Over 5 days in July a group of Old Bedfordians and friends visited the beaches and battlefields of Normandy not long after the celebrations for the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings.
With our excellent guide, Steve, from Anglia Tours, it was fascinating to learn about the meticulous planning and deception that took place in the lead up to D-Day, Operation Overlord and in particular the realisation of the concept for the Mulberry Harbours. It was humbling to understand the contributions made by Old Bedfordians in particular for the Mulberry Harbours and that without their expertise they might never have come into being. (read here)
The first action on D-Day was the landing by gliders at Pegasus Bridge, which had to be secured to stop the Germans reinforcements getting through once the landings took place. The pinpoint accuracy of the gliders in landing by the bridges without modern navigation aids took the Germans by surprise and the bridge was captured successfully. A quick coffee in the Café Gondrée beside the bridge was made even more welcome when you realised that ‘Madame’ who served us drinks was the same little 5 year old who had welcomed the troops into her parents café 80 years before!
The visit to the Merville Battery followed, a strategic German artillery battery whose large guns could have caused vast destruction on the landing beaches. The Battery is well preserved with lots of interactive displays. It was interesting to learn of the role of OB Lt Robert Edward Vane De Lautour (1931-33) of the Grenadier Guards. He was part of the Pathfinder unit parachuted into Normandy in advance of the rest of the division in order to mark out the landing zones. Whilst making their way to the battery De Lautour had the misfortune to fall into a slurry pit and had to go through the whole attack covered in rather smelly liquid!
We visited the beaches of Sword, Juno, Gold and Omaha and saw the obstacles that the Allies had to overcome on each beachhead and the remains of the German Batteries overlooking the beaches. Saving Private Ryan and The Longest Day were very much in our minds as we walked on the beaches and imagined exactly what it must have been like.
The tour saw us going to Arromanches-les-Bains where Mulberry 2 was located and it was fascinating to see how much of the floating harbour is still evident – amazing when you think it was constructed within 12 days of the landings!
We also visited the CWGC cemeteries where Old Bedfordians who died in the landings had been buried, as well as the American and German cemeteries. We were honoured to have amongst our number John Ward (52-63) whose father Captain H W Ward (1921-26) was killed on the 12th June 1944, just 2 months before he was born. There was a very emotional ceremony when John laid a wreath on his father’s grave in Breville Communal Cemetery.
We were lucky that the trip coincided with the School’s choir tour to Bayeux and we were able to attend their uplifting performance at Saint Patrice church.
The whole trip was a great mixture of the historical as well as the social and in the evenings the group enjoyed discussing the day’s events and sampling the local cuisine. We also had the opportunity to visit the Bayeux Tapestry – amazing to think that it is nearly 1,000 years old – though we didn’t manage to spot any OBs in the frieze!
We are already looking at ideas for similar trips in the future so do keep a lookout – they are always interesting and enjoyable.
For the full details of the OBs who died in the D-Day landings and immediately after read here.
For more information about the OBs who played a large part in the design and erection of the Mulberry Harbours read these papers:
Old Bedfordians and the Mulberry Harbours
A Harbour Goes to France – Brig A E M Walter CBE
Mulberry Harbour Terminology
Here are a few of the photos but see all the photos of the trip here.
