Flying Horses, Paratrooping Dogs, and Ham & Jam

Much of the success on June 6, 1944 depended on the British taking the left (most eastern)  flank to protect the landing forces from the Germans.  Key was securing the Bénouville Bridge over the Caen River.

Original 1944 Pegasus Bridge - at Pegasus Bridge Museum

Replica of a British Airborne glider.

Under the leadership of Major John Howard, shortly after midnight on June 6, the British 6th Airborne Division landed three of their six gliders in the planned the location and secured the bridge.  Since that time, the bridge has been renamed Pegasus Bridge after the symbol used by all British Airborne Divisions.  The code phrase after taking the bridge was "Ham and Jam."  Many of the graves in the British Cemeteries have small stuffed pigs and jars of jam laid in front.

Dr. Hatfield at Major John Howard monument.
Located on the exact spot where his glider landed, adjacent to the Pegasus Bridge.

Pegasus Bridge as it is today.

All throughout the British (and by association, Commonwealth) cemeteries are poppy wreaths with notes and photographs.  Many are from family members, but many are from strangers.  There are more than usual this year because of the 70th Anniversary.  It is striking the number from the adult children, who by the age of their father and the date of death, it can be inferred they never each other.  I love the tradition of poppies being a symbol remembrance and wish there was a similar tradition in the U.S.  Perhaps I will take to wearing one on November 11.

A large majority of the graves at the British Cemetery in Ranville, near Caen, are those of the Airborne Divisions.  This cemetery is adjacent to the Ranville church.  To honor the men who liberated the town, one of the stained glass windows has been replaced with a memorial to the 6th Airborne Division.  It is not an overstatement to say the success of the Allied Landing would not have been possible without the British Airborne.

In memory of the British 6th Airborne - Ranville Church

All aspects of British life were incorporated into the war effort.  Dogs were trained as paratroopers and used to quietly round up troops after making their drops.  Private E.S. Corteil, 19 years old, dropped into France with his beloved dog, Glen.  They veered off course and were killed.  Glen was awarded the Dickin Medal, sometimes referred to as the "Animal Victoria's Cross," to honor his service to the war.  They are buried together in Ranville.

Private Corteil and his beloved dog, Glen; paratroopers.
Died in action, June 6, 1944.

If that doesn't make you an Anglophile, then not much will.

As much as I say I will stop eating, that is impossible given the lovely preparation and presentation. Smoked salmon followed by roast lamb is about as perfect as it gets.  Perhaps tomorrow I will take a brisk dip in the Channel to shock my metabolism into overdrive.