fubar57
General
Karl commandeer the bridge?
The Travels of Tel's Tin Tent. (4 Viewers)
Crimea_River
Marshal
Glad you got those pics to co-operate Terry. Watching for more.
Good shots Terry!
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Airframes
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Sorry for the pause in the story - I've been a bit rough with the tail-end (I hope) of a chest infection, and trying to catch up on sleep.
So, to continue. We docked bang on time at 15.00 hrs French time, and disembarked smoothly and quickly, clearing Immigration without delays.
The journey from the port at Ouistreham to our hotel in Benouville was only 3.8 miles, taking just about 10 minutes max, and we arrived at Manoir Hastings even before the staff were due to open Reception at 15.30 hrs !
As this was the same hotel that we'd used last year, we "knew the drill", and were happy to sit and wait in the hot sunshine in the charming surroundings of the ancient courtyard. Check-in was soon completed and, after dumping our kit in our respective rooms, we relaxed with a couple of beers, before taking a stroll (or "scoot" in my case) around the village and bridge area.
Last year, we'd concentrated on the British Airborne Forces operations to take and hold the bridges over the Caen canal (Pegasus Bridge) and the Orne river (Horsa Bridge), so this little tour was just to consolidate things, and get more photos, and a "feel" for those areas we'd missed.
Rather than use the hotel restaurant on our first evening, we decided to dine at "Les Trois Planeurs" (The Three Gliders), on the site of what had been Cafe Picot at the time of D-Day, and just across the road from Cafe Gondree.
We had a pleasant couple of hours in the late afternoon sun, crossing the bridge to get more photos, before wandering back to the hotel to start to organise our plans for the following day, when we intended to commence our tour at Le Hamel, at the western edge of Gold Beach, where the tanks of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry came ashore on D-Day. This was to be the start of some very interesting visits, following the progress, and fierce battles, of the SRY (and associated units) from the beaches, and inland, across this area of Normandy, and will be described and illustrated as the thread progresses.
Pics below show parts of the hotel courtyard and some views around Benouville, with more to follow tomorrow, before we start out on the tour proper.
Pics 1 to 3. Hotel entrance and courtyard, with Karl sitting below one of the reminders of the battles which took place actually within this area, "spang" from a bullet or shrapnel (arrowed).
Pic 4. My room at left, conveniently arranged for disabled access. On the right (arrowed) is what we believe to be the remains of a crater from a mortar bomb, judging by the shrapnel damage to the nearby stonework.
Pic 5. Very convenient parking spot for my car, just outside my room.
Pic 6. Karl's first well-deserved beer !
Pics 7 to 12. General views around the bridge area of the village, with "Les 3 Planeurs", Cafe Gondree, and Pegasus Bridge. Note the wooden-planked walkway on the bridge. At the time of D-Day, the road bed on the original bridge was also surfaced with wooden planks, and not the steel mesh seen on the preserved bridge in the Museum grounds today. That was a later addition, when the bridge was lengthened after the canal was widened in 1964.
Back with more from the village tomorrow ......................
So, to continue. We docked bang on time at 15.00 hrs French time, and disembarked smoothly and quickly, clearing Immigration without delays.
The journey from the port at Ouistreham to our hotel in Benouville was only 3.8 miles, taking just about 10 minutes max, and we arrived at Manoir Hastings even before the staff were due to open Reception at 15.30 hrs !
As this was the same hotel that we'd used last year, we "knew the drill", and were happy to sit and wait in the hot sunshine in the charming surroundings of the ancient courtyard. Check-in was soon completed and, after dumping our kit in our respective rooms, we relaxed with a couple of beers, before taking a stroll (or "scoot" in my case) around the village and bridge area.
Last year, we'd concentrated on the British Airborne Forces operations to take and hold the bridges over the Caen canal (Pegasus Bridge) and the Orne river (Horsa Bridge), so this little tour was just to consolidate things, and get more photos, and a "feel" for those areas we'd missed.
Rather than use the hotel restaurant on our first evening, we decided to dine at "Les Trois Planeurs" (The Three Gliders), on the site of what had been Cafe Picot at the time of D-Day, and just across the road from Cafe Gondree.
We had a pleasant couple of hours in the late afternoon sun, crossing the bridge to get more photos, before wandering back to the hotel to start to organise our plans for the following day, when we intended to commence our tour at Le Hamel, at the western edge of Gold Beach, where the tanks of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry came ashore on D-Day. This was to be the start of some very interesting visits, following the progress, and fierce battles, of the SRY (and associated units) from the beaches, and inland, across this area of Normandy, and will be described and illustrated as the thread progresses.
Pics below show parts of the hotel courtyard and some views around Benouville, with more to follow tomorrow, before we start out on the tour proper.
Pics 1 to 3. Hotel entrance and courtyard, with Karl sitting below one of the reminders of the battles which took place actually within this area, "spang" from a bullet or shrapnel (arrowed).
Pic 4. My room at left, conveniently arranged for disabled access. On the right (arrowed) is what we believe to be the remains of a crater from a mortar bomb, judging by the shrapnel damage to the nearby stonework.
Pic 5. Very convenient parking spot for my car, just outside my room.
Pic 6. Karl's first well-deserved beer !
Pics 7 to 12. General views around the bridge area of the village, with "Les 3 Planeurs", Cafe Gondree, and Pegasus Bridge. Note the wooden-planked walkway on the bridge. At the time of D-Day, the road bed on the original bridge was also surfaced with wooden planks, and not the steel mesh seen on the preserved bridge in the Museum grounds today. That was a later addition, when the bridge was lengthened after the canal was widened in 1964.
Back with more from the village tomorrow ......................
fubar57
General
That is one spiffy looking hotel
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks Geo, and yes, the Manoir Hastings is an excellent, family run hotel, and surprisingly inexpensive, compared to some of the larger, "chain" type hotels elsewhere, especially along the coastline. Access and location are perfect for touring the battle sites, with the added bonus of actually staying in a battle site within the village that saw the very first shots of D-Day, and the fierce battles that followed over the next two to three days.
BTW, the photo of Karl looking for U-Boats was taken from the front observation lounge, below the bridge deck, shown arrowed in the pic below.
BTW, the photo of Karl looking for U-Boats was taken from the front observation lounge, below the bridge deck, shown arrowed in the pic below.
Lovely shots Terry!
Hope you're feeling better.
Hope you're feeling better.
Something wrong with your camera mate !
Keeps making me look like a right fat bastard
Keeps making me look like a right fat bastard
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
That's why I had to use wide angle ........................... run away !!!
Just sorting the next batch of photos, and hope to post either later tonight, or sometime tomorrow, depending how I feel, as this crud on my chest is a PITA. But at least it seems to be easing off a bit.
Just sorting the next batch of photos, and hope to post either later tonight, or sometime tomorrow, depending how I feel, as this crud on my chest is a PITA. But at least it seems to be easing off a bit.
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Just a small selection from our Sunday evening stroll around Benouville village, and I'll be back probably tomorrow with the first of the "covering the ground" images showing where the tanks of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, and infantry of 50th (Tyne/Tees) Division came ashore on D-Day.
Pic 1. La Chaumiere, on the village main street running west from Pegasus Bridge. This is where the Commandos met up with the Airborne troops on the afternoon of 6th June, and was shown (from a different angle) as a "then and now" shot in last year's tour. In June 1944 this was a hotel - restaurant, and it was on the road adjacent that a half-track SPG of 21st Panzer was destroyed by Sgt. "Wagger" Thornton, using a PIAT, approximately one hour after the glider landings.
Pics 2 to 4. The memorial to 7 Para, situated at the end of the village main road, which was a "T" junction in 1944, and is now a roundabout, opposite the Mairie.
Pic 5. The Mairie, on the opposite side of the road from the 7 Para memorial. The First World War Memorial, which was heavily damaged during the fighting, originally stood in the grounds to the front of the Mairie, but has been moved to the lawned garden at the left, and is out of view in this shot.
Pic 6. A general view of part of the hotel's restaurant, which, at the time, was a most welcome, relatively cool sanctuary from the intense heat outside.
Back tomorrow .........................
Pic 1. La Chaumiere, on the village main street running west from Pegasus Bridge. This is where the Commandos met up with the Airborne troops on the afternoon of 6th June, and was shown (from a different angle) as a "then and now" shot in last year's tour. In June 1944 this was a hotel - restaurant, and it was on the road adjacent that a half-track SPG of 21st Panzer was destroyed by Sgt. "Wagger" Thornton, using a PIAT, approximately one hour after the glider landings.
Pics 2 to 4. The memorial to 7 Para, situated at the end of the village main road, which was a "T" junction in 1944, and is now a roundabout, opposite the Mairie.
Pic 5. The Mairie, on the opposite side of the road from the 7 Para memorial. The First World War Memorial, which was heavily damaged during the fighting, originally stood in the grounds to the front of the Mairie, but has been moved to the lawned garden at the left, and is out of view in this shot.
Pic 6. A general view of part of the hotel's restaurant, which, at the time, was a most welcome, relatively cool sanctuary from the intense heat outside.
Back tomorrow .........................
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fubar57
General
Good stuff, Terry
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Though deserving a bacon, the winner seems more appropriate an icon.
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks chaps, much appreciated.
We'll begin the battle fields tour with one of the beach landings, even though this will not be in the order we actually visited the individual sites.
I thought it would be more convenient, and easier to follow, if the "tour" was presented in (a roughly) chronological order of how events progressed on D-Day and the following days and weeks. This will be dealing mainly with British units (and other forces where applicable), and in particular, following the trail of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY), the 50th (Tyne-Tees) Division, and some actions involving 7th Armoured Division.
There will, however, be some interesting sections showing some of the American areas, and associated museums, later in the "tour".
Most of our planned itinerary was based on information, maps and photos from James Holland's excellent book "Brothers in Arms", which follows the progress of the tanks of SRY from D-Day to Berlin, and, unless otherwise stated, the B&W photos shown are all taken from this book. A number of other books, articles and videos were also used to assist in our travels.
It's beyond the scope of this thread to provide detailed information on all of the actions covered, but wherever possible I will at least include a brief overview.
Gold Beach - Le Hamel & Asnelles.
Gold beach was the central of the five landing beaches, and stretched from Port-en-Bessin in the west, to Ver-sur Mer in the east, with
Arromanches on the western edge designated as one of the two Mulberry harbour locations.
The Sherman tanks and supporting armour of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry landed here, near the hamlet of Le Hamel, on the morning of D-Day, encountering fairly stiff opposition, not least from a 88mm gun (77mm in some accounts) positioned in a concrete bunker on the sea wall, and sited to fire eastwards, along the beach. There was also the MG and mortar posts of WN37 a few hundred yards further east from the bunker, and all of these caused a number of losses to the tanks and other vehicles.
The bunker was eventually put out of action, and the gun destroyed, when a Sexton SPG got within less than 100 yards, and fired two rounds from its 25 pdr gun, over open sights. The first round struck the embrasure, with the second round scoring a direct hit, destroying the gun and killing the crew.
The British units were then able to proceed inland, through the village of Asnelles just south of the beach, and commence their advance to capture Bayeux.
The images below show the location of Le Hamel in relation to Bayeux and our base at Benouville, along with B&W pics taken on D-Day, and the area today, with more to follow in the next post, probably tomorrow.
Pic 1. Satellite view of Le Hamel in relation to Bayeux etc.
Pics 2 and 3. Aerial recce photos from D-Day.
Pic 4. Looking east down Gold beach from WN37.
Pic 5. One of the anchor points for the Mulberry piers.
Pics 6 and 7. Remains of the Mulberry harbour.
Pics 8 to 13. The bunker, showing obvious damage and memorial plaques.
Back with more from Le Hamel - Asnelles tomorrow.
We'll begin the battle fields tour with one of the beach landings, even though this will not be in the order we actually visited the individual sites.
I thought it would be more convenient, and easier to follow, if the "tour" was presented in (a roughly) chronological order of how events progressed on D-Day and the following days and weeks. This will be dealing mainly with British units (and other forces where applicable), and in particular, following the trail of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY), the 50th (Tyne-Tees) Division, and some actions involving 7th Armoured Division.
There will, however, be some interesting sections showing some of the American areas, and associated museums, later in the "tour".
Most of our planned itinerary was based on information, maps and photos from James Holland's excellent book "Brothers in Arms", which follows the progress of the tanks of SRY from D-Day to Berlin, and, unless otherwise stated, the B&W photos shown are all taken from this book. A number of other books, articles and videos were also used to assist in our travels.
It's beyond the scope of this thread to provide detailed information on all of the actions covered, but wherever possible I will at least include a brief overview.
Gold Beach - Le Hamel & Asnelles.
Gold beach was the central of the five landing beaches, and stretched from Port-en-Bessin in the west, to Ver-sur Mer in the east, with
Arromanches on the western edge designated as one of the two Mulberry harbour locations.
The Sherman tanks and supporting armour of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry landed here, near the hamlet of Le Hamel, on the morning of D-Day, encountering fairly stiff opposition, not least from a 88mm gun (77mm in some accounts) positioned in a concrete bunker on the sea wall, and sited to fire eastwards, along the beach. There was also the MG and mortar posts of WN37 a few hundred yards further east from the bunker, and all of these caused a number of losses to the tanks and other vehicles.
The bunker was eventually put out of action, and the gun destroyed, when a Sexton SPG got within less than 100 yards, and fired two rounds from its 25 pdr gun, over open sights. The first round struck the embrasure, with the second round scoring a direct hit, destroying the gun and killing the crew.
The British units were then able to proceed inland, through the village of Asnelles just south of the beach, and commence their advance to capture Bayeux.
The images below show the location of Le Hamel in relation to Bayeux and our base at Benouville, along with B&W pics taken on D-Day, and the area today, with more to follow in the next post, probably tomorrow.
Pic 1. Satellite view of Le Hamel in relation to Bayeux etc.
Pics 2 and 3. Aerial recce photos from D-Day.
Pic 4. Looking east down Gold beach from WN37.
Pic 5. One of the anchor points for the Mulberry piers.
Pics 6 and 7. Remains of the Mulberry harbour.
Pics 8 to 13. The bunker, showing obvious damage and memorial plaques.
Back with more from Le Hamel - Asnelles tomorrow.
fubar57
General
Envious
