A very quick post after just returning from another trip from Normandy to see some of the 80th Exhibitions before they disappear. Having eventually got a hold of Adrian and Karen at Normandy Beaches B&B, we spent a great couple of days bimbling about. Without doubt the most moving visit was the one to the new British Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer.
This is a few miles up the road from Arromanches and was opened about 5 years ago by Theresa May, when she was PM. So if anyone is heading across to visit the D-Day sites this is a must, and currently has a temporary display on until the end of August. This comprises of silhouette cut outs of soldiers placed in the approaches from the beach and is very poignant; there is a special tribute to the two nurses who saved many soldiers over the course of the initial part of the invasion, before losing their own lives in doing so. Also if you look at the sides of the memorial in the wooded areas there are more figures to represent those resistance fighters who met the incoming forces to aid them and who also fell.
Each support leg of the memorial records those who fell over the period of the invasion, day by day. The site is not, I understand, a CWGC site and therefore this site relies upon people being honest and paying for their car / bike parking, this is used directly to maintain this magnificent site. You can also make additional donations. This is highly recommended to visit, preferably whilst this display remains current but it would still be worth visiting in any case. There is a visitors centre, cafe and toilets on site.
These photos do not do it justice but do give an indication for you.
1. Looking out to sea, at the remnants of the Mulberry harbour at Arromanches.
2. The main part of the Memorial as you approach.
3. The Memorial looking back from the beaches.
4. Images of the Nurses
5. Information plaque
This is a few miles up the road from Arromanches and was opened about 5 years ago by Theresa May, when she was PM. So if anyone is heading across to visit the D-Day sites this is a must, and currently has a temporary display on until the end of August. This comprises of silhouette cut outs of soldiers placed in the approaches from the beach and is very poignant; there is a special tribute to the two nurses who saved many soldiers over the course of the initial part of the invasion, before losing their own lives in doing so. Also if you look at the sides of the memorial in the wooded areas there are more figures to represent those resistance fighters who met the incoming forces to aid them and who also fell.
Each support leg of the memorial records those who fell over the period of the invasion, day by day. The site is not, I understand, a CWGC site and therefore this site relies upon people being honest and paying for their car / bike parking, this is used directly to maintain this magnificent site. You can also make additional donations. This is highly recommended to visit, preferably whilst this display remains current but it would still be worth visiting in any case. There is a visitors centre, cafe and toilets on site.
These photos do not do it justice but do give an indication for you.
1. Looking out to sea, at the remnants of the Mulberry harbour at Arromanches.
2. The main part of the Memorial as you approach.
3. The Memorial looking back from the beaches.
4. Images of the Nurses
5. Information plaque
but thank you, I will add these to my own feeble efforts on my phone. Apparently first thing in the morning when the sun rises can produce some stunning shots ....
