I'm off to France in a couple of weeks, and on our way back from the Loire, we'll be visiting the area near Caen where my great uncle won his Military Medal with the 1st Battalion Ox and Bucks.
I bet your Gt. Uncle didn't win that medal by playing tiddly-winks. Looking at the photos it can be difficult to comprehend what happened in history. When you actually go to Normandy though (I've been a few times with my in-laws) you get this 'sense of something'. It doesn't take long for the penny to drop that there are memorials in every wee town and village and there are signposts to cemeteries dotted all over.
I'll never forget the first visit to the main British cematery at Bayeux. Headstone after headstone, each with rank, name, battalion, and age. The really chilling bit is the age: 16, 15, 18, 19, 21...
... a lot of the buildings in the towns on the main roads are not all that old.
The D-Day book really gives a sense of the amount of time and destruction it took; in three weeks or so, it'll take me about 20 minutes to drive from Caen to Ouisterham to catch the ferry; it took Montgomery* about two months to go in the opposite direction.
* I have a copy of my uncle's citation and recommendation from the National Archive, countersigned at each stage, from unit, to battalion, to division. The last signature is under the heading "Presented", and is one B.L. Montgomery.
Wow. The record of such distinction is a very satisfying thing for a family to have - not just as a memento of a relative, but as a great source of pride and history.
Ah, the old Caen to Ouisterham dash... My in-laws have made that journey under extreme time pressure before - making a wrong turning after squeezing in a visit to Pegasus Bridge and also going the wrong way on le Peripherique.
Yeah, the Caen ring-road is a bit of a bugger - I've missed turns in the past and had to miles further on before being able to turn around. Almost a bad as its namesake around Paris, which, because large sections are underground, renders sat-nags useless. The only way of getting off is the Douglas Adams approach; just go faster and faster until escape velocity is achieved.
I'm off to France in a couple of weeks, and on our way back from the Loire, we'll be visiting the area near Caen where my great uncle won his Military Medal with the 1st Battalion Ox and Bucks.
ReplyDeleteRecommended read:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Day-Battle-Normandy-Antony-Beevor/dp/067088703X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253175004&sr=8-1
Really interesting link, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI bet your Gt. Uncle didn't win that medal by playing tiddly-winks. Looking at the photos it can be difficult to comprehend what happened in history. When you actually go to Normandy though (I've been a few times with my in-laws) you get this 'sense of something'. It doesn't take long for the penny to drop that there are memorials in every wee town and village and there are signposts to cemeteries dotted all over.
I'll never forget the first visit to the main British cematery at Bayeux. Headstone after headstone, each with rank, name, battalion, and age. The really chilling bit is the age: 16, 15, 18, 19, 21...
... a lot of the buildings in the towns on the main roads are not all that old.
ReplyDeleteThe D-Day book really gives a sense of the amount of time and destruction it took; in three weeks or so, it'll take me about 20 minutes to drive from Caen to Ouisterham to catch the ferry; it took Montgomery* about two months to go in the opposite direction.
* I have a copy of my uncle's citation and recommendation from the National Archive, countersigned at each stage, from unit, to battalion, to division.
The last signature is under the heading "Presented", and is one B.L. Montgomery.
Salute!
ReplyDeleteWow. The record of such distinction is a very satisfying thing for a family to have - not just as a memento of a relative, but as a great source of pride and history.
ReplyDeleteAh, the old Caen to Ouisterham dash... My in-laws have made that journey under extreme time pressure before - making a wrong turning after squeezing in a visit to Pegasus Bridge and also going the wrong way on le Peripherique.
Yeah, the Caen ring-road is a bit of a bugger - I've missed turns in the past and had to miles further on before being able to turn around.
ReplyDeleteAlmost a bad as its namesake around Paris, which, because large sections are underground, renders sat-nags useless.
The only way of getting off is the Douglas Adams approach; just go faster and faster until escape velocity is achieved.
What you need is a navigator! ;)
ReplyDelete