T plus 3

With the Juno Beach tour over but Astra Girl still hanging out in Paris for a couple of days...

Visit to the Musée de l’Air et de l’Esapce. Since I am on vacation I will limit this mainly to some pictures.
Enjoy.

Space Hall

 

Interwar years

Helicopter Hall 

Concord Hall

- No mentioning, from what I saw, of that horrible accident of Air France 4590 on 25 July 2000 that killed 100 passengers, nine crew and four people on the ground. Shameful in my view as a historian. Those who perished deserve to have their lives commemorated. It does not diminish the technological achievement that the Concord was. -

Ariane 5

Full scale model. 

And a tribute to Canada.

Day 11 - Bayeux to Paris

The last stage of the tour had almost all participants go to Paris as their last stop before flying home or beginning a few days of adventure, either in and around Paris, or at various  other European destinations.

After dinner, about half of the group met near the foot of the Eiffel Tower for an approximately 60 minute cruise on the Seine that had us cruise down to the end of Ile de la Cité and then up along the other side of this little island. We had picked our time just right to see how the Eiffel Tower slowly turned into an illuminated spectacle to culminated in a twinkling light show at 11pm.

Day 10 - Point 67 and the Falaise Gap

Day 10, the final day of the battlefields tour was another extremely emotional day for the tour participants. Our first stop was at Point 67, the most northern part of Verrières Ridge. From this hill you have an amazing view over the low lying areas around you, particularly the road from Caen to Falaise, hence strategically a very important point to hold. The battle for the ridge ensued as Canadian troops tried to push on after having liberated Caen. The 20 km stretch from Courseulles-sur-Mer to Caen had taken from D-Day until almost the middle of July, which serves as a bit of an indicator how contested this section was.
The Battle for Verrières Ridge is seen as Canada’s costliest engagement of the Second World War. The memorial park on top of the hill was created in 2001 and commemorates all those regiments involved.

After the visit of the hill, the next stop was at the Bretteville sur Laize Canadian War Cemetery. Here 2793 Canadian soldiers and 79 airmen are buried, including Private Gérard Doré from the Fusiliers Mont Royal, who was only 16 years old when he died and who is believed to be the youngest Canadian to have died in the Second World War.
The stop at the cemetery was however not just a simple visit to pay our respects, rather the group was part of an official ceremony that appears to happen every year around this time to commemorate the war dead in conjunction with the liberation of this area.

After the ceremony which had included the laying of several wreaths, the group went on to Falaise to enjoy the lunches that had been prepared for us by our hotel. Sitting on the steps to city hall, the town seem eerily devoid of people on this early Sunday afternoon. A few people could be found around the castle area which was once held by William the Conqueror. Our tour group however did not visit that feature but rather explored the Memorial Museum to Wartime Civilians.
The museum visit started of with a very powerful movie which is shown in a room with a glass floor. This allows the viewers to appreciate that a house used to stand in that very location. The movie then essentially shows the destruction of that house and others around it through the aerial bombardment that preceded the arrival of the Allies in the Calvados region of Normandy.

The evening, and essentially the tour, ended with a lovely dinner at a restaurant in Bayeux called Le Pommier. All tour participants were also asked to give a short speech to sum up or point out the high light of their tour experiences.

Day 9 - Battle of Normandy sites - American Sector

Today’s part of the tour started off at the German cemetery of La Cambe where over 21 000 German soldiers are buried, one of them being Tank Ace Michael Wittmann. One of the memorable aspects of this visit was the age of many of the dead as a fair number of them were younger than 20. One that I came across was not even 18 years old yet.

Words of reflection at the cemetery entrance.

The next stop of the day was the Pointe du Hoc where on June 6th the United States Army Rangers were supposed to climb up the cliffs to take out the German defences there.

From the Hoc the next stop was at Omaha Beach and the Normandy American War Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. This is the final resting place of over 9 000 American war dead. It is also the place that inspired the creation of the movie “Saving Private Ryan”. The movie’s intense opening scene is set on Omaha Beach as the Americans arrive on D-Day.

The American cemetery is a very stark contrast to the other ones visited during the tour. Its crosses are made of white stone that looks like polished granite, the grass is a lush green colour which is a very noticeable contrast to the rain deprived lawns and fields of the rest of Normandy.

The final stop of the day took the group to Arromanches-les-Bains. This pretty little seaside town was the site were the Allies decided to build an artificial harbour to secure the supply lines, not just for the invasion itself but the sweep through Normandy after. Today there is very little left of Mulberry Harbour. After lunch in the town, the coach took us up to the top of the cliffs surrounding Arromanches, where a memorial and a Visitor Centre with a 360 degree movie theatre are located.

Remnants of Mulberry Harbour still visible in the distance.

Day 8 - Battle of Normany sites - Canadian Sector

This day only contained a few stops but they were quite meaningful for the tour participants. The first stop was at a small town called Authie which had encountered heavy fighting in the days after the D-Day landing. The fascinating story that came out of this visit was the connection between the school of the town and the teachers from Nova Scotia. As a result of the building having been used as a hide out by German troops, the school ended up being destroyed by the liberating force of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. After the war, they raised money to rebuild the school which today is called the Bill Baillie School, after one of the Highlanders.

One of our francophone tour participants walked into the mayor’s office which was located adjacent to the school, to ask if we could have a closer look. The secretary actually called the mayor who came in just so that he could open the school yard for us so we could see the little log cabin built in the yard.

The downside of this was that we were running a bit late and thus had to cut the visit of the L’Abbaye d’Ardenne a bit short. During the Second World War this 11th century former Premonstratensian abbey was owned by a family that was actively involved in the French resistance movement. Eventually the abbey was taken over by German troops though who utilized the tower as an observation post. After the D-Day landings, a number of Canadian prisoners were executed in the area just outside the abbey’s main yard.
As the tour participants were entering the commemorative area oft the abbey, one member mentioned how her grandfather had told the family that his best friend had been executed in Normandy. While she knew the name, she had no idea that Pvt James Moss was one of the 20 men who had been killed here. It was certainly an emotional moment when she encountered the name on the commemorative plaque.

The high level of emotions were however just to be taken to a new level when we arrived at  Le Mesnil-Patry. Each of these Juno Beach tour groups appear to stop in this little village of 350 souls for a ceremony of remembrance and then a luncheon put on by the local villagers, most of whom old enough to remember the liberation of the area. With the help of those of us who speak French, some more, some less, many very interesting conversations ensued.

After an amazing lunch prepared by the villagers, the tour group returned to the Juno Beach Centre for more impressions and also for an opportunity to dip into the water. Courseulles-sur-Mer is a bit of a beach destination as the town seems to have numerous apartments for tourists or as summer homes.

Day 7- Juno Beach Centre

Today was the big day that all the tour participants had been waiting for, the actual visit of the Juno Beach Centre. All of us had seen the place online, visited its website many times from the day we contemplated our applications to just before we left on the tour.

The Juno Beach Centre opened in 2003 and is a privately funded museum that was envisioned by Garth Webb who had himself served here in the area. When he returned to Courseulles-sur-Mer for the 50th anniversary in 1994, he realized that there was hardly any mentioning of the Canadians having landed in this area during D-Day. The area of the present day June Beach Centre was actually a campground at that time.

                          Juno Beach in front of the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer.

                                                                   German bunker.

The visit started out with a student lead guided tour of the two bunkers in front of the museum as well as a short walk on the beach. Afterwards the group visited the museum itself before heading into the conference room for lunch and the breakout sessions in different groups to look into specific topics and how to apply them to the classroom.

For more information you can visit the Centre’s website at

https://www.junobeach.org

After our group presentations the group boarded the bus and drove to “Ferme de la Ranconnière”. The buildings of this manor go back to the 13th century. Today the place is a hotel and restaurant. It would appear that during the Second World War the buildings were occupied by German troops who established their Air Force headquarters here. After the liberation in the summer of 1944, the mother of the current owner began the transformation to its current function.

https://www.ranconniere.fr

Day 6 - Honfleur to Bayeux via Ranville

Day 6 started out with a drive to the town of Ranville where the famous Pegasus Bridge, a bascule bridge that had been opened in 1934, spans the Caen Canal. Securing this bridge was one of the first objectives when the invasion of Normandy began on 6 June 1944. Six horsa gliders landed in the vicinity and the men on board achieved their mission within a few minutes.
Three of the gliders were pulled by Halifax Bombers from 644 Sqn in Tarrant Rushton - coincidentally the same squadron that NA337 (restored and on display at the National Air Force Museum of Canada) belonged to.

The original bridge preserved at the museum. In front are commemorative stones listing the six gilders and the men on them.

After a short guided tour of the Airborne Pegasus Museum, following in the footsteps of the D-day landings, the group went to Saint Aubin-sur-Mer, the outer most eastern edge of Juno Beach. From there we walked a few kilometres down the Beach, learning details about the landings. The walk ended at Bernières-sur-Mer where Canada House is located. The house, used by the Germans as their headquarters for the area prior to the invasion, pays tribute to the Queen’s Own Rifles. After a visit to the living room of the house which contains numerous memorabilia, the tour participants had their baguette lunches on or in front of the premises.

                                                     Juno Beach at St Aubin-sur-Mer

 Canada House

https://www.facebook.com/CanadaHouseLaMaisonDesCanadiens

After the conclusion of the visit, the group walked up the main street leading away from the beach, which was also one of the roads taken by the tanks that landed on the beach. At the edge of town, we learn more about Garth Webb, the founder of the Juno Beach Centre, who was himself part of the D-Day landings. As we get more details about Webb’s actions, we stand in front of an old manor. The owners, somewhat curious about the large group in front of their home, come out to say hello. As they find out that the tour group is from Canada, they invite us into their courtyard to tell us that the manor’s main house had been used as a hospital after D-Day and the farm buildings that flank the yard had housed medical personnel and equipment, Remnants of the latter (infusion bottles and a stretcher) can still be found in one of the buildings. Apart from the hospitality we received (we were offered water and soft drinks as we had told them that we had been in the sun too long for cider), it was fascinating to find out that the owners of the courtyard buildings had only purchased the buildings a few years ago and actually lived in Paris, yet they were intimately familiar with the history of their summer home.

                                                                    Infusion Bottle

The last stop of the day was the Canadian War Cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer. Each tour participant had received a biography of a soldier, or in my case an airman, buried in this location. We were also invited to create an image of the stone on parchment paper by using a wax crayon.

Flight Sergeant Morris Campbell Murray.