Trench Lincs 20th April 2025
- trenchlincs
- 6 days ago
- 29 min read
TRENCH LINCS
Good Morning,
A big welcome to another Sunday Trench Lincs. This week's edition includes a selection of articles which I hope you will find of interest, a list of forthcoming events and a report on my recent travels in Normandy.
I also want to wish you all a very Happy and Peaceful Easter, a time of reflection for Christians as we think of Sacrifice and Re-birth at this time of year,
Although very much a Nottingham lad, all of my God Parents were Cumbrians and I was Christened at St. John's church at Bassenthwaite near Keswick. My God Mother, Auntie Pat, kept the old north west of England tradition alive every Easter by making us all Pace Eggs.
This year I have resurrected the tradition here in Lincolnshire by making a panful of Pace Eggs for my grandchildren who are coming over for our annual Easter Egg hunt in the garden later today. You can read more here. The Enchantment of Pace Egging -
Another Easter tradition, usually found in the North of England, is the practice of Pace Egg Plays. Pace Egg Plays are traditional village plays, with the traditional Easter rebirth theme, where St George vanquishes all the potential challengers and the fool, “Toss Pot”, rejoices. These plays takes the form of a classic combat between “goodie” (hero) and “baddie” (villain), in which the hero is killed and then brought back to life, invariably by a character called the “quack doctor”. Sadly, many Pace Egg plays died out after the The First World War, as so many of the men who took part in them were killed in action, however, the plays have enjoyed a remarkable renaissance in recent years, with the most famous taking place in Heptonsall, in West Yorkshire. [From Lavender and Lovage.com - Ed]
Here's my bowl of Pace Eggs ready for this afternoon's fun.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS.
Next Meeting - Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch WFA - Monday, April 28th - Doors open 7.00pm for prompt start at 7.30pm - Venue: Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG.
Alex Keyes presents “The Easter Uprising: The Irish Perspective”.
Alex Keyes is a serving Prison Officer - currently based at Warwick Prison - who has made a speciality of researching the history of Ireland, the struggle for home rule, the creation of the Irish Free State, and, ultimately, the Republic of Ireland. In September of 2024 he delivered his talk, to both Lincoln and Spalding Branches, concerning the life and times of leading republican Sir Roger Casement, and his attempt to form a German-Irish Brigade to fight against the British in Ireland. The conversation at the end of that talk led to a greater debate on the Easter Uprising, and an offer to research and present a talk on the subject to the Branch, to be delivered as near as possible to Easter itself.
This evenings talk is the end result of that debate, but, instead of the more usual presentation of the story of the Easter Uprising through British eyes, it aims to present the story through the eyes of the Irish Republicans themselves who, even after the arrest of Sir Roger Casement and the seizure by the Royal Navy of the ship carrying arms from Germany intended for the rebels, decided to go ahead with the uprising regardless. British Naval Intelligence had been fully aware of the arms shipment and the planned uprising, and passed their information to the Under-Secretary for Ireland, Sir Matthew Nathan, urging him to take pre-emptive action. However, because the source of the information was not revealed to Sir Matthew, he doubted its accuracy, and deferred the question of taking action to London. This gave the rebels all the time they required to plan and execute their uprising which they supposed would be widely supported by the Catholic population who would rise up against the British across the whole country. But, they had seriously misjudged the reaction of the population in their support for an uprising, and, as we all know, it was firmly suppressed and its ringleaders arrested and subsequently jailed or executed.
The Easter Uprising cost the lives of 64 rebels, with an unknown number of wounded. British forces lost 132 dead, and 397 wounded. However, the real cost of the uprising was borne by the civilian population of Dublin of which it is estimated that 250 were killed and 2,217 wounded or injured.
But, the seeds of freedom from British rule had been sown with the reading of the Irish Declaration of Independence which read "We solemnly declare foreign government in Ireland to be an invasion of our national right which we will never tolerate, and we demand the evacuation of our country by the English Garrison", and this evening, in "The Easter Uprising: The Irish Perspective", we will learn the story of that declaration, and the mind-set and experiences of the men - and women - behind it.
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The East Midlands (Nottingham) WFA Branch meets again on Friday 9th May at 7.30pm at St. Peter’s Church Hall, Church Street, Ruddington, Nottingham, NG11 6HA. All welcome.
The speaker is Grant Cullen who will speak about ‘The Tragedy at Quntinshill.’
This rail tragedy is still the worst accident for fatalities in British history. On May 22nd 1915, a troop train heading south near Gretna Green, collided with a stationary train, the next northbound express then collided into the wreckage of the first accident.
Two-hundred and thirty, mainly men of the 7th Royal Scots bound for Gallipoli, were killed and another two-hundred and forty-six were injured.
I have a copy of the book pictured below and have read extensively about this accident and the cover up that occurred following the event. Grant’s talk should be well worth listening to.
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Next Meeting - Spalding & South Lincolnshire Branch, WFA - Thursday, 24th April - Doors open 7.00pm for prompt start at 7.30pm - Venue: Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT.
Guest Speaker for the evening, Andrew Moody, presents "The Great War on the Silent Screen."
Andrew Moody is a WFA member and completed the MA in Britain and the First World War from Wolverhampton University in 2022. His dissertation was on the subject of the Great War in early post war cinema, on which subject he has written and lectured about for the last couple of years. He has also been involved in the independent project to build a full scale working replica of a Medium "A" Whippet tank which made its debut at Bovington Tank Museum's "Tankfest 24" event. The story of the real and working replica of "Musical Box", as the tank was named, is told in another of Andrew's talks called "Musical Box, 1918 and 2024".
His presentation this evening covers the decade following the end of the Great War, when cinema audiences boomed and movies were by far the most popular source of entertainment in the country. It was natural that the momentous events of 1914-1918 would feature on the silver screen in some form or another, but, exactly how could such a medium accurately and sympathetically represent the experience of the men in the trenches, and the civilian population caught up the conflict?
The 1920's movie industry produced many innovative, thrilling and imaginative popular films of the conflict, some of which have endured while most have been forgotten by all but historians and commentators on popular culture. Taking a look at the films of the 1920's and how the war was presented back to the people who had lived through it, the attempts at memorialisation and the introduction of melodrama, holds a mirror up to a traumatised society and a nation looking for meaning in a post war world that had changed forever.
In this presentation - which runs for around 60 minutes - we will look at films such as The Lost Battalion, Ypres, Mons, The Big Parade, Wings, Tell England, Journey's End, Splinters and more! This view of history made for the silver screen is something completely different from our usual fare, and is not to be missed.
Andrew Moody has kindly let us have a link to the films of this era that feature in his talk and that he recommends us to watch. Click below
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The Leadenham Military History Group’s next meeting will be on Tuesday 22nd April, at Leadenham Village Hall with a start time of 7.30pm.
There will be a Show and Tell of Royal Observer Corps equipment from the 1930’s, followed by a Presentation by Chas Parker – “The Royal Observer Corps in Lincolnshire and Humberside.”
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The second presentation in the Friends of Lincoln Tank 2025 season of talks is fast approaching and will be held on Thursday 24th April.
We are delighted that FoLT member David Moore will deliver his talk “Taking Refuge: (16th Tank Battalion graffiti at Gouy-en-Artois)”.
In David’s own words:
“In July 2017, a wall collapsed behind the Mairie/Ècole in the village of Gouy-en-Artois, Pas de Calais, France. It created an opening into a small tunnel network dating back to the 17th century.
Initial exploration with a group of local specialists revealed previously unseen WW1 names written on the tunnel walls that belonged to a group of men from the 16th Battalion Tank Corps.
This presentation will look at the work of the A.R.R.R.A.S. group and the findings of research conducted by me on the 10 men that left their names on the walls in December 1918.
Beginning with a short history of the creation of underground quarries in northern France and their development into refuges through to the present day, and onto the arrival of the British Army at Gouy en Artois in 1916 and the main topic on the lives of some of the men of the 16th Battalion Tank Corps that left their names on the walls of this village refuge in 1918”.
I am sure you will agree this sounds to be a fascinating talk covering a topic that I, for one, have never considered before and know very little of.
The venue will be, as ever, The Royal Naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln. The entrance fee for the event is £5.00 payable on the night on the door. Doors will open at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start and I hope many of you will be able to join and support us on the evening. Refreshments will be available at the bar and there is plenty of parking available on site. Don’t forget you do not need to be a member of FoLT to attend. All will be warmly welcomed – old and young. See you all then.
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Another group who meet at the Royal Naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG are the Lincs Aviation Society.
I now have great pleasure in advertising their forthcoming events, which take place on the third Thursday of each month - entry is £2 for members and £3 for visitors.
However, for their May event, there will be an evening visit to Metheringham Airfield on Thursday 15th May, meet at 6.45pm. Ray Sellers will be our guide for the night and this event is open to everyone and will double up with the Lincoln WFA’s branch May outing.
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With perfect timing, Peter Garland writes; ‘Please find attached the latest newsletter from Metheringham Airfield.
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As I mentioned previously, my recent trip to York has elicited a lot of interest for a return visit. Therefore, a date has now been set for Wednesday 30th April. I shall be on the 09.46 train out of Newark Northgate station and returning at 17.33.
If you would like to join the party (already 12 strong) please just book your train ticket and let me know. [5 are travelling by car – Ed]
We shall visit the Army Museum and the Kohima museum which expects to be open for our private visit. I will need to submit names (and vehicle registration numbers if not travelling by train) five days before the 30th, we will also visit other attractions as time allows.
I look forward to hearing from you as to enter the Kohima museum, which is on MOD property, I will need to give your details in advance and you will need to bring photographic ID with you on the day.
LAST CALL 20th APRIL - TODAY.
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Neil Strange and Steve Baldwin are conducting a number of CWGC cemetery tours in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire in May and I am delighted to advertise these events. I hope some of you can attend.
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Woodhall Spa Country Show - Sunday - May 18th - Volunteers Required For Lincoln and North Lincs WFA Stand.
Along with some of our other WW1 colleagues/local organisations - including Editor Jonathan - Lincoln Branch WFA will be putting on a display in the Heritage Tent at this wonderfully friendly local country show to promote the Branch and its activities. Peter Garland is organising our stand, and is looking for:
a) Volunteers to help out on the day. If you can just manage a couple of hours, that would be good, but a whole day would be greatly appreciated.
b) If you have any interesting WW1 related items that you could loan to us for the day that would contribute to a creating a good display, we would be pleased to hear from you. All items loaned will be well looked after and safely returned after the event.
c) As in previous years, we like to send visitors away with a freebie, so if you have copies of Stand To! or the Bulletin gathering dust around the house that you no longer require, please bring them along to the next Lincoln Branch meeting on Monday, April 28th.
If you can help out, contact Peter on 07933-287316.'
Yes, Trench Lincs will have their own stand alongside the WFA at Woodhall Spa show. Do come along and say hello.
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Do you have a spare quarter of a million knocking about in a biscuit tin under the bed? If you do, you may be interested to learn that a Victoria Cross is coming up for sale shortly.
David Surr tipped me off and he notes; ‘I Saw this in our local paper today, and thought you might be interested. Ockendon has been a Pompey hero for generations; his offspring are now all gone, and it seems the next generation want to cash in - I hope at least that his medals stay in the area. He has appeared in Trench Lincs a couple of times, and in my article on the Portsmouth War Memorial I shared last year.
A local auctioneer is handling this, guessed to be 21 May sale. It is certainly a notable group - he landed at Gallipoli on the first day with 29th Division where he took a bullet to the head, and after recovery earned MM and VC within a week at Third Ypres.
Looking at one of the VC websites, it seems only 30 VC's have ever sold at more than this - no prizes for guessing the most frequent purchaser on the list. I have no real interest in the price and certainly won’t be bidding, but it will be interesting to see what happens here. As public bodies and museums cannot afford to participate, and in any case can’t be trusted with the Crown Jewels even when given for free, I am increasingly of the opinion that the safest place for any such items is the private collector, at least they care. Not as it should be, but as it is.’
The citation for this VC reads.
OCKENDEN, James – Sergeant, 1st Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers. 4th October 1917 – When acting as company sergeant major he saw the platoon on his right was held up by machine gun fire near Langemarck, Belgium, he rushed the gun and killed two of its crew. The third gunner ran across No Man’s Land but Ockenden followed him and shot him down. He then led an attack on a farm, during which he ran ahead of his company and killed four of the enemy and accepted the surrender of another sixteen.
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Steve Baldwin read last week’s Trench Lincs and mention of Sam Yerrel’s Death Plaque or Dead Man’s Penny prompted him to write; ‘Thank you for another interesting TL which I still have to finish but I have got to an article which mentions a Death Penny. This reminded me of a war Memorial in All Saints Church in Swinderby.
This includes three names for the Second World War but the main memorial is for the Great War losses. This contains the names of eleven local men and, unusually, includes the Death Penny given to the family of John Hollis, the first name on the list - bottom right corner.
Elsewhere in the church there is a Roll of Honour list of all the parishioners who took part in the Great War.
Outside in the churchyard, there is a new addition of this very plain modern memorial.
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Melvin Dobbs has been out and about for us once again and notes; ‘I was in Worcester recently and with your trip to York coming up soon and the Kohima Barracks, I spotted a Kohima Memorial in Worcester Cathedral.
Also a Memorial to the Sikh Wars, and to the Malayan Campaign 1950-53 which is maybe another war we have not covered?’
I think you are right Melvin, we have not spoken much about the Malayan campaign or the Suez crisis, both from the 1950’s.
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I am sure you will agree that David Gray, has in recent weeks, shared some remarkable tales with us. Today is no exception, and this tale was sent to me about three weeks ago, and because it is so tragic, we decided to keep it back until the anniversary of Harold Meadow’s death on 25th April 1916.
David writes; ‘The Story of Gunner Harold Meadows.
I was sorting though some old photographs on my computer recently and I came across a few I had taken some years ago and never used. Just occasionally when walking through Peterborough it can coincide with refurbishment work being carried out on old buildings. One of my jobs before I retired was to manage shop fitting projects, so I was mildly interested when I came across the work being carried out on this shop in Westgate in the picture below.
Actually, the only work they had done so far was to strip off the shop sign, which only revealed an older sign behind it. This sign however went right back to the First World War, and I remembered almost immediately that there was a rather tragic story connected with this old shop.
In 2014 I wrote a book entitled Peterborough at War 1914-1918, and in that book I recorded a story relating to a soldier called Harold Meadows. The main information came from an article published in the Peterborough Advertiser in April 1916, which is set out below:
Sad End of a Peterborough Gunner
An inquest was held at Peterborough Law Courts on Wednesday 26th April on the body of Gunner Harold Meadows, Northants R.F.A. 4th East Anglian Brigade (T) stationed at Hertford. The deceased was found hanging in an outhouse in Geneva Street, Peterborough, after attending a public dance on the previous Monday evening.
The inquest was conducted by Mr. W. B. Buckle, Deputy Coroner’s Officer. Mr. George Meadows, Fruiterer, of Peterborough, father of the deceased, identified the body as that of his son, and said he was 27 years of age. He had joined the Army three weeks earlier and previous to going away, helped him in his business as fruiterer. He was healthy, troubled a little sometimes with indigestion, hardworking and steady. He last saw him alive on Monday evening between six and seven; he had his tea with them, and went away soon after. He went away in good spirits, and was due to return to his regiment on Tuesday morning, which worried him.
The Coroner: “Would it worry him sufficiently to account for him taking his life?”
Mr. Meadows: “No, he is the last I should have thought to do so.”
“Is there any suggestion of mental trouble in former generations?”
“I have never heard of any, not the slightest.”
“Any domestic trouble?”
“Not that I am aware of.”
“Did the premises in which he was found belong to you?”
“No, to Mr. Neal.”
Doctor R. W. Jolley, who examined the body stated that he was fetched by the police at about 3.45 and taken to the mortuary, where he saw the body of the deceased in the uniform of the R.F.A. and described the appearance. Under the left ear there was an indentation, which might have been produced by a knot of a rope. He must have been dead at least six hours, there was no other mark or injury, death was due to hanging.
Joseph Nicholls, munitions worker of 23, George Street, Fletton, said he had been a friend of the deceased for five or six years, he last saw him alive about midnight on Monday near the Recruiting Office. They had both been to a dance in the Cooperative Hall, he was quite cheerful, but complained of having a pain in his stomach which I did not take much notice of, as he often had indigestion.
The Coroner: “Did he say anything about taking his life?”
Mr. Nicholls: “No.”
“Did he say how he had been getting on?”
“Yes, he said he had had a jolly good time, a real holiday.”
“Perhaps you know that he did not care much about going?”
“Yes, he had not much liked the idea of joining the army.”
“This Easter time he seemed to you that he had settled down?”
“Yes.”
“Was he cheerful when he left you on Monday night?”
“Yes, there were four of us; he went off alone back down Long Causeway, as if he was going back to the Cooperative Hall.”
“Was there any trouble with a young lady in the case?”
“I do not think so; he never said anything to me.”
Charles Albert Meadows, of 3, Trinity Street, in the employ of Messrs. Brotherhoods said he was no relation to the deceased, but was a great friend; he was not at the dance and had not seen him over the weekend.
“Did you find the body?”
“Yes sir, between 2:15 and 3:00 on Tuesday afternoon, he was hanging from a beam in a half sitting position, legs on the ground.”
“Did you obtain assistance?”
“Yes sir, I went to the nearest policeman, I never touched the body.”
“You went for assistance at once?”
“Yes sir.”
“Quite right.”
P.C. Arthur Andrews stated that in consequence of what was told him by the last witness, he went to Neal’s Yard, Geneva Street, about 2:30 and saw the body hanging from a beam, and his feet touched the ground, the beam was about seven feet from the ground. The body was quite stiff and cold; he at once cut him down and removed the body to the mortuary. While searching the body in the presence of Inspector Drake and two other police officials, he found one shilling and one halfpenny, one leather purse, one door key and one pocket knife, nothing at all was found in writing except a few postcards.
The jury retired and after a few minutes returned with the verdict that the deceased took his life during a fit of temporary insanity, and they wished to sympathise with Mr. Meadows and the brother in their trouble.
Gunner Harold Meadows was buried at Peterborough Cemetery on Friday 5th May. The coffin was of polished Elm with brass fittings, on the breastplate was inscribed: ‘Harold Meadows, born June 22nd, 1888. Died April 25th, 1916.’ The Rev. C. Curtis officiated and the remains were borne to their resting place by the following six comrades from his regiment in charge of Sgt. Smith: Gunners Smith, Piggot, Afford, Goodwin, Wright and Smith.
This is not the first suicide that I have come across while researching servicemen from the local area, and it is sad that apart from this newspaper article, there is no other information to be found about Harold Meadows. He is not on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website nor on the Pension Record Cards and Ledgers. He died at home by his own hand and therefore the army would have no more interest in him. The basic details below show the location of his grave.
MEADOWS, Harold, Peterborough, 4981, Gunner, Northants RFA, 4th East Anglian Brigade (T). Committed suicide (Hanging) in Peterborough aged 27, on the 25.4.16. The son of George Meadows of Peterborough. Buried in Peterborough (Broadway) Cemetery, Grave 8.1.313.
I also discovered in my old photographs that I visited Broadway Cemetery and took a picture of Harold’s grave. We might expect that after the passage of 109 years, Harold’s grave might have ended up in some state of disrepair. We can see below that whatever was on the top of the memorial stone, probably a marble cross, has been broken off over the passage of time and appears to be lost. What I am aware of is that like many other city councils, the one in Peterborough visits old graveyards and removes memorials that it believes to be unsafe and might fall on somebody. In the modern day culture, I am sure the local authority can become over enthusiastic with regard to this, knocking over leaning headstones, when actually, they add to the character of old cemeteries and would probably never fall over unless physically pushed.
We will never know why poor Harold took his own life, but he must have been fully aware regarding the men from Peterborough who had already been killed in action and almost certainly must have known many of them. Perhaps he just couldn’t face what he saw as the inevitability of a horrendous, violent death and chose to cheat the battlefield in this lonely way.’
We Will Remember Harold this week on the 109th anniversary of his death.
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NORMANDY TOUR APRIL 2025
Monday morning saw an early start for what proved to be an easy drive down to Portsmouth for a 3pm six-hour sailing across to Ouistreham/Caen. On arrival, Monday’s itinerary was completed with a drive to our chosen hotel on the northern side of Caen, giving easy access the next morning to the road to St. Mere Eglise.
As we left Portsmouth, the Royal Navy's latest aircraft carriers were both in dock having further repairs and re-fits. Whether they will prove to be white elephants will remain to be seen.
HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Tuesday dawned bright and sunny and after a coffee and croissant breakfast, we set off on the N13 for the 50-mile drive to the furthest point west of the Operation Overlord landing beaches, St. Mere Eglise and Utah beach.
Arriving in the main square at St. Mere Eglise, we met up with the rest of our party from the UK and Philip and Nadine, who made the journey from Ronse, Belgium. We now had a party of ten in a three car convoy.
Standing in the square, we discussed the operational requirement to hold the flanks of the landing beaches, and at the west (American) end of the action, this was achieved by the dropping of some 13,000 paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions in the early hours of 6th June 1944.
The parachute drop was not straightforward and men were scattered across the DZ and the Cotentin Peninsular in general. On landing, small pockets of men joined up and proceeded to their chosen targets. The town of St. Mere Eglise was liberated after a fierce fight and the soldiers dug in to repel the inevitable counter attacks.
The first seaborne landings were expected from 6.30am and it was also necessary to secure the four hard causeway roads leading inland from Utah beach across the marshy ground, much of it deliberately flooded by the Germans.
Taking to the cars, we drove to the Azeville battery, a substantial four casemate concrete battery that was capable of firing onto the landing beach and which, like the nearby Crispbecq battery, was part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. There is a small museum on site and Azeville is well worth a visit to learn how these batteries were attacked and neutralised by determined American troops.
One of the concrete gun emplacements at Azeville.
Next stop was Utah beach itself. Here we stopped three times, on the western and eastern flanks and in the centre of the landing area. There are a number of good memorials and museums to visit as well as a café bar with toilet facilities.
After a discussion about the events of the landings on 6th June, which were successful without heavy casualties for the US 4th Division, we stopped for a welcome drink, before continuing inland to look at how the infantry linked up with the resisting paratroopers and a defensive initial beachhead was formed.
With Nadine and Philip at Utah beach.
Utah beach landing craft memorial.
The early 2000’s television series, Band of Brothers, which featured the true life exploits of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Division made household names of the surviving veterans, especially the Company Commander, Major Richard (Dick) Winters, and today, he is remembered with his own memorial statue, together with the Band of Brothers Memorial at Brecourt Manoir, which remembers those men of the company lost in the fighting at Brecourt.
The Major Winters memorial.
The Band of Brothers Memorial at Brecourt.
This firefight was a text book advance by determined raiders which captured another major German battery that could have wreaked havoc by firing onto the landing beaches. The attack by Winters’ men is reputedly still taught at Westpoint Academy to this day.
Taking to the cars once again, we headed for the Pointe du Hoc, scene of the famous landing by US Rangers led by Colonel Rudder. The German battery at Pointe du Hoc was sited midway between Utah and Omaha beaches and could have caused untold damage to the landing troops.
Unlike the beach landings, Pointe du Hoc was sited on cliff tops, some 90 feet above the small landing area, and here, under fire, the Rangers scaled the cliffs on ropes, over came the German defenders and then discovered, that due to continual air force bombing raids, the Germans had removed the guns from their casemates and moved them half a mile inland.
Pushing cautiously inland, the Rangers located the guns camouflaged in an orchard and after a sharp firefight, they were able to destroy the guns with thermite grenades, before digging in and holding their perimeter until relieved by troops arriving from Omaha beach on 8th and 9th June.
The cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, climbed by US Rangers.
Omaha beach was our next stop. Here the attacking Americans, many of them National Guardsmen, suffered some 4,000 casualties in the initial landing, and this is the scene so graphically portrayed in the film, Saving Private Ryan.
Memorial at Omaha beach.
The day was completed by a pilgrimage to the huge US Cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer About Normandy American Cemetery - American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)
Followed by a visit to the British CWGC cemetery at Bayeux. Bayeux War Cemetery | Cemetery Details | CWGC
Scene across the US cemetery at Colleville.
The CWGC cemetery at Bayeux is the last resting place of Sidney Bates VC. Sidney Bates won his VC on 6th August 1944 but died of his wounds received on the 8th. Bates’ actions and his VC citation read like something from a boys own comic book.
BATES, Sidney – Corporal, Royal Norfolk Regiment – 6th August 1944. "In North-West Europe on 6th August, 1944, the position held by a battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment near Sourdeval was attacked in strength by 10th SS Panzer Division.
"The attack started with a heavy and accurate artillery and mortar programme on the position which the enemy had, by this time, pin-pointed. Half an hour later the main attack developed and heavy machine-gun and mortar fire was concentrated on the point of junction of the two forward companies.
"Corporal Bates was commanding the right forward section of the left forward company which suffered some casualties, so he decided to move the remnants of his section to an alternative position whence he appreciated he could better counter the enemy thrust.
"However, the enemy wedge grew still deeper, until there were about 50 to 60 Germans, supported by machine guns and mortars, in the area occupied by the section.
"Seeing that the situation was becoming desperate, Corporal Bates then seized a light machine-gun and charged the enemy, moving forward through a hail of bullets and splinters and firing the gun from his hip.
"He was almost immediately wounded by machine-gun fire and fell to the ground, but recovered himself quickly, got up and continued advancing towards the enemy, spraying bullets from his gun as he went.
"His action by now was having an effect on the enemy riflemen and machine gunners but mortar bombs continued to fall all around him.
"He was then hit for the second time and much more seriously and painfully wounded. However, undaunted, he staggered once more to his feet and continued towards the enemy who were now seemingly nonplussed by their inability to check him.
"His constant firing continued until the enemy started to withdraw before him. At this moment, he was hit for the third time by mortar bomb splinters, a wound that was to prove mortal.
"He again fell to the ground but continued to fire his weapon until his strength failed him. This was not, however, until the enemy had withdrawn and the situation in this locality had been restored.
"Corporal Bates died shortly afterwards of the wounds he had received, but, by his supreme gallantry and self-sacrifice he had personally restored what had been a critical situation."
Sidney Bates: Hero who charged enemy head-on with a machine gun, earning him Victoria Cross
A convivial dinner in Bayeux was enjoyed by all, and after saying au revoir to Nadine and Philip, we headed back to our base in Caen.
Wednesday saw a continuation of the fine weather as we headed to Pegasus Bridge to discuss the British airborne and paratrooper actions to secure the eastern flank against German retaliation.
Three gliders landed silently at the foot of the bridge in the early hours of 6th June and the disembarking men of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry captured the bridge against unsuspecting opponents after a brief firefight. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Den Brotheridge was killed in this action, and probably became the first British soldier killed by direct enemy action on D-Day.
The famous Café Gondree was closed but we would pay a return visit later in the week. The party then headed for the Pegasus Bridge museum before heading to Ranville war cemetery to pay our respects to Lieutenant Brotheridge and many of his comrades killed in the following days.
Next stop was the Merville Battery the scene of a dramatic assault by men of the 9th Battalion Parachute Regiment. The troops were scattered across a wide area and only some 150 men from a drop of nearly 700 made the muster point.
Nevertheless, it was imperative that the Merville battery was silenced and the attack went in as planned. The men of 9/Para suffered 50% casualties but their attack was successful and although a later counter attack recaptured the battery, the guns had been damaged beyond effective use.
Memorial at Merville.
We then drove to Riva Bella Plage at Ouistreham, the eastern flank of Sword beach and the site of the landing by Lord Lovat’s Commando Brigade. It was here that Lord Lovat waded ashore piped by his personal piper, Bill Millin.
After overcoming stiff resistance on the beach, especially from the fortified casino, the commandos made their way inland to relieve the men of the Ox and Bucks LI who were still holding out at Pegasus Bridge.
Memorial to Bill Millin.
At Arthur's request we took a small detour to Hermnaville CWGC cemetery, as Arthur wanted to pay his respects to Edward Davenport who was killed on 6th June 1944.
The party at the headstone of Edward Davenport, Royal Artillery (Airborne).
Hermanville CWGC cemetery.
After a tour along the length of Sword beach, we reached the site of the Canadian landings at Juno beach, and our final stop of the day was at the magnificent Canadian museum, the Juno Beach Centre Juno Beach Centre
Scene across Juno beach - today so peaceful.
Wednesday evening was always destined to be a pub night as first time tourist, Steve Eley (my son in law) is a devoted Aston Villa supporter and they were playing Paris St Germain in the Champions League. The food and beer were better than the result, as Villa lost 3-1!
After two days of sunshine, Thursday dawned cloudy, cold and overcast as we met up at the German battery at Longues Sur Mer. Here the original guns can still be seen in the casemates, and the forward observation position for this battery is where the famous scene from the film, The Longest Day was shot, when German officers are watching the approaching armada of ships on D-Day.
Longues sur Mer.
Next stop was in the town of Arromanches where warming coffee and hot chocolate was the order of the day. Arromanches was the site of the man-made Mulberry harbour and many of the sections of this famous harbour can still be viewed, and some of the nearer sections can be walked out to at low tide.
A section of the Mulberry Harbour at high tide.
Suitably refreshed, we headed inland to Crepon, the scene of the only VC action on D-Day. With 150,000 men ashore by nightfall, and heavy fighting across more than fifty miles, it is quite amazing that only one VC should be won on this famous day.
The Victoria Cross was awarded to CSM Stanley Elton Hollis of the 6th Battalion, Green Howards and the regimental memorial sits in a prominent location in the middle of the village of Crepon.
Hollis’s citation is a very lengthy one! and rather than me write it all out, please click on this link D-Day hero: The story of the only soldier to be awarded Victoria Cross on Normandy beaches - Lord Ashcroft
The Green Howards memorial at Crepon.
Just a further three miles from Crepon, you reach the village of Creully. The Manoir at Creully became Montgomery’s Normandy HQ after D-Day and the village is also the site of the impressive 4th/7th Dragoon Guards memorial.
4/7 Dragoon Guards memorial.
Creully village centre is well worth a visit if only for the superb Great War village memorial that sits outside the church. I think that this is a stunning example of Great War memorialisation and the victorious iconography of the laurel wreath is a wonderful example to behold. In many respects, it is somewhat amazing that the Germans did not destroy memorials like this between 1940-44.
We then retraced our steps to the British Normandy Memorial Park situated at Ver sur Mer. My wife and I first visited this new memorial park last June and yet it still stunned me by its design and expanse. There was also a new 70 tree avenue planted to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years as our monarch, the trees having been supplied by the French.
It was at Ver sur Mer where we had arranged to meet up with Matt Kelly and his wife Cindy who happened to be in France and were travelling up to Normandy from Paris. Robin and I met Matt in March 2024 when we were in South Africa.
Matt and Cindy were accompanied by their guide, Margaret, an American who has lived near Utah beach for the last twenty-seven years. After a walk around the Memorial Park, the whole party headed for the Hillman Bunker complex.
The Hillman bunker complex was a substantial German command centre dominating the vista across the Cote de Nacre, spread over some 24 hectares, there were 18 large concrete bunkers with connecting tunnels and a substantial garrison well dug in to trenches, tobruks and machine gun pits, all behind layers of barbed wire.
You can read more here Site Fortifié Hillman - COLLEVILLE-MONTGOMERY : Normandy Tourism, France
The whole complex was attacked by men of the 1st Battalion Suffolk regiment later on in the day on the 6th June. The German high command and about 70 men barricaded themselves into the complex but accepted that they had no option but to open the doors and surrender on the 7th.
Today, thanks to the generosity of the landowner, the whole site is in the care of the Suffolk Regiment Association.
The party at Hillman Bunker.
A further ten-minute drive took the tour party to the German Wurzberg radar station museum at Douvres La Delivrande. This is an excellent museum located deep within the German radar station bunkers and shows how the whole German radar operation was linked together from Norway to the Spanish border.
Sadly, half of the bunker complex is on land owned by a farmer, and for some reason, he won’t allow access to his bunkers, whilst the museum site is owned by the local community. Read more here Station Radar
The radar museum at Douvres.
We all then returned to Arromanches, where the tide had now receded and I was able to re-photograph the Mulberry harbour section at low tide. A convivial dinner followed for the whole party before it was time to say goodbye to Matt, Cindy and Margaret and we headed back to our hotel in Caen.
You can get a feel for the size of the Mulberry Harbour when you see a human figure alongside.
Friday was re-loading the car day in readiness for the journey home, but not until 4.30pm. A trip to the supermarket for wine, and in my case, Lipton Yellow Label tea bags! (not readily available in the UK) was followed by a return to Bayeux to view the famous Bayeux Tapestry.
This superb piece of Norman propaganda was used in the late 11th Century to detail to a largely illiterate population, the reasons why William invaded England and defeated Harold at Hastings in 1066. The fact that it has survived so much turmoil over very nearly 1,000 years is probably one of the most remarkable aspects of the tapestry’s history.
I last visited the tapestry with my then young family in 1994 when all of Normandy was awash with bunting and flags for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. If you want to see this UNESCO ‘Memory Of The World’ exhibit, you will need to get yourself across to France before 1st September.
On 1st September, the tapestry and its museum will be closed for extensive renovation and re-modelling of the museum’s buildings and it will not re-open until October 2027.
Click here Bayeux Tapestry - Visit of the Bayeux Tapestry - Bayeux Museum
Whilst in Bayeux, we then took a short walk to the town’s cathedral, a magnificent structure in the centre of the old town.
Bayeux cathedral.
Old road signs - a neat touch.
The cathedral is free to enter and is magnificent with its high vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows. As expected, the interior of the cathedral contains many war memorials both French and British and from both world wars. Here is a selection of my photos.
Bayeux's 14-18 dead.
Great War memorial to all British and Empire soldiers.
56th Infantry Brigade WWII memorial.
Bayeux's WWII memorial including civilians deported by the Germans to the camps.
Window for the Normandy D-Day Fellowship.
Leaving the cathedral, I spied a tablet on an adjacent wall and found it to be a D-Day memorial to all of the men of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division who landed on Sword beach on 6th June.
Returning to the car, we set off for a return to Pegasus Bridge and a baguette lunch at Café Gondree, arguably one of the first buildings to be liberated in the early hours of 6th June.
Our final stop was at Ouistreham port for a last beer in the sunshine before embarking aboard the ferry for the return crossing.
All in all, an excellent week in great weather and in good company. It is very possible to fit in a huge amount in four days if you are well prepared with an itinerary and the necessary maps, although we stayed to the events of 6th and 7th June, and did not cover the breakout from Caen to Falaise in July 1944. If this article has whet your appetite to make a visit, please do not hesitate to drop me a line for any help that you may require.
I should also like to thank Robin, Keith, Steve, Kevin, Margarita, Arthur, Philip, Nadine, Matt, Cindy, Margaret, and above all else, Frank for their support, and good cheer over the course of the week.
Frank East is a living legend, a man who throws himself wholeheartedly into everything that we organise, he rarely if ever misses an outing and as he approaches his 91st birthday this summer, he is without doubt, a splendid example to us all, and a fine judge of.........
......a tasty tipple at elevenses.
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Of course, trips to France are not all hard work and education. The cafe culture, the gastronomy and the viniculture all add to the experience and I look forward to my next trip in May.
IN MEMORIAM - The Lincolnshire Regiment 20th April.
1915
14460 Lance Sergeant John William Hiley, 2nd Battalion, aged 37. Buried in Bois Grenier Communal Cemetery, France.
1916
Fourteen men of the 1st/4th Battalion are recorded as having died on this day in a particularly nasty incident when the Germans exploded a mine under the battalion’s trench and many of the men were buried alive, including 201413 Private David Rear and 200668 Private Joseph Rear. The Rear brothers died together doing their duty and their names are recorded on the Arras Memorial. We remember them today at the request of Neil Strange, as they were men of his wife’s family.
1917
Fifty-four men, primarily of the 8th Battalion, are recorded as having died on this day in 1917.
1918
Eight men of the Lincolnshire regiment are recorded as having died on this day in 1918.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
I look forward to hearing from you this week. New contributors always welcome.
Until next week
All best wishes
Jonathan
© Jonathan D’Hooghe
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