Author Archives: ColinAuthor

Normandy June 2015 – Day#04 – Wednesday 3rd June

August 21, 2015 – 9:12 pm

      Operation GOODWOOD Today we would be following in the footsteps – or rather tank tracks – of the British Army’s attack to the East of Caen: Operation GOODWOOD. This was Montgomery’s plan to make good use of the “excellent tank country” to the South & East of the city. It was  an attempt to […]

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Normandy June 2015 – Day#03 Tuesday 2nd June

August 21, 2015 – 8:49 pm

Glyn Takes The Lead This started off very much as “Glyn’s day of research”. It was also a day of First World War Cemeteries. Perhaps, inspired by some of the work that I’d been doing & that he has helped with, Glyn had recently dug into his own family history and found that one of […]

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Normandy June 2015 – Day#02 Monday 1st June

August 21, 2015 – 8:22 pm

Ancient monuments (no, not us!) A drying day dawned – certainly better than the weather that we’d had on the way over. Having breakfasted, we set off on our third time-travelling journey of the year.  Spanning from the Stone Age to Vimy Ridge and WW1.   We started way back in pre-history with a visit to […]

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Normandy June 2015 – Day#01 Sunday 31st May

August 20, 2015 – 11:55 pm

Leaving for France with a beer Our first stop this year was a return visit to the Farriers Arms in Meersham. The villagers took over this brewpub when it closed back in 2009. After a swift beer, we hopped on the Chunnel & set off to France. Arriving in France with a beer This year we […]

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Normandy August 2014 – Day#06 – Monday 18th August

August 12, 2015 – 5:30 pm

What it’s all about: sharing history with relatives Our final day dawned clear, but still with a wind whipping up the waves. However, we couldn’t hang around as we had to head back to catch the Chunnel & arrange to meet up with Pat & Joan Gillespie – Pat is the niece of Gerald Willen […]

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Normandy August 2014 – Day#05 – Sunday 17th August

August 12, 2015 – 5:30 pm

Operation BLUECOAT Battlefield tour and talk Today started wet & with a return to Hill 226 and a second meet-up with Stéphane Jacquet as he’d asked me to go through the talk that I do on the start of Operation BLUECOAT which focuses on 3rd Battalion Scots Guards (one of three constituent units of 6th […]

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Normandy August 2014 – Day#04 – Saturday 16th August

August 12, 2015 – 5:07 pm

Preparations for the “Men in the Shed” talk So, the Big Day dawned… Today was the day chosen to celebrate the Liberation, 70 years ago on 14th August 1944, of St Vigor des Mezerets  by 43rd Wessex Infantry Division (the same one that Albert Figg fought with). As part of the celebrations, following the various […]

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Normandy August 2014 – Day#03 Friday 15th August

August 12, 2015 – 4:54 pm

Return to Operation GOODWOOD… Having had an excellent breakfast prepared by Patrick’s wife, Annick, we set off towards Caen. Our first stop-off was at a large car boot sale (well, why not)… in the background was the remaining cooling tower from the old Colombelles steel works which was used as an observation post by the […]

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Normandy August 2014 – Day#02 Thursday 14th August

August 12, 2015 – 4:32 pm

Disaster! We’ve had some interesting escapades on these trips with late arrivals at hotels, having to wait at the Chunnel for a delayed train, etc, but this one was spectacular! We’d had a look around the village of Cricklade and had set off for the Chunnel as my phone rang… it was Elaine, my wife, […]

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Normandy August 2014 – Day#01 Wednesday 13th August

August 12, 2015 – 4:26 pm

Return to Normandy So, back off to Normandy for a third time in a single year – one of the benefits of an “Anniversary Year”… and my wife, Elaine, wasn’t complaining, either, as it meant that she got the benefit of another chunk of snore-free night’s sleep! As it was a special year & visit […]

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