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.
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