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Normandy 2016 Normandy 2016 31st May 2016 A very early start on a dreadful day. Torrential rain and spray from vehicles, conditions were very bad and at times dangerous. As we approached the QE11 bridge the traffic was heavier and the rain much worse with vehicles aquaplaning and incredible spray. The water on the roads, was in my view at a dangerous point with people travelling much too fast. In 43 years driving and thousands of miles travelled I don't think I have driven in worse conditions. On the M20 there was debris in the carriageway and we got a puncture in poring rain, exiting the vehicle we stood over the arnco waiting for recovery. Being showered with water every time an HGV went past, “Singing in the Rain” and “Raindrops Keep falling On My Head” wore a bit thin!!! Soaking wet and very cold we were AA rescued and taken to Kwik Fit where I was stung for a tyre, but happily changed our clothes, even our underwear, which was soaking and resumed our journey still in pouring rain. All the way down to our destination it rained and rained. A very tired pair of friends arrived at our home for the next 8 days. 1st June Wednesday Still tired but up and away to Vire, did some shopping and visited a church or two. Here I paid respects to their War Memorials and sang in the churches. I love to sing and to hear what a hymn or favourite piece of music sounds like in a beautiful church is a real pleasure. Anyone who knows me will tell you, I'll sing at the drop of a hat and often do. 2nd June Thursday A lovely drive through Bocage countryside on a grey day, with narrow roads trying to imagine how war touched this lovely part of France. My imagination cannot match the horror of what these men went through. When I speak to Veteran's they tell me they were doing a job, they didn't have time to feel afraid or wonder if they would survive. They were doing what they had been trained for and if done correctly would come through with a lot of luck and a following wind!!! We made our way to Omaha beach to the Overlord Museum that was newly opened in 2013. A very pleasant few hours reading clear exhibit information and talking to three Dutch men who were interested in my small contribution of telling my story of two father's part in the conflict. Melanie Hare's father Lt Col. James H. Hare, Ox and Bucks and my own father Clifford Turner, H.L.I. The museum is very well supported with artifacts and well presented with many new pieces of information that I had not seen before. There are great photographs which I felt needed explanations but did not have one. However we had a very pleasant time reading this new information and it is well structured. Forty years of research have been put into this collection. 10,000 pieces of memorabilia, 35 vehicles all in this unique collection depicting one of the greatest moments in living history. The daily steps taken by the Allied forces who participated in the D-Days landings are breathtaking. We had a small lunch and moved on to the American Cemetery at Colleville, to just reflect. The loss of all these young men fighting for a cause to make life better for others is enormous. I just hope people are proud of all those those young men who gave everything to stop a madman. We then drove the coast road past Gold and Juno beaches before heading to Pegasus Bridge to the Museum to see Mark Worthington. He was busy putting finishing touches to exhibits ready for the arrival of the Veteran's. While sitting talking to him we were introduced to Lance Neilson. He was walking past while we were talking and came over. Lance is making a new film about Pegasus Bridge and as we spoke he had just been contacted by a renowned actor, British and a Hollywood star to play Major John Howard. He would not say anything so we'll have to wait and see. All very hush, hush but my best guess is it will be Damien Lewis. May be I should start a betting book to see if I'm right. How all very exciting!! After chatting further with Mark we left Pegasus to find a restaurant for an evening meal. Safely accomplished in Villers Bocage a very full pair of friends drove home to their billet. 3rd June Friday Today we decided to visit Vitre in the Ill-De-Vilaine department of France just on the edge of Brittany It has a chateau built in the 11th-12th Century. In the late 1500's it was Protestant and for sometime was the stronghold of the Huguenots. Badly persecuted the Huguenots fled the area. On striking up a conversation with two American's we discovered the gentleman's family on his father's side had been Protestant/ Huguenots and had fled the country. He had found several graves in the churchyard with his surname on, so there were still ties to the town. His father had fought during the war coming up through Italy. It is a beautiful town with lovely buildings and very old architecture. We found a very pleasant bistro for lunch and after another leisurely stroll around the town and a visit to the Notre dame Church for a sing, we returned to St. Pois via the beautiful countryside. 4th June Saturday Made our way to Arromanches to see if any veteran's had arrived, apart from re-en- actors I couldn't find anyone. I contacted my Dutch friends, 3 Gevers brother's who were at Colleville, up on the American beaches and my other Dutch friends were just arriving in France they had stopped at the Cafe Gondres. So we will meet another day. We visited the museum in Arromanches then left for Pegasus. On arriving at the Museum we saw two boats. Motor Gun Boat 81 based at Portsmouth took part in the D- Day Normandy landings acting as one of the landing boats for the British and Canadian troops on the approaches to Sword beach. She is now retained in her MGB 81 markings. The other a High Speed Launch HSL102 was an air Sea rescue launch attached to the Royal Air Force. The purpose of this class of boat was to rescue downed airman. Although speaking to my friend Jack Griffiths Glider Pilot he had been told not to expect any rescue if they came down. However HSL 102 was credited with many such recoveries although she did not attend on D-Day many of her sister craft did. Both of these vessels can be seen at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and both are available for excursions. A quick look around the museum and a visit to the “Fallen heroes Of Normandy” stand for some information for a friend who lost his father at Buron. Then a read of the Commonwealth War Graves stand. A New exhibit this year, Mark tells me they may have a permanent CWGC exhibit. I have had the experience of reading a complete exhibit when the museum at Bayeux was being renovated and it made for extremely interesting reading. I hope it will be a good addition. We went for coffee at Les Trois Planeurs and bumped into Mark again who came with us for a small break. While discussing all that was going on he said that there was a moved memorial being dedicated remembering an atrocity at Grangues near Dives on the 7th, would we like to go to the ceremony. We said we certainly would as I was still trying to find a memorial I had seen some twenty years prior to this where airman had been murdered by Wehrmacht soldiers. I have since found that the memorial I had been looking for for years is in the grounds of the Ardennes Abbeye. After refreshment we went to the cafe at Ranville to see if any of the regulars were there and met up with Sid Wells and many other acquaintances from Belgium, Netherlands and France. Also among them was an American Keith Ward-Goffin Capt. special forces Medic retired Fort Bragg North Carolina. After serving for many years he was enjoying not getting his hair cut and just generally chilling out. A lovely chap enjoying his vacation. We went to Ranville Church where I was hoping to sing on the 6th June but it looks as if I will not be doing so. So I sang for myself in this beautiful church and to any passers by who cared to listen. At the end of singing the hymn “I Vow To Thee My Country” they all said I was wonderful, so a small consolation from a few interested veteran's and their families. 5th June Sunday Up early and made our way to Pegasus Bridge. The ceremony will begin at 11.00a.m. We wanted to be early to greet others. We parked next to Sheila Harding and Reg Charles. Reg was in fine form for his age of 93, he keeps well and informed others that he hadn't seen a doctor for two years. Reg is Ox and Bucks and with 9 others was presented with his legion D' Honneur by Colonel Benoit Trochu. He is a French Armoured regiment Colonel. We met my friend John Geboers and his friends.
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