Conquerers and Liberators

We who were conquered by William came to liberate our conquerers.

- inscription on the British Cemetery in Bayeux

The cemetery in Bayeux is the largest of several British cemeteries in Normandy. It is here that Queen Elizabeth II laid a wreath just over a week ago.  Each stone is the same in size and color, but differ from the American in that family members could choose the emblem, most often from their regiment.

Of particular interest to Elizabeth and Caroline are row upon row of tombstones with a Maple Leaf. The Canadian forces were comprised of all volunteers and, percentage wise to the population, lost more than the British and Americans.  As a side note, a close friend of their grandparents landed on Juno Beach on June 6.  He was the only survivor from his landing craft.

Statue of Gen. Eisenhower in Bayeux.  He is posed in typical, casual American stance.

We began the day at Arronmarches.  It was here, just west of Gold Beach that the British set up Mulberry B, the artificial harbor to bring in supplies for the battle.  Once in place, the harbor was the size of 750 football fields.  It was a tremendous feat of engineering and paramount to the Allies' success.  The remnants still survive 70 years later.

Caroline & Elizabeth in Arronmarches, with Mulberry B behind.  Caroline asked if it was always this cold.

Near the town of Arronmarches are the German gun batteries at Longues-sur-Mer.  These are the most intact of the German bunkers and lookout and have been used in many films, including "The Longest Day."

The 150 mm guns.  The British knocked out communications between the lookout and these bunkers early and these saw very little firing action.

German lookout, may be the one from which the landing forces were first seen.

Some of our crew.  The fearless leader, Tom Hatfield, is the man in the center with the beige colored cap.
(My mom and sister are the two women to his left.)

Remains of Mulberry B off-shore from Arronmarches, as viewed from Longues-sur-Mer.

In the town of Creully, Gen. Montgomery set up his headquarters on the 2nd 3rd day in a farmhouse. It was here that he directed the ground forces during the 100 day Battle of Normandy.  Nearby, the BBC had their first radio transmissions after the landing.  This is an area inland between Juno (Canadian) and Gold (British) Beaches.  The Canadian and British forces met up to continue onto the capital city of Caen.

Gen. Montgomery's Headquarters
It is here he would have met with Churchill and Eisenhower.

In this tower, the BBC set up the first radio transmission site to broadcast from France back to England.

Fighting was not the only activity taking place.  A British soldier sculpted a statue of Cupid, most certainly to an young woman in the village.  It is probably the only Cupid who looks decidedly British.

Of course, food is an important part of any trip, especially one in France.  We stopped for a lovely lunch at Auberge du Mont.  It was our second meal where the main course was fish.

"If you cooked fish with as much butter as this, I'd eat it every day." - Elizabeth

We are off to another fish restaurant this evening.  I think we should keep upping our Omega-3 intake to counteract what may happen to our arteries when we reach Paris in a week.

P.S. The hotel did a grand job drying out The Swamp while we were gone.  Better yet, I was not the only one in the group who had difficulty with the shower.