June 6, 2011 - This day marks 67 years since D-Day! And Normandy was full of people from all over the world who are remembering the men who fought there. There were ceremonies everywhere, in small villages, out in the countryside, on beaches, anywhere battles were fought or heroic deeds of kindness were done.
Since it was raining and it was our last day, Joe dropped us all off in the Bayeux town centre so that we could go look at the famous Bayeux Tapestry. It is a very long crewel tapestry, sewn with wool thread on linen fabric, and around 70 yds. long, which tells the story of how Duke William of Normandy became the new King of England in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings. It was first exhibited in 1077 in the Bayeux Cathedral, and is in amazingly good condition for such an old tapestry. We really enjoyed seeing it. Then we walked to the cathedral. It is really magnificent and very large for such a small town. Alan says he thinks it was so grand because William the Conqueror's half brother Odo had been appointed as the bishop.
Joe then picked us up and we headed to Arromanches, a small town on the Coast in an area that is designated as Gold Beach. It was here that the British made what was called a mulberry harbour, so that equipment and supplies could be brought ashore. They were successful, and huge sections of the concrete harbour can still be seen today.
While we were headed to one of those 360 degree movie theatres to see a short movie, Annette and I had one of those magic moments. We encountered a small, elderly lady from England, who turned to us and said, "Look, it's the last of the boys!" She was looking at a group of British veterans, decked out in uniforms and showing their medals. When I looked at them, I felt myself tearing up, and unable to talk without crying. We met one of the veterans and he told us that he drove an amphibeous duck on D-Day. He said all day long he drove it back and forth bringing supplies.
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| British veteran who drove the amphibeous duck |
The movie was very interesting, showing footage from 67 years ago as well as footage of the Normandy coast today. It was packed with groups of French School children.
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| school children lined up after movie |
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| picnic spot |
Joe found another great spot for us to have a snack/picnic on the side of a little road going down to the beach. Then we headed back to town, stopping at a beautiful farm.
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| Arromanches from the picnic spot |
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| Farm buildings |
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| Pond on farm |
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| Farm store |
After dinner in Bayeux, we visited the Commonwealth Cemetery, which is near where we were staying. It is beautiful in a different way. There are lovely flowers around every grave, and the families were allowed to personalize the tombstones. But there are people from Great Britain, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, and many Germans buried there. We asked Rosemary Chilcott the next morning why the Germans were buried there, and she said, "The people who fight the wars are not the people who make the wars. They are just doing what they are told."
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