60th Anniversary Of D-Day
Beaches Of Normandy

In June 2004, I was fortunate enough to be able to go on an anniversary trip to the beaches of Normandy. Below are some of the photos which I took during the trip which, for me, was one of the most humbling experiences of my life and one which will stay with me forever.

Mulberry Harbours at Arromanches:

From the disastrous consequences of Dieppe it was very apparent that a French harbour could not be captured intact by an invading force. Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten (head of Combined Operations) said "If ports are not available, we may have to construct them in pieces and tow them in".

At a planning conference in June 1943 requirements were set out for the design of such a harbour. It had to be capable of surviving a storm of force six and last for a minimum of 90 days.

Two harbours were built and were given the code name of Mulberry. These were towed across the English Channel with one intended for the British at Arromanches (unofficially known as Port Winston) and the other for the Americans at St Laurent-sur-Mer near Omaha beach.

Each harbour consisted of four main parts:

1. Furthest out to sea were two rows of Bombardons (floating breakwaters at 400 yard intervals).
2. A main inner breakwater called Phoenix (concrete caissons or boxes). These were watertight for the crossing over the Channel from England, but on arrival they were flooded and sunk in position.
3. Inshore from this was a line of block ships. These were old naval vessels known as Gooseberry and these were sunk in the shallow water.
4. Finally a row of Whales or floating piers connected by a floating metal roadway lead to the shore.

Approximately, 144,000 tons of concrete, 850,000 tons of ballast and 105,000 tons of steel were used.

The first Mulberry components were in position on D+1 (one day after D-Day), the Gooseberry blockships were in position by D+5, and the harbours were nearing completion on D+13 when a great storm began. The American Mulberry never recovered from the storm and was abandoned in favour of the British Mulberry, which achieved a discharge rate of 12,000 tons of cargo daily. The Mulberry could not be removed after the war and so the great Phoenix caissons can still be seen at Arromanches today.

"Made In England" Appropriately etched in the sea weed Click Image to enlarge	Note: 1. The openings in the side, where you can see some people looking, are in fact window/door openings to living quarters which existed below the road level! 2. In the distance, behind the main foreground caisson, you can see more caissons. These are in fact 2km away and it is an optical illusion which makes them look closer than they are. Click Image to enlarge

Bayeux War Cemetery:

Stone Of Remembrance: Their Name Liveth For EvermoreClick Image to enlarge	Cenotaph with wreath of HRH Elizabeth II and President Chirac (June 6th 2004)Click Image to enlarge	Many of the headstones in the CemeteryClick Image to enlarge

Turning back the clock. - American tourists in BayeuxClick Image to enlarge

Information:

• Bayeux was entered by the Sherwood Rangers late on 6th June 1944, but was formally liberated the next day.
• Charles de Gaulle established his first seat of government here until Paris was liberated.
• The streets of Bayeux were too narrow for most military vehicles, and so the Royal Engineers constructed a ring-road round Bayeux soon after D-Day.
• The Bayeux cemetery is the largest British military cemetery of the Second World War in France.
• Corporal Sidney Bates serving with the Norfolks was a posthumous award of the Victoria Cross for action at Sourdeval in August 1944. His citation reads:

  "...Corporal Bates seized a light machine-gun and charged, firing from the hip... By his supreme gallantry and self-sacrifice, had personally saved a critical situation."

Merville Battery:

Casemate Number 1 (Photo acknowledgement to: Ian Bailey)

On the coast was a lookout post which had a direct telephone line to a major 4 gun emplacement battery 3 miles inland at Merville. The task of clearing the Merville Battery fell to The Parachute Regiment (9th Battalion / 6th Airborne Division) under Lieutenant-Colonel Terrence Otway.

From right to left: Casemates 1-4Click Image to enlarge	Casemate 1, restored and now a museumClick Image to enlarge	Brett Exton with Mr W.J. Matthews who took part in the D-Day attack.Click Image to enlarge

Click above photo to watch a sad account by Fred Glover who took part in the raid on the Merville Battery