Normandy 'Horsa'

Rows upon rows of Jimmys and Jeeps……. :rolleyes:

That’ll be just like 1944 then… 😀

About 10 years ago I had to drive one of those 6 wheel GMC’s to a 40’s themed wedding, full of wedding guests in the back, in all their ‘sunday best’, across SW London on a busy summers Saturday……… :p 😀

I’ve identical pictures to some of yours.

Here’s my ‘truck park’

Moggy

More Normandy Pictures

St Mere Eglise – Military Vechicles overlooking Omaha – La Patrouille De France in the pub in St Mere Eglise after their dispaly.

VBR

Jason

More Normandy Pictures

Sorry didn’t catch you on the bridge Moggy at midnight on the 5th – Traffic & restrictions made it impossible.

1. Horsa Glider on Thursday afternoon 3rd June
2. Dug-up Mk IX spit at Musee De Bataille De Normandie, Bayeux
3. Re-enactment at St Mere Eglise
4. Mass para drop at La Fiere
5. La Patrouille De France

VBR

Jason

Yup,

Looking forward to that.

Here, just so we have some aviation content, is Mr Bush’s eggbeater doing a rehearsal.

Must be a record. First time I’ve ever posted a helo shot.

Moggy

Excellent photos Moggy,
I trust you’ll be able to get some equally good ones at Oosterbeek Cemetry on your trip the the 60th Arnhem Commemeration, especially when the local children stand by each headstone with flowers, had a lump in the throat the size of a mills bomb when witnessing that for the first time at the 55th anniversary…….then a short while afterwards PA474 flew right over the almost silent cemetery……..

It was interesting to see Germany invited to the D-Day memorial, people forget that they lost many good men (and many nasty ones as well) in that epic battle!

I still feel sad that there are people who can’t bring themselves to face their former foes, I watched an SBS news story about the memoial and saw a couple of British men who were there and they both said that they have no time for any German and that only after their generation was gone could the healing begin. So sad to have lived a life and wasted most of it in hatered. Most of the Germans of that era I know would only like one thing, a hand shake from one of the people on the other side and to be told in that instant that they were forgiven, how sad.

Some more rather poignant images.

The top two are the very stark, and very large US cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach.

I feel that the ranks of crosses ‘marching’ up the hill away from the beach in a way that their owners were probably never able to do is very symbolic.

The lower shot is the British Cemetery at Ranville. Mostly airborne troops on the left flank of the invasion. I love the softening that the flowers give.

Moggy

A fine example on the left, of how to annoy a veteran by wearing uniform in ‘fancy dress’ manor……… 😡 :rolleyes:

You’ve got to give the guy marks for suffering for his art though.

It was about 30 degrees when I shot that one. 😎

Moggy

Here’s a happy-snap from the back of Utah Beach

A fine example on the left, of how to annoy a veteran by wearing uniform in ‘fancy dress’ manor……… 😡 :rolleyes:

Any more photos Moggy ? , the first is incredibly poignant and saddening , back together for the first time in 60 years.

West of the Utah beachead. Pushing on to Ste Mere Eglise

Here’s a happy-snap from the back of Utah Beach

OK here’s one of the bits where I cracked and was reduced to tears. Ranville CWGC Cemetery.The wife of a 1944 casualty is finally reunited with her husband just short of sixty years after he was killed.
Her ashes will lie in that grave, unmarked. But she is back with him at last.

The biggest tragedy of that photo is of the loss to the whole family over 60 years – somewhere out there is a son or daughter who grew up without a father, and their children without a grandfather, and of course the little chap by the grave who has never known his great grandfather and has now lost his great grandmother. Kind of brings it all home doesn’t it. I visited Ranville myself in 1991 to trace a friends family member and, at that time, no one from their family had ever visited the place.

OK here’s one of the bits where I cracked and was reduced to tears.

Ranville CWGC Cemetery.

The wife of a 1944 casualty is finally reunited with her husband just short of sixty years after he was killed.

Her ashes will lie in that grave, unmarked. But she is back with him at last.

Regrettably the traffic and movement restrictions stopped me getting to the Clostermann ceremony. Indeed I tried to locate the strip on another day and failed miserably. Sorry.
Moggy

Hi Moggy – thanks for trying anyway 🙂 – I could have sent you a map of how it was in 1944 if you had been interested. 🙂 Happy to see any other photo’s you can show us. It looked good on TV from down here in deepest Cornwall. cheers – Allan 🙂

That “snatching gliders” bit is there on the other website (see post above). You have to go into “news page” and then “aeroarchive” to find it. Interesting stuff.

As I understand things – and maybe Moggy can answer – the Gondree museum has had to be closed as an official French government one has opened just across the road with the Horsa and the original bridge in it ? By the way Moggy – did you manage to take any photo’s at B.11 with Pierre Clostermann ? 🙂 . – cheers – Allan

After the death of Madame Gondree there was some dispute between her two daughters over the cafe ownership. As I understand it Arlette wound up with the cafe and her sister then set up a competing museum on some neighbouring land.

Legal action, presumably by Arlette forced this to close and most of the artefacts have transferred to the wonderful Airborne museum opposite. A “must visit” if you are over there.

The cafe itself is part museum, part bar, and equally worth a visit. Ginger had Arlette herself sign a copy of Ambrose’s Pegasus Bridge, and stamped it with an authenticator too.

Regrettably the traffic and movement restrictions stopped me getting to the Clostermann ceremony. Indeed I tried to locate the strip on another day and failed miserably. Sorry.

Lots more images, but very low in aviation content. Anybody mind if I post them here?

Moggy

The May edition of that other magazine which BTW also featured very good articles on the Helldiver (another thread here re. Peter Jackson) and the Arado 234 has a photo (p.26) of a Dakota hooking a Hadrian. Sorry I don’t have a scanner so can’t show you.

The text re. the photo says [quote] As the hook engages with the cable attached to the glider, another cable pays out from a brake-loaded windlass in the Dakota [unquote]

Other text in the article says these were post-war trials only, and that at a display at Farnborough 1950 the Dakota’s winch siezed soon after contact was made, loading the rope [it says “rope” astonishingly] beyond breaking point and the Hadrian did no more than lurch forward and stop.

Says also there is a feature on the website www.aeroplanemonthly.com but I haven’t found it.

The snatch method was tried (can be found on a DD Video – I have a copy at home but the title escapes me at the moment.) IIRC the film is of a WACO glider and it looks like an interesting ride… Don’t know it they actually trialled the Horsa on a pick up… On the video is also some film of tug trials including a P-38.