito is a good Friend of Bob S and Martin M and Chef Dijon had prepared a delicious two course meal, which went down very well with everyone, it was a good job that our next visit was a short walk from to The Musee du Debarqument in Arromaches, otherwise I think we would (again) have all needed a nap before getting back on the bikes!
The Musee du Debarqument
The new D-Day Museum is located on Arromanches’ seafront, the geographical centre of the D-Day Landing Beaches. It is located at the exact point where the Allies built, from June 7, 1944, onwards, one of the two artificial ports used for supplying the troops engaged in the Battle of Normandy.
It was on the beach of Arromanches that, during the Invasion of Normandy immediately after D-Day, the Allies established the artificial temporary ‘Mulberry’ harbour to allow the unloading of heavy equipment without waiting for the conquest of deep-water ports such as Le Havre or Cherbourg.
This masterpiece of engineering was carried over the sea in pieces from Britain and played a key role in victory in Europe. From the large and bright windows of the museum, you can enjoy views of the sandy beach and the remains of the artificial harbour itself.
Centrally located on the coast, Arromanches is the perfect base for exploring the D-Day Landing Beaches and the war cemeteries.
Normandy will forever be marked by the D-Day Landings that led to the liberation of France and Europe.
There were two options to end the day, whilst some went to Rue de L’Eligse in Crepon, a small group went to The Normandy American Cemetery and Omaha Beach.
Rue de L’Eglise, Crepon (by Bob Stewart)
In March 2017 I led a group of my former police SEG friends on a visit to Normandy.
One day, riding past the small village of Crepon, very near to Gold Beach, we noticed one of the common, green signs indicating the presence of Commonwealth War Graves in the church yard of Saint Medard and Saint Gildard, the villages 11th century church.
These graves are those of Aircraftsmen David Harris and Corporal Frank Onley, both aged 23, both of whom died on the 10th of June 1944 and neither of whom were aircrew.
Interest piqued, and after a bit of research I discovered that just after midnight on 6th of June work was started on an “Advanced Landing Ground” situated between the villages of Crepon and Bazenville. Aircraftsman Harris was an R/T Operator and Corporal Onley was a Wireless Mechanic, both based at this airfield.
The airfield was attacked by German aircraft on the 10th of June and at 0400, the dug out that Harris and Onley were sheltering in took a direct hit from an anti-personnel bomb resulting in the deaths of both men.
As these Commonwealth War Graves are off the beaten track and are not visited as often as those in the larger, better known Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries in Normandy, we decided that whenever a member of the SEG who was on the visit was in Normandy, they would visit the graves and pay our respects.
During the recent PECAM trip to Normandy, Martin Munday and myself, together with some other members of the PECAM group honoured that commitment to visit these graves.
“At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them”
The Normandy American Cemetery and Omaha Beach
The cemetery is located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, it covers 172.5acres and holds the remains of 9,388 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy.
The cemetery is divided into ten plots and forms a Latin Cross, with the Chapel in the middle and the memorial and wall of the missing at its base.
Our final evening in Normandy was at our usual restaurant, enjoying all it had to offer!
Day Four (Sunday)
Today is the day to set off home, after fabulous few days, it was time to leave Caen and head for home soil.
The Normandy Tour was a huge success, a big thank you to Bob Stewart for all the time and effort he put into planning and executing the tour, arranging everything for all eighteen of us must take some doing!
I would also like to say thank you to Andy for his pink vest duties, making sure we didn’t get left behind!
Normandy has been a tremendous experience, whilst famous for its beautiful coastline and delicious food, we can never forget what its history holds and what sacrifices were made on those beaches.
It is important that the sacrifices made by those young men and women, are never forgotten.