Page 7 - Shining On Newsletter - Autumn 2022

background to the D-Day landings and also enjoys excellent views along the coast and beaches. The
wireframe sculptures outside the museum were particularly eye-catching. The 3D cinema surrounds you
with gunfire, shells and explosions, with real monochrome footage from the time, good and bad.
Today we were visiting Gold, Juno and Sword beaches, the British and Canadian landing sites, so
onwards we sped to the Merville gun battery which
is just over the famed Pegasus Bridge (to which
we would return later).

We had a stop en route at the newly spruced up
British memorial. Quite a bit of work has now been
done here and among the impressive feats now
are the classically-styled pillars surrounding the
area, with all the fallen UK and Commonwealth
names engraved. These form a huge rectangle
criss-crossed by paths which, if you could view
from above, would form the Union Jack. It also has
an amazing statue of 3 ‘tommies’ storming ashore.
Plenty of parking as well, with a dedicated area for
bikes.

We stopped to look at the German
Bunker museum in Ouistreham, but
by then stomachs were rumbling and
as it turned out to have no
refreshments we promptly moved on
into town for a very French al fresco
lunch stop.

We then headed off to the Merville
gun battery, some 5 miles the other
side of Pegasus Bridge. As it was still
the week of the remembrance of the
D-Day landings we were fortunate to

see lots of old WW2 vehicles meandering around,
especially German motorcycles and American
jeeps!
Merville gun battery is a must place to visit, it
gives you an idea of how much of the coast the
guns controlled and how crucial it was to
neutralise them. What damage could they could
have inflicted if left intact! The museum there has
managed to recreate what it would have felt like
the night before and during the landings (when
gliders and paratroopers dropped behind the
German lines the night before D day to take out
these massive guns, and suffer massive losses)
with a light and sound show held in one of the
actual bunkers. This gave a flavour of what both
sides experienced in the battle for the guns.

Back to base then in time for a glorious sunset, but first to stop at the (rebuilt) Pegasus bridge for a
coffee and some people- and WW2 vehicle-watching. One of the group managed to take a photo inside
the café, which we found out wasn’t allowed, oh well!!

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