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Normandy June 2014 – Day#11 Monday 9th June

June 1, 2015 – 9:49 pm

Menhir hunting

We had decided, as it was also the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War to pick up a few key sites on our way home… but first we went even further back in time to satisfy Glyn’s attachment to strange lumps of rock plonked in the countryside by our ancestors… yes, folks, we were Menhir hunting again.

Past readers of this blog will recall the time when we (eventually) found a previous standing stone… all two foot of it! But this time, we had bigger hopes… at least this one was signposted!

And then, round a bend & through the rain, there it was – pretty awesome, it has to be said… and then we found a map of more of them… unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit!

Moving forward to the First World War

So, we continued on our journey towards the town of Peronne – where a brewery & WW1 museum were calling us. But of course, with this being right in the area of the WW1 front lines, it wasn’t long before we caught site of the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing and then the first of a number of First World War cemeteries.

On the way to Thiepval, we stopped off at the interesting Ulster Memorial Tower.

At the Thiepval Memorial

Since my first visit many years ago, there had been many changes at the Thiepval Memorial, including a new visitor centre, but one thing that’s unchanged is the impact of seeing the 73,367 names engraved on the columns of the Thiepval Memorial. This Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916.

For added atmosphere – as if it was needed – in the distance a thunderstorm continually rumbled awakening thoughts of rolling barrages and gunfire sufficient to send shivers up & down my spine.

Relentless cemeteries

So, passing a relentless procession of First World War cemeteries, we arrived in Peronne… to be reminded that on Mondays, France seems to shut down… the brewery was certainly shut, as was the museum. Fortunately, there was a restaurant open next to the hotel with reasonably priced (for France) beer so we made ourselves welcome!

On our way, we passed an enormous poppy field & understood why this flower was chosen to remember the fallen of wars

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Normandy June 2014 – Day#10 Sunday 8th June

June 1, 2015 – 6:46 am

Mullberies

Sunday saw us begin our winding way homeward. For a change, we decided to head north towards the beaches & one of the first sea-born sights to greet us was the remaining pieces of the Mulberry Harbours; an amazing feat of engineering born of the realisation that it would take time for the invasion army to seize & repair a sizeable port so they needed to take one with them. The “Mulberry” off the American beaches is no longer there being badly damaged in the “Great Storm” in mid-June 1944 & then cannibalised to repair the one off the coast of Arromanches in the British Sector.

On JUNO beach

On arrival at the coast, we passed through the Canadian sector of JUNO beach where we took to our feet & stepped onto the sand. It’s only when you get there & realise just how big these beaches are & how difficult it is to walk through the sand dry-shod & carrying nothing but a camera when you begin to think about the initial forces invading on the morning of 6th June: wet, tired, scared, carrying around 60lbs of gear and having to run up the beach all the time whilst being shot at! No wonder they’re deserving of our admiration!

Pegasus Bridge and the Cafe Gondree

We arrived for a quick stop at the Cafe Gondree next to Pegasus Bridge where it was great to see a couple of veterans of No 3 Commando being treated so well by current serving soldiers as well as tourists.

Just as we were about to head off over the bridge, the barriers came down & we fairly quickly saw why the canal had been widened post war.

Thunderstorms and beer

Then off towards Rouen & the Brasserie du Chant du Loup. On the way, we passed through one of the most awesome thunderstorms I’ve seen – the traffic on the motorway coming to a complete stop as it hit the wall of water coming down. We’d arranged with Patrick, the owner, to eat a meal with them & he’d initially prepared to have outside as it was a very warm evening, but then the temperature dropped as the rain came again with such volume & noise that we decided to move inside. A short while later, a nice sunset! Still, the beer was good!

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Normandy June 2014 – Day#09 Saturday 7th June

June 1, 2015 – 6:38 am

Back to Hill 226…

Saturday morning saw Glyn & me back onto Hill 226, wading along the edge of the fields through waist high crops so that I could get some clear photographs to supplement my talk of the battle as we’d not been able to take them yesterday. Whilst their we found a small metal “O” ring… part of farm equipment or from a Churchill Tank – we’ll never know, but I know what I tell people!

At Hottot les Bagues

Then, after what was a quite exhausting climb due to the heat, we headed back into our car & off to Villers Bocage for a deserving cool beer before heading back up to Hill 112 to meet Malcolm Fleming and his family as they were on their way to Hottot CWGC to place a further wreath and some Poppy Crosses on behalf of Muir Findlay. We had agreed to meet them on Hill 112 so that they could see a Churchill tank of the type that Malcolm’s father would have served in.

Off-roading for Devonshire

After a poignant time in the peace of the cemetery, we went our separate ways – Malcolm & his family back towards Caen, whilst we went in search of the 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment. This is the unit that Chapman, Lawrence & Blunt were serving with when they were captured on 11th July 1944. Prior to our visit, I’d been able to find out the approximate positions of the unit at around this time. Fortunately, the off-road prowess of my Landrover came into good use as we realised that the track that we needed to drive down was, shall we say, a little under-tarmacked! At the same time, as we went on, it gave a great feel for the sort of conditions of the time – narrow enclosed lanes; the ability to alter the ride height was most useful!
Photos taken, we headed back for our meal at Tony & Jill’s

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Normandy June 2014 – Day#08 Friday 6th June

May 31, 2015 – 10:18 pm

Stand in battlefield tour guide

Earlier in the week, I’d received a phone call from Eain Findlay to say that he and his father, Muir, wouldn’t be able to make the trip this year as he’d put his back out. Eain was happy to drive munching on painkillers, but somehow, Muir was less happy with that idea! Anyway, part of Eain’s concern was that he’d agreed to do a Battlefield Tour of the first part of Operation BLUECOAT which his father had taken part in as a member of “S” Squadron, 3rd Battalion Scots Guards; an element of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade. BLUECOAT was their first operation having arrived in Normandy. The tour was for another family on a first visit to Normandy & so Eain had asked me whether I would mind doing the tour in his stead. We’d planned to join them on the tour, anyway, after all, being in the company of a veteran was an added bonus & whilst I know a reasonable amount about this specific part of the operation, Eain’s knowledge is phenomenal; I only hoped that I’d be able to deliver a reasonable experience to Malcolm Fleming and his family especially as Malcolm’s father had also been in Scots Guards.

Start at Caumont

We met at one of the supermarkets in Villers Bocage & then drove up towards Caumont where the operation started. We began where the Scots Guards had formed up & looked across the operational area towards their objective – Hill 226 – which was also ours for the day.

Normandy’s smallest cemetery

Our first stop was the solitary grave of Lieutenant James Marshall-Cornwall of the Grenadier Guards. He was killed by a sniper in the early stages of the operation & was buried where he fell. After the war the landowner gave the ground to the young officer’s father, General Sir James Marshall-Cornwall, who requested that the grave site should not be disturbed. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission erected a headstone on the soldier’s grave, and the family added a memorial behind. This is the smallest military cemetery in Normandy, and probably of the Second World War.

Personal flypast #1

Having visited the cemetery, we were stood looking at our maps & talking through the route that we were going to follow when we noticed that the Lancaster, Dakota and two Spitfires of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight were forming up ready for its fly-past over the assembled veterans and dignitaries (including HM the Queen) at Bayeux Commonwealth Cemetary… a fantastic start to our little tour… and a disaster, as I realised that I’d left my camera back at Tony & Jill’s!!! The next bit is unprintable as I vented my frustrations!

In the track-steps of 3rd Battalion Scots’ Guards

Undaunted, we set off following as best as we could the route taken by the tanks of the Scots Guards. Whilst I drive a “go almost anywhere” landrover, it still can’t compete with a Churchill tank, so we had to follow a winding route around the lanes, whereas they went straight over the hedges!

Les Loges memorial

Our next stop was the hamlet of Les Loges where Malcolm had agreed to leave a wreath on behalf of Muir Findlay & also one in memory of his own father at the war memorial in the small churchyard.

We then drove up to a small parking area from where it’s possible to gain access to the top of the hill (fortunately, following our previous visits, Glyn & I are able to go to the correct track!). As we were about to walk up the track, another car pulled up & it turned out that this was driven by Stuart Garland whose father, Archie had served in the same tank as Eain’s father, Muir. Prior to visiting Normandy, Stuart & Eain had been in touch concerning a possible meeting & so Stuart joined us on our walk towards the top of the hill.

On Hill 226 & personal flypast #2

As we were there talking about the Hill & where the various units had been back in July 1944, we noticed two specks moving around in the sky… back then, they would have had any Germans running for cover as the specs turned into two Spitfires readying themselves for a run over Bayeux… this time, they flew almost directly overhead – our second flypast of the day & again, me without a camera!

Then it was off to St Martin des Besaces for some food & Stuart left to arrange his camping accommodation for the evening.

St Charles de Percy

After a very brief visit to the museum at St Martin, we headed off to St Charles de Percy to attend the annual Act of Remembrance at the Commonwealth Cemetery there. This was followed by a swift beer or two before heading to the celebratory evening event in Montchamp, brilliantly organised, as ever, by Ulrike Mabbutt.

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Normandy June 2014 – Day#07 Thursday 5th June

May 31, 2015 – 10:09 pm

Hill 112 and Albert Figg

We were up fairly early in the morning and headed off to Hill 112 ready to meet Albert Figg, a veteran of the campaign there. Albert is the guy who did most of the fundraising to put a Churchill tank on top of the Hill in memory of the men that fought and died there. He is now trying to raise sufficient funds to plant 112 trees and also to have a statue of an advancing infantryman on the hill as part of the continuing memorial to the fighting that took place there.

EPSOM - Hill 112 (1)We arrived early which enabled us to take a number of photographs. Hill 112 is the high point of a long ridge and is almost unremarkable with very gentle slopes. But, get to the point where these sweep away and then you can see the fantastic views that anyone on top of the hill would have of anyone either approaching or moving in the distance. As I was delivering a talk in July to the Manchester Military History Society focusing on Operation EPSOM, I thought that it made sense to have plenty of “on location” photographs.

Hill 112 Albert Figg (02)Albert arrived with his son and daughter… in style and in what can only described as a “Popemobile”!!  This had photographs of Albert (never a shy chap!) and the words: “Albert Figg, veteran on tour” and, whatever you might think, this is a great way of publicising what is trying to do and certainly ensures that he’s not missed!

Hill 112 Albert Figg (08)We were even joined by Winston Churchill!! Or at least a close approximation!

In the lead up to our visit, Albert and I had been in touch regarding our usual meal in the village of Evrecy. Unfortunately, as Nigel was not able to join us and as he normally undertook the booking of the room, I offered to do that on our behalf. Unfortunately, my French is not good, but I managed to explain to the owners of the restaurant that there would be probably 9 of us there for a meal. Then, within about an hour of booking this, Albert had sent me another e-mail saying that there was probably another 5 people coming! Another hour and another 5 people! In between time, Albert had also sent me an e-mail asking if I could pick up a tin of tank paint! Of course I hadn’t realised that this was with Nigel and so I had visions of walking into the French equivalent of B&Q and asking for a tin of tank paint! Fortunately we were able to sort this out!

Albert is silenced!

As usual, the meal in the lovely little Italian restaurant le Poivrier was up to its usual standard & we made the decision that Albert (as usual) wouldn’t pay… though I did give him a shock when announcing that, as it was the 70th anniversary of D Day, it was only fair that, for a change, he should pay for us… all 20 of us! For the first time that I’ve known him, he was lost for words!! However, normality was returned when I explained that I was only joking and, having charged everyone a fair share of the cost of the meal, and having put my creative accounting skills into operation ensuring that we had enough left over for a reasonable donation to Albert’s latest scheme of planting 112 trees up on the Hill as a lasting & living memorial to all of those that fought & died there.

Photographing Operation EPSOM

Having finished our meal and left Albert to head off to Caen for the presentation of his Legion d’Honneur from the French Government, we decided to go and take some more photographs for my operation Epsom talk.

EPSOM - 15th Scottish Div memorial Gavrus (2)We were able to visit the villages of Bougy and Gavrus including the 15th Scottish Division memorial there. We then realised that time was running away with us and we needed to head off to Tony and Jill Stansfields where we were staying for the night.

Today’s photo album

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Normandy June 2014 – Day#06 Wednesday 4th June

May 31, 2015 – 10:02 pm

A vampire then to bed in a box

Tank shells to vases

It had rained quite a lot overnight and was still raining when we woke up. So we decided that we weren’t in a hurry. The farm where we were staying had some interesting vases full of flowers, however, sNovelty vaseomewhat unusually, they were two 90 millimetre shell brass casings. The owner had been told that they were of German origin, but at the base of the shells there was a mark showing “90mm” . To my knowledge, it was only the Allies that used 90mm guns. Either in their latter Sherman tanks or their M10 tank destroyers (used by both Commonwealth forces and the American Army). In addition, I don’t think that the German army used brass for their shell casings.

After breakfast, as it was still raining, we headed off to meet Nigel Hay of “Milweb” fame. To pick up the tin of tank paint for Albert Figg to help repaint the tank on top of Hill 112.

Looking for Vampyrs with Milweb’s Nigel

Vampyr Radar Station (1)Having put the paint in the car, Nigel took us on a local tour to see some wartime relics in the area. First stop was the remnants of the “Vampyr” radar station which was used by the Germans. This was a well hidden emplacement with “normal” looking buildings, half buried in the land. It’s only when you’re close up that you realise that there’s something unusual about them. Interestingly, the water tank for the base is still in use by the French farmers! Nigel gave us a quiz to see if we could spot any anything unusual… we clearly failed it. We didn’t see the German barbed wire stanchion that was right in front of us!

Moving on from the vampire radar station we went into a local village where there was a P47 Thunderbolt engine that had been dug out of the ground by the local French people . It was put in a showcase with information about the pilot (who baled out). We then drove back to Nigel’s house passing on the way a monument to an aircraft crew that had crashed while delivering supplies to local resistance fighters.

Shoeboxes and beer

We then went over to Barrie’s for a brief chat. It was then up to Caen to the Premiere Classe hotel that we were staying at as we did last year. Then it seemed ok. However, this year, we’d already stayed on two wonderful farms and in a chateau. Next we were off to Tony and Jill’s. So, this year, they seemed like they were just little shoe boxes! Hey ho.

Anyway, staying here allowed us to visit La Casse a Bieres – where locally produced beer is available both in bottle and draught. Not to mention the Caen Trois Brasseurs brewpub at the rear of the hotel… tough life, really!

Today’s photo album

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Normandy June 2014 – Day#05 Tuesday 3rd June

May 27, 2015 – 5:38 pm

At La Fiere

#1 Bill Sullivan at La Fiere (3)A reasonably early start saw us arriving at the Sullivan family accommodation at La Fiere which is on the banks of the river Merderet which is a key battle in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division

Elizabeth, Bill’s wife had found some old wartime photos of Bill that she brought out to show us all.#1 Bill Sullivan at La Fiere (5)

Then, Bill’s Grandson showed us Bill’s original dogtags that he was proud to wear

Then, having split people between 2 cars we set out to our first visit for the day: the home of M. and Mme Lenot in between the villages of Varenguebec and Doville – an old flour mill.

With Bill Sullivan at the Flour Mill

#2 Bill Sullivan at Flour Mill (05)Our welcome at the flour mill was, as last year, very warm and very friendly despite the fact that our French was still poor as was M. and Mme Lenot’s English, however the friendship and their pleasure at having Bill and his family back transcended any language problems.

On this occasion I had produced a booklet which showed some photographs that Bill had taken on his 1995 visit to Normandy and compared these to the photographs at we took last year as well as maps & copies of newspaper articles. This put things into perspective for both Bill & his family & also helped refresh Bill’s memory.

We went into the main part of the mill and explained to his family who had been there and where they had stayed. This was the place where the Germans that were in the area spotted the fact that whilst Bill, Morris and their colleagues were in civilian clothes they were still wearing a parachute jump boots and they were recaptured

M. Lenot explained that he had discovered that during the war, just after the paratroopers had been there, some Germans were based at the mill and one of them had shot the grandson of the previous owners through the cheek from one of the windows in the flour mill… this has been one of the nice things about the whole of this research project… it has encouraged others to do some research themselves.

Having taken plenty of photographs, M Lenot invited us in for a drink and produced some home-made Poiré which is a mix of the premier juice from the apple pressing for cider and Calvados together with some cloves; it is a fairly potent drink but very warming as everyone found out!

#2 Bill Sullivan at Flour Mill (04)Elizabeth handed over a plaque which had the photographs from last year of her and Bill together with M and Mme Lenot outside their house and in the middle was a copy of Bills wartime POW photograph.

After a taste of M. & Mme Lenot’s home distilled calvados (which is awesome!) we were invited to see where the production took place including his very large cider barrels and large stock of bottles

Unfortunately we needed to move on to keep within our time schedule, but just before we left Mme Lenot presented Elizabeth with a bouquet made up of roses cut from her garden which were beautiful.

On to Créances

#3 Bill Sullivan at Creances (02)We then drove on to Créances where we were welcomed by M Lemoigne, the Mayor, M Athanase, the deputy mayor, and all the members of the village committee and also people who remembered Bill from the war or from our visit last year

A presentation to Bill Sullivan

#3 Bill Sullivan at Creances (19)The mayor welcomed Bill and his family and explained how proud they were to know him and to welcome back to their town#3 Bill Sullivan at Creances (29). M. Lemoigne then disappeared into his office and came out wearing his official Sash of Office to present to Bill a special medal of Créances

Superb food and special permission from the Mayor!

#3 Bill Sullivan at Creances (38)After this presentation we all left the mayor’s office and went to the tennis club where the mayor had arranged for food to be provided. We had a wonderful sit down meal, starting with watermelon filled with port, then locally produced lamb which was incredibly tender then Tarte Normande and which is basically an apple tart which was truly awesome, finally followed by some local cheese. All of which was accompanied with wine and cider.  I had explained that I was driving however the mayor gave me special permission to have an extra drink which was supported by the deputy mayor! I do like Créances!!

Having a fantastic meal and a speech of thanks by Bill, we then headed off towards the buildings where they had been hidden in in the forest.

Bill Sullivan meets some old friends

#3 Bill Sullivan at Creances (47)However there was a short diversion to the front of the building that the Germans had been using as a field hospital when Bill had been there in the war. There, we were introduced to the Chief of Police and his deputy and many other of the villages including 2 old ladies who do in the war had been the ones who took the food to Bill, Morris and their companions whilst they were in hiding. The idea was that girls taking food out to people working in the forest would not be seen as suspicious by the Germans. There was a tearful reunion between these ladies and Bill which was wonderful to see.

We then headed to the building in the forest and my car’s 4×4 capability came into its own as everyone got out except for Bill and the two old ladies and we went down a muddy, rutted track to as near to the building in the woods as we could get. I did wonder at one point whether we would get through but my brute force and ignorance approach and my Landrover Discovery’s electronics made sure that we succeeded.

#3 Bill Sullivan at Creances (66)When we arrived in the forest we were greeted by a large group of people including (again) the Mayor and his Deputy, the Chief of Police and his Deputy and the villages that we had previously met, but also lots of young people from the local school. One thing that is nice to see is how the young people are instructed in Remembrance and are made aware of what all the people died for their country did.

At the building in the woods there was a lot of people wanting to take photographs of Bill and his family which was fantastic; it was also wonderful to see Bill interacting with the youngsters & also how his family were “blown away” by the reception that they received. Unfortunately time, time flew by all too quickly and we began to realise that we would be late for our final appointment for the day at La Ronde Haye. To help us out, fortunately M. Lemoigne kindly telephoned his opposite number, M. Lenesley, the mayor of la Ronde Haye to explain that we were running slightly late and that we would be arriving proximately half an hour behind schedule.

Off to La Ronde Haye

#4 Bill Sullivan at La Ronde Haye (01)So having turned the car around it was once again pressed in to use as a 4×4 wheelchair for Bill. However, also in the car was Bill’s son, grandson and Glyn so if we got stuck I would at least have someone to push us out through the mud! Having return to the main track we swapped cars, made our goodbyes and headed off to La Ronde Haye.
When we arrived at La Ronde Haye, it seemed as though most of the village had turned out!

Another presentation

#4 Bill Sullivan at La Ronde Haye (19)There were speeches by M Lenesley  (the Mayor) and his colleague together with a presentation of a medal of La Manche. Following this, there were some photographs taken with some of the #4 Bill Sullivan at La Ronde Haye (43)local dignitaries and veterans; Bill decided to make his own mark by lying down at the front!

The schoolhouse

We then went off to the old school house where there were elderly people who remembered, as children, seeing some PoWs being taken into the building and then escaping through the window at the back; of course, they didn’t #4 Bill Sullivan at La Ronde Haye (30)say anything at the time!! And then Bill took another look at the window through which he & Morris Sheppard and others escaped from when the German guards were round the other side of the building.

More food and wine!

We then went back to the village centre for some wine and more photographs with a further presentation of a plaque with signatures of many of the villages on it.

Unfortunately, by this point, Bill was feeling tired (as we all were it having been a draining day in the heat) so we decided not to head to the monastery, but instead to head back to Ste Mere Eglise and La Fiere to drop Bill and his family off.

We joined them for a quick beer and further chat, then Glyn and I headed over towards our accommodation near Bayeux

This was another new venue to us; the farm Du Rieu – a wonderful, typically French farm in lovely countryside. Having dropped our bags we decided to go out for a meal in Bayeux and found a nice restaurant in the centre, opposite a useful car park. Most of the prices were around 15 euros however they then brought a “Specials Board” where dishes started at 30 euros! We could, if we had wanted, have had a glass of 40 year old Glenfiddich Malt Whisky, but at 99 euros we decided to stick with the beer!

Today’s photo albums

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Normandy June 2014 – Day#04 Monday 2nd June

May 27, 2015 – 5:24 pm

German Military Cemetery at Marigny

Marigny German Cemetery (1)Initially, we’d planned to use this day checking out again Ray Elledge’s crash site where we would have dug up some of the metal. However, as this had now been confirmed as not a crash site, we decided to do something different and decided to head off to Coutances as we’d only ever been there once before in an evening looking for some food and accommodation.

However, before then, we thought that we would visit the German Military Cemetery at Marigny now the resting place of over 11,000 soldiers, mainly of the German Panzer Lehr division

Coutances

Coutances (1)We had a look around the cathedral (which was plain, but all the better for that in my view, ‘though oddly, all of the tombs had been opened to show that there was nothing inside – unless they’d been removed during a restoration process… unfortunately, there was no one to ask).

Just outside of the cathedral, there are some large 4 foot by 3 foot boards of wartime Coutances (10)photographs of the damage that Coutances suffered during the war. These have been placed in the position from where the photograph had been taken and enable you to appreciate the damage that had been done and the restoration work that had been completed after the war.

On the trail of Francis Gillespie…

La Feuille (5)Having done this, we then headed off to the village of La Fieulle that had been identified by my contact with ANSA as where Francis Gillespie parachuted into when he had baled out of his P47. Unfortunately, there was no one there that we could talk to to be able to discuss this with (again, I need to follow this up with my contact from ANSA. So we turned “touristy” and took a number of photographs as it is a very picturesque village.

… and Ray Elledge

We then reviewed the map and spotted what appeared to be another large wooded area that may have been one that Ray Elledge referred to in his manuscript so we decided to head over there and investigate even though the chances of spotting something on the ground without any aerial photography to help was probably quite slim, however it was worth trying.

We didn’t spot anything but as we were driving through one village nearby, we noticed people setting up in the Marie an exhibition for the celebration of D Day, so we went and asked if any of them had any knowledge of where Ray Elledge crashed. Unfortunately, they didn’t and one gentleman said that his father had been living in the area during the war and he had never mentioned an airplane crashing in the woods near the village, so again it looks like this will be something for further investigation .

And so to a refreshing beer!

So we then headed off towards St Lo to visit a wholesaler of beer and wine who also served beer on draught brewed by a local brewery. As you’re aware, this is all necessary additional research and as someone has to do it, it might as well be Glyn and me!

We then headed over to St Mere Eglise which has been totally transformed with new roads and all of the trees in the main square being cut down. Apparently this act of vandalism was by the previous mayor before he was deposed. Unfortunately these trees will have seen hundreds of years of history including, I suspect, having American 82nd airborne paratroopers hanging in their branches being shot by Germans; they were a living memorial to the soldiers and for them to be cut down is somewhat annoying!

Meeting up with “the Sullivan’s”

Having dropped our bags at our accommodations the Ferme de Riou we headed into St Mere Eglise to meet up with the family of Bill Sullivan who we would be taking on a tour the following day. This would be a repeat of last year’s trip, however on this occasion it was to be with Bill’s son and grandson and daughter and their families.

I outlined the route that we would be following and explained how I had become aware of Bill through the letters & photographs that he had sent the son of Morris Sheppard who had kindly forwarded copies to me as many of the places mentioned, both Bill and Morris encountered together.

Having had a few beers and a brief chat with some of the American soldiers that were there for the mass parachute drop later in the week, we headed back to our B&B ready for an early start the next day

Today’s photo albums

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Normandy June 2014 – Day#03 Sunday 1st June

May 27, 2015 – 2:03 pm

Change of plans to look for Ray Elledge

We had planned to take a gentle meander through the French countryside and take our time in driving to our accommodation for the evening at Hebecrevon.

However just outside of Abbeville, we received a phone call. My initial thought was to panic as it was obviously a French telephone number and I was expecting another cancellation of a hotel room. Fortunately, this was not to be the case. Instead it was the son of the family that we had identified as being the owners of the small wood where we believed that Major Ray Elledge had crashed his P47.

He explained that his parents had received my letter explaining about our visit this and that they had no knowledge of Ray’s crash but were interested to hear more so we agreed to head out to them more quickly and hit the motorway. However the first thing that I did was to insure that I had a full tank of diesel as I was not wanting a repeat of the same mistake that happened 2 years ago when we nearly ran out!

Chateau de la Rocque (3)We stopped off to drop our bags at our hotel which turned out to be a small chateau: The Chateau de la Rocque which was a wonderful peaceful place at the end of its own private drive just off the motorway outside of St Lo.

We got our gear, rang the owners of the woodlands and arranged to go and see them

Investigating a crash site… in bad French

Unfortunately my French was still a little rusty from lack of practice, and the gentleman’s English was almost non-existent. His wife spoke a little English, but she spent much of the time out of the room. We explained what our knowledge (of Ray) was but he told us that the pond that we had found was in fact man-made after the war. In addition, the pieces of metal that we have spotted sticking out of the pond were in fact some apparatus to do with pigs. Unfortunately, our French was not good enough to understand what this machinery did put pigs were definitely involved!

During the conversation he explained that his uncle had been an archivist or historical librarian during the war (I think at St Lo) and when the Germans arrived having defeated France in the Second World War they started Medal (1)throwing their weight around. However, his uncle had been awarded a special gold medal from the German
government many years before due to his work as an archivist (we believe that the only other Frenchman to receive this was Louis Pasteur) as a result when the German officer saw this medal on the office wall, he immediately became deferential and started saluting him!

We think that this same uncle also had an altercation with a party of Germans who were trying to take some of the animals from the farm and he ended up pulling the Sergeant off his horse and explaining that they could not take the animals but they could purchase them!

So it would appear that the location that we had identified for Elledge is, in fact, incorrect; which was a huge disappointment. However, I would prefer not to know rather than have a wrong place identified. Hopefully, one of my contacts in France will be able to help more with this search as he is part of an organisation that tracks down crashed Allied aircraft.

After discussing all of this, we then headed off to St Lo to have some food. Sundays are difficult in France as many places close. However we found a Buffalo Grill (a sort of steak bar) that was open and as these provide reasonably good food, we had something to eat, a beer, and then returned to the chateau.

Today’s photo albums

By ColinAuthor | Posted in Major Ray Elledge Jnr | Tagged | Comments (0)

Normandy June 2014 – Day#02 Saturday 31st May

May 27, 2015 – 1:57 pm

Ducks have right of way

We were up early ready for breakfast and then our journey further south and east towards the Channel Tunnel. As has been customary over the last few years, we headed first west around the M25 past Heathrow airport and then under London. This route takes approximately the same time as the northern route but avoids having to go over the QE2 bridge!

On our journey we experienced one of the most bizarre events of this (or any) year’s trip: the M25 coming to a complete halt to allow a duck and her 6 ducklings to walk across the motorway to reach the central reservation! Only in Britain is this sort of thing likely to happen I suspect!

Surprise surprise, beer is involved!

Having crossed under the channel we stopped to visit the euro shopping centre on the outskirts of Calais… 3 Brasseurs Calaissurprisingly (not!) there was a 3 Brasseurs brew pub where we stayed for lunch… and a small beer

Whilst eating lunch we received a phone call from our hotel for the night at Boulogne explaining that we could only have one room due to “technical difficulties”, we decided that we would take this but would discuss with the hotel when we arrived later.

Chasing Bonaparte

On the outskirts of Boulogne there is a large column with a bronze statue of Napoleon on top which is where the first Legion d’Honneur were issued. So just to prove to my friends who think I am only Column de la Grand Armee (15)interested in World War 2, we decided to go and have a look at it.

Suitably impressed, we then moved on to Boulogne (note to those wondering… no, I didn’t climb up the stairs to have a look from the top!!)

On arriving at the hotel we were informed that the problem was with the water in one of the rooms as there had been a leak. They allowed us to look at the room that they had allocated to us but it was quite small and given Glyn’s and my snoring capabilities we ask them if there was anything else that they could offer.

Unfortunately they did not have any other rooms, however they arranged for us to be accommodated at another hotel approximately half a mile away in the centre of Boulogne. This worked really well, once we were eventually able to park outside of the hotel unfortunately Boulogne has an intricate one way system designed such that you cannot get to where you want to be!

Also, to say that the lift was “snug” is an understatement!!Faidherbe hotel Boulogne (3)

Having dropped our bags we had a wander around Boulogne and a few beers, eventually ending up with a “hot dog American” and chips. The plan was, as we had eaten well at lunch time, for this to be more of a snack but the foot long sausage in a foot long baguette with a huge pile of chips gave a new definition to the word “snack”

Today’s photo albums

By ColinAuthor | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)