France here i come.

Discussion in 'WW2 Battlefields Today' started by wolly55, May 22, 2013.

  1. wolly55

    wolly55 Junior Member

    Finally got everything booked and ready to go, myself and a friend are heading to France to visit my uncles grave and then to go to some of the WW1 sites where my friends great grandad was involved with the DLI.

    On june 7th we leave at 2:30am for the channel tunnel.
    Then on day one we aim to visit.

    The Merville Battery
    Pegasus Bridge
    Bayeux Tapestry
    Bayeux War Memorial
    Tilly Sur Selles ( Uncles Grave )

    Day 2

    Omaha Beach
    American Cemetery
    Arramonche
    English Cemetery
    Sword Beach
    Then drive back toward Amiens

    Day 3 and 4

    Unplanned WW1 sites to explore.

    Will be taking loads of photos , but i wont post them all on here unless its of interest
     
  2. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Hello Wolly55

    Have a great trip and please post all your photos on the forum they will be of great interest to all members whether WW1 or WW2.

    regards
    Clive
     
  3. ww2ni

    ww2ni Senior Member

    Some more suggestions for places that you should visit :-

    Batterie D’Azeville
    Hillman Battery
    Batterie de Longues-Sur-Mer
    Grand Bunker Museum, Ouistreham
    Ste Mere Eglise
    German Cemetery at La Cambe – Michael Whitmann is buried there.


    Enjoy!! - And please let us see your piccies when you return.
     
  4. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Have a good trip.
    Sounds like you have enough to do each day, the other suggested places will be there for your next visit.
    Of course we expect to see pics on your return.
     
  5. ritsonvaljos

    ritsonvaljos Senior Member

    Good luck and bon voyage!

    I must say it seems a very ambitious programme to visit all the sites you mention you hope to do in a day, at least if you want to do them justice. It is also a fairly long drive in France from the Channel Tunnel to the Normandy Landing Beaches, but perhaps you have done a similar voyage in the past?

    If you want a recommendation for a WW1 location to visit on your way back to the Channel Tunnel, perhaps you may like to consider Fromelles a little to the west of Lille.
     
  6. wolly55

    wolly55 Junior Member

    Thanks for the comments guys.

    WW2ni - Thanks for your list of other locations we will see how things go,we were going to go to Carentan and then onto St Mere Eglise before going to Omaha Beach but ruled that out due to time.

    ritsonvaljos - My main aim is to go to The Merville Battery , Pegasus Bridge and the cemetery at Tilly Sur Selles, as my uncle was part of the sixth airborne, anything else after that is a bonus so alot of the time it will be down to time.
    Our train arrives at 6:20am and the friend im going with has driven to France many times.
    As for the WW1 site , we cannot pinpoint where his great granda was with the DLI so we shall take that day by day.

    This will actually be my first trip abroad as its never appealed to me before, but the more ive read about the war and what ive found out about my uncle i just have to go to pay my respects to him and the other soldiers. Will let you know how it went when i get back and will post some photos.
     
  7. ritsonvaljos

    ritsonvaljos Senior Member

    You will be doing well on Day 1 if your intention is to fit in visits to the Merville Battery site and museum, Pegasus Bridge and museum and then Tilly-sur-Seilles War cemetery even before you get to Bayeux. It can be done but it will not allow much time at each location.

    Have other relatives visited your uncle's grave in Normandy previously or are you the first?

    Anyway, good luck with everything.
     
  8. rosstcorbett

    rosstcorbett Member

    Hi Wolly55,

    Sounds like a very exciting trip.

    Have a good time and I very much look forward to your photos. Normandy is still a place I have yet to visit so I am always interested in other peoples pictures.

    Ross
     
  9. wolly55

    wolly55 Junior Member

    Back from France and what a trip.

    Arrived in Calais by Eurotunnel at 6:15 am which became 7:15, then the long drive down to Franceville-plage to The merville Battery using the toll roads, which didnt take as long as we thought it would , just under four hours with a couple of stops.
    The Merville Battery was a bit of a let down, considering what an important mission this was, they have turned into what we called a Disney attraction with very amateur light and sound shows in one casemate and a very poor glider cockpit replica with a screen the otherside showing glider footage. Considering when you walk in there is a sign saying that this has been left as it was on the morning of D Day.
    I think i expected more.
    From here we went onto Pegasus Bridge and the museum which was fantastic, and well worth a visit.
    It was then onto the main point of the journey, to visit my uncles gravein Tilly Sur selles war cemetery, which was on a nice quiet roadside just out of the main town and very well kept as they all are.
    I spent some time here and also had a walk around to look at the other headstones.
    We went from here to our first B&B in a village called Pont Farcey which is a nice quiet little village and is owned and run by Malcolm and lesley from England, and would recommend . ( link to website at the bottom )

    Day 2 , we went onto Omaha Beach and the cemetery , WOW , we actually spent 3 hours here walking down and along the beach and then around the cemetery.
    We did plan to go onto Arramanche but due to time we headed out towards Lion Sur Mer and visited the English Cemetery, then made our way to our next B&B in a village called Miraumont just along from Amiens.
    this was a fantastic location to go and visit the WW1 sites on The Somme area.
    We stayed at a place called Freemans Farm ( The lost generation 1914-1918 ) owned by Tim Wright and his wife Gill who again are english. We arrived around 8pm and even though Tim, who gives guided tours around the area, was going onto one first thing in the morning, he was kind enough to sit down with us to plan our day. We stayed two nights here.
    On day 3 with Tims information we visted Beaumont Hamel, The Newfoundland Memorial, then went onto the Ulster tower, Then onto Thiepval and last for the day The Lochnagar Crater.
    On day 4 we headed out to Vimy Ridge and went into the tunnels and trenches and walked upto the memorial which was mind blowing, if anyone out there has never been to any of these, i would recommend all of them.
    I was not really into world war one having only read a few books but this trip has certainly put fuel on the fire.
    I am sorting through ALOT of photos at the moment and when i have sorted and resized them to go on here i will post some up.

    If someone reads this and thinks i might have a photo from one of the places they are looking for please pm me and i will see what i have, whch might be easier than posting alot.

    Below are a couple of links to the places we stayed, if doing the ww2 or ww1 sites these were superb.


    Les Mont B&B
    https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/33101

    Freemans farm
    http://www.lostgeneration1914-18.com/
     
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  10. ritsonvaljos

    ritsonvaljos Senior Member

    It seems to have been a very eventful visit. You have observed and learnt a lot in a short time.

    I look forward to seeing some of your photographs, especially Merville Battery.
     
  11. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Hello Wolly55

    please post all photos if you can
    we are all very interested


    regards
    Clive
     
  12. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Hope you had a good trip.
     
  13. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Wolly55


    Excellent account of your trip to France and the various museums etc - next year - can I advise a trip to Italy...? Not that there are many special museums for guidance but enough cemeteries to outline what happened in each area

    from Ortona - Cassino - Lirli Valley - Anzio - Lago Trasemino - Gothic Line around Rimini - Po Valley.....would be an interesting trip - might take you two or more weeks though....

    Cheers
     
  14. wolly55

    wolly55 Junior Member

    ritsonvaljos

    I took a few of the Dakota at the merville battery and only a few of the surrounding area and a large shot of the gun they have there. The downside to the day we went 7th June was that they still had a lot of the reenactment crowd there which was good for the kids to see but I didn't enjoy much.

    Tom Canning

    This was actually my first trip abroad as its never appealed to me before until I started researching my uncles war record. Then I had to make the trip to visit his grave.
    I have read books on Italy and Cassino so you never know that could be next.

    CL1

    I have a lot to go through, I will post up the photos when I've resized them as there a bit big at the moment, and sort out the better ones to post . Hopefully wont be too long .
     
  15. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Cheers for that trip report.
    Look forward to the photos.
    I see on your profile you are 42 & just had your first trip abroad.
    I do hope it's not your last.
     
  16. wolly55

    wolly55 Junior Member

    Hi Owen . It certainly won't be my last.
    Just never appealed to me before but with the interest in ww2 and now getting into ww1 who knows.
    Reading in your post about seeing my profile and me being 42, I felt quite old.
    Wish I'd found this interest sooner.
     
  17. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Wolly55

    geewhiz - 42 and first trip overseas - I was only 19 on my first trip - but then it was all paid for as were the other three cruises - no passports or visas either - big free Tank to tour around in as well - even the petrol was free -

    four years of fun- went to some fantastic places Algiers - Tunis - Naples - Rome - Vienna all great stuff oh - and three hospitals...! Couldn't afford it to-day though ...!

    Cheers
     
  18. wolly55

    wolly55 Junior Member

    Gage - Thankyou , i had a fantastic trip, just ignited the fire for the interst in ww1 and ww2 even more.

    I have posted some photos on my Flickr page rather than on here, if you see a photo you like or might want to use please PM me and i can send you a full size copy, all i ask if you use it on a site or anywhere else, it has ( copyright 2013 Colin Winfield ) on it and you let me know where you have used it.



    http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinwinfield/sets/72157634114434827/
     
  19. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Colin
    thanks for posting

    regards
    Clive
     
  20. wolly55

    wolly55 Junior Member

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