This is about the 8th time I’ve been out here and been lucky to have met some veterans through these trips. They are so humble about their achievements and rarely want to talk about what they went through other than their mates and the good memories. I’m honoured to attend the Normandy Veterans Association events back in the UK and to help in their fund raising. The recently completed memorial at Ver-Sue-Mer is outstanding
We visited Ver-Sue-Mer as per of the CL trip last year. As you say, it’s very impressive.
one of those days that if the Allied mission had failed to achieve its goals, the world would probably be a very different place today .. so many brave young men died and so many more lived to tell their tales .. as said, a pivotal day in world history
Jerusalem war cemetary is near Tilly in Normandy where a battle raged for 14 days. Two of the regiments involved were the Sherwood Forresters and the 24th Lancers. The latter regiment was disbanded at Jerusalem crossroads due to the heavy losses with survivors, including my father, going on to join other regiments. There are several of the regiment buried at Jerusalem cemetary
There are more Durham Light Infantry soldiers buried there than any other unit (24) and 3 Lancers. Just finished at the service there
Both my grandads were engineers. One worked at the ford plant in Romford. Was an ARP warden outside of work. The other was at farmer's in Lewisham. I know they did war work but never found out if either were involved when it came to the machinery and the landing craft for d day. They certainly were involved in other areas. Never got the chance to ask either about it.
I’ve been several times always around the 6th June. Everyone should go at least once. Most historians consider 6/6/1944 as the most important day of the 20th Century. Pictured is me with SAS veteran Don Baker at Peggy Bridge museum. I spent an hour on DDay +65 Years with him in 2009 chatting about his experiences, he is in his 90’s in this picture. I won’t go into detail of what he got up to but he was parachuted behind enemy lines six weeks before DDay along with six others from the SAS and a Jeep and obviously plenty of ammunition and ordnance, and the front line caught up with him six weeks after DDay. He was still wearing the same clothes he dropped in on almost 3 months later. He told me before he they said when you go in ‘do as much damage and kill as many of the hun as you can’ he added ‘we were very very good at it’ The other pic is my maternal grandfather who was a professional soldier from 1925-1951 he died in 1980, he went in with the first wave on DDay at Gold beach at 07-31. He told us many stories of DDay and on DDay 2009 I was in a restaurant in Arromanche discussing my grandfather when an old boy tapped me on the soldier, he had heard us talking and said he went in with my grandfather on DDay. He then showed us the exact route he and my grandfather took off the beach and up the bluffs at Gold beach. My grandfather boxed for the army and taught unarmed combat as well, he taught me to box when I was a kid, he was in the Hampshire reg, they were amalgamated with the Queens many years ago to form the PWRR based at Rochester castle. I then occasionally taught the PWRR prisoner handling and unarmed combat before they were deployed in Afghan. So it went full circle. These men, and many women are not footballers or pop stars they are bloody heroes and hard as nails.
Jerusalem war cemetary is near Tilly in Normandy where a battle raged for 14 days. Two of the regiments involved were the Sherwood Forresters and the 24th Lancers. The latter regiment was disbanded at Jerusalem crossroads due to the heavy losses with survivors, including my father, going on to join other regiments. There are several of the regiment buried at Jerusalem cemetary
I wonder who your father was? It'd perhaps be a name I might recognise. All the best, Rm.
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He was in the navy so maybe that's why.
Never got the chance to ask either about it.
Everyone should go at least once. Most historians consider 6/6/1944 as the most important day of the 20th Century.
Pictured is me with SAS veteran Don Baker at Peggy Bridge museum. I spent an hour on DDay +65 Years with him in 2009 chatting about his experiences, he is in his 90’s in this picture. I won’t go into detail of what he got up to but he was parachuted behind enemy lines six weeks before DDay along with six others from the SAS and a Jeep and obviously plenty of ammunition and ordnance, and the front line caught up with him six weeks after DDay. He was still wearing the same clothes he dropped in on almost 3 months later. He told me before he they said when you go in ‘do as much damage and kill as many of the hun as you can’ he added ‘we were very very good at it’
The other pic is my maternal grandfather who was a professional soldier from 1925-1951 he died in 1980, he went in with
These men, and many women are not footballers or pop stars they are bloody heroes and hard as nails.