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Discussion in 'WW2 Battlefields Today' started by Paul Reed, Apr 2, 2014.

  1. jagdpanther44

    jagdpanther44 Senior Member

    Returned home from Normandy yesterday later than planned as our ferry was delayed due to industrial action by some of the Brittany Ferries staff.

    On the whole it was a good trip apart from the already mentioned traffic jams that at times were horrendous. Those jams prevented us from getting to Pegasus Bridge on the 6th so plan B was implemented and we went to Arromanches instead.

    Also did a few 'patrols' of the local French town on our BMW R-71 bike and sidecar, but that's another story...
     
  2. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    I had no problem with my lack of passes. The calvados rediscovered me on Thursday night and I didn't manage to get mobile until late on Friday afternoon by which time it was all over. We had a very hot ride through the crowded streets of Bayeux yesterday morning. I'm not sure that I'm all that comfortable with being a tourist attraction. Most odd.

    The French Police were polite and friendly everywhere that I saw them, even when under pressure although sometimes their instructions were a little conflicting.
     
  3. jagdpanther44

    jagdpanther44 Senior Member

    Calvados is only good for one thing...powering internal combustion engines!

    I too found the Gendarmerie to be very nice people, whenever I asked them what was causing the traffic jam I was stuck in I always got a polite reply and a smile to go with it.

    The craziest incident I witnessed was a motorcycle cop who was buzzing up the N13 on his bike whilst stood up on the footpegs and flailing his arms around as if he were dancing!
     
  4. Jonathan Ball

    Jonathan Ball It's a way of life.

    Personally speaking I'm very happy with how everything turned out. Getting into the VIP area at Bayeux CWGC to meet all the Veterans was superb. I could definitely get used to being escorted by the Gendarmerie down closed roads. All in all from where I was looking I thought the French did a decent job.
     
  5. BrianM59

    BrianM59 Senior Member

    Ah, l'eau de vie - reminds me of my dad saying that they really did think it was water when offered a swig in 1944 - not sure you'd pass for a callow inexperienced youth though Rich?
     
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  6. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    So to save me reading through 225 posts - Did anyone have any dramas getting around Normandy?
     
  7. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Ok I should have read the last 5 :lol:
     
  8. Jonathan Ball

    Jonathan Ball It's a way of life.

    No dramas as such. One of the Veterans on our coach told me about 2 minutes before boarding the ferry at Dover that he'd left his passport and money at home. A whip round on the coach amongst the other passengers sorted his money and UK Border Control staff at Calais sorted his passage home in about 5 minutes flat.
     
  9. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    Ouch, that cut to the quick, Brian. How many times have I said 'Never Again' ? Some of us are just slow learners... :)

    In general, it was just ever so crowded this year. Not ideal for simply deciding to ride into town...lots of planning needed.
     
  10. BrianM59

    BrianM59 Senior Member

    Hey Rich, we've never met and I was only guessing - as I am indeed the barmaid's apron, Calvados is an unknown world - hope you enjoyed yourself though.
     
  11. DaveB

    DaveB Very Senior Member

    Hopefully I'm not hijacking this thread or if there is a better thread already out there to use, but here goes anyway....

    D-Day + 70(years) + 30 days


    I will be in France for the first couple of weeks of July and plan on doing a bit of driving around, photographing war graves as I go for various punters as per my other email chain.

    What I would like to know is, what (if anything) is planned during that period? How do I find out if there are any towns that were liberated in that time-frame that might have celebrations planned??
     
  12. Hesmond

    Hesmond Well-Known Member

    No real dramas ,but some magic moments with the 2 veterans on the coach ,they made it all worthwhile,the police escort with motorcycle outriders was superb ,timings were changed i assume for security reasons but infomation was updated as required ,being in the VIP tent with the vetreans was a pleasure ,the evening march past was fantastic ,only issue was some road closures on Saturday on costal areas but no great issue .It was the veterans event and thsts what counted .
     
  13. DannyM

    DannyM Member

    Hi,
    There is an official program of events here http://www.le70e-normandie.fr/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/NM-Calendrier70e-GB.pdf

    Regards

    Danny

     
  14. DaveB

    DaveB Very Senior Member

  15. son of a rat

    son of a rat Senior Member

    I was not really impressed, everyone seemed so busy to give you the time of day. There were a few louts in Arromanches that should have stuck to a half of shandy rather than a pint. On the up side our journey from Caen to Bayeux was very easy. Bayeux to Arromanches was achieved with the help of a French police motorcycle and parking in the town. The one thing I wanted to do was lay the wreath for my Father and the Desert Rat association. This I did not do as I passed the honour to Ken Scott a 98 year old Desert Rat, I think it made his day. In the British Legion tent I managed to talk with the Duchess of Cornwell who is our patron. The rest of the week went taking Veterans to cemeteries and down to the beach for a paddle and photo shoot.
     

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  16. BrianM59

    BrianM59 Senior Member

    Nice photo of the vets paddling - I went on the 60th anniversary then with an older brother who isn't into such things at all, but my dad had wormed his way out of coming as he usually did and I think he came to keep me company. He was amazed at the generosity of local people when they asked if we were there for the anniversary, but somewhat annoyed at the tendency for fat blokes dressed as American paras to get in the back of every photograph - some things never change then?
     
  17. son of a rat

    son of a rat Senior Member

    Brian, I enjoyed my visits with my Father and just wish honour my Father and his mates in a respectful manner. However attitudes seem to change each year with some local towns in Normandy just thinking about money not memories. As you say Hollywood history was everywhere OTT. Our Veterans enjoyed themselves, and I was pleased to help. I'm now very interested how the next two anniversary's will pan out, as a son my last two visits without my dear Father have not been the same as some people in France don't seem interested now my Father has passed away which makes me feel used. My Christmas card list has changed quite a bit !!!!
     
  18. BrianM59

    BrianM59 Senior Member

    It's a strange one - every time I go - and as I say, I never persuaded my dad to come with me - I hear from the older generation that the young aren't interested, that they're fed up with the war, they hear it all the time from their dads/granddads etc. I can understand that. I've been to Normandy at all sorts of times; people who don't particularly like the fuss about the war often acknowledge that tourism is a necessary evil and that farming can't be sustained for ever - that's just inevitable. What I worry about -and a lot of my work is about memory and nostalgia - is that the younger/third generation will come to see history through the eyes of people who bear no responsibility for it, who dress up, tell tall tales that they heard third hand about things they have no idea about. There is such a thing as nostalgia for a life you never had but there's a responsibility that goes with that, which, for me, isn't covered by fat blokes dressed as American paras riding round the countryside in a jeep. As I've said on other threads, living history yes, showing off about something you didn't do, no thanks.

    One of the things I most recall about the last 30 years I've been going across is the increasing number of small gatherings of elderly gentlemen at small war memorials dotted around the country. When I first went as a student, it was relatively rare to see veterans at commemorations and now, as their numbers dwindle I think their sons and daughters and grandchildren have a responsibility to acknowledge their deeds in a manner commensurate with the passing of time. There will always be circuses and money making and the French don't have a monopoly on that, but as long as we think about it properly, history should survive.
     
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  19. CJB

    CJB Member

    Paul,

    Reading your info regarding visiting Normandy in June, I am visiting Normandy starting 09th June (when my father landed) and following his route for about 3/4 days I am then visiting Dunkirk and Wormhout where he was with the B.E.F. in 1940. I am not going on a "official" tour. I am not sure if I understand that I will require MOD OK to visit the sites (Sword Beach, Pagasus Bridge etc). Please advise.

    Charlie Bentley
     
  20. Mr Jinks

    Mr Jinks Bit of a Cad

    Charlie,
    The posts were only relevant to last years celebrations I doubt there will be restrictions this year?

    Kyle
     

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