D day

[martin goddard]

D day 77th anniversary coming up on Sunday.
Of course we will be thinking of those who landed on that day.
Any one doing anything wargame related??

Les are you doing anything celebratory?


martin

[Sean Clark]

I'd love to but think I'm playing taxi 

[John Watson]

No plans, but since we are on the topic, when I worked in the bank in the 1970s my manager was called Leslie Metcalfe. I met him 10 years later when he skippered the yacht I was sailing on. It turned out he found his love for the sea as an 18 year old when he commanded a landing craft on 6th June 1944. I can't remember the beach he landed his troops on. It makes you think. The bravery at such a young age and the responsibility he had to assume.
John

[martin goddard]

I think we owe much to D day veterans.
A landing craft is not the place to be . Although the french did use them in Robin Hood (Russell Crowe edition).

Without being too revisionist, I feel sympathy for all those PBI that got swept up by the whole war too.

martin

[Moggy]

My Uncle Len lied about his age to join the Army, Landed on D-day, was wounded and medically discharged before the day he could have joined by age.

Derek

[Leslie BT]

Yes, no official engagements  this year for my wife, so we are going to visit the sites she would normally parade at and some of the other monuments, villages and beaches. Starting from Caen down to the Bridge at Bénouville and on along to Hôtel Riva-Bella, Sword beach, Juno beach. At Gold beach there is the British Normandy Memorial in the village of Ver-sur-Mer. On along the coast and past Arromanches, we have been into the town and we expect it will be busy so just on along the coast. We have not been to the beaches and various monuments that are there.  We will if there is time visit the Overlord Museum at Colleville-sur-Mer.

[John Watson]

We were due to visit Normandy and the D-Day sites in March 2020. This is currently pending due to Covid and we hope to visit this October, but I'm not optimistic.
John

[Ben Waterhouse]

My wife's uncle she never met...

[Smiley Miley 66]

We will Remember them !
Miles

[Colonel Kilgore]

Very poignant, Ben. Thank you for the very personal reminder of what this meant for so many families.

Simon

[martin goddard]

Anyone had  an online look at the new Normandy memorial in France?https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57373932
The one in Virginia looks good too. https://www.dday.org


martin

[Leslie BT]

Went and visited the site this afternoon. The site is better than the web site shows.  The place is very dramatic.  I think it is bigger than the pictures show. And the stone columns tell the major events of the war as you approach the memorial from the car park. A nice touch is at one end there is a memorial to all the french civilians who lost their live.

Watched the Red Arrows fly over and several US transport fly past as well. It has non of the showiness of the American memorial.

Has the style and calmness of the older cemeteries and memorials in Normandy

[martin goddard]

Thanks for the info Les
I would like to visit it of possible one day


martin

[Leslie BT]

Well worth the time for a visit.

Always welcome here when things change and borders open.

[martin goddard]

It is probably easiest to come across in a landing craft?

martin