Hi all, finally got round to processing and uploading my Normandy photos and the first days shots should be online in an hour or 2.
It was one incredible week we had over there, not to mention the terrible time i had trying to get used to driving on the wrong side of the road (think i had about 3 near head-on's on the first day!). Also over there they don't seem to mind much about speeding, with the average motorway speed limit of 110 or 130kph (70-90mph!, legal!), also we only spotted 3 speed camera's and that was on the motorways so no problem there.
Anyway, the first set includes our tours around Saint Mere Eglise, where the 101st Airbourne got dropped in on the night of D-Day June 6, 1944. It also shows a dummy attached to the church in memory of John Steele who mis-landed there and had to fake dead on the night so the Germans wouldn't shoot him. He stayed up there for nearly 3 hours until he was eventually cut down and re-liberated by his fellow soldiers on their way from Utah beach a couple of miles up. This is depicted in the famous The Longest Day, with John Wayne.
Onwards we visited the 101st museum, the town hall and Iron Mike. After that we took a trip down to Dead Man's Corner where the 101st came up against fierce opposition. This museum had an excellent collection of military souvenier's, with practically a warehouse out back filled with militaria, dud potato mashers, mess tins, uniforms, everything!.
Then on the Utah beach, one of 2 American beach's in the Normandy invasion, Omaha's tomorrow. Got some great shots of the horizon and the coastline really giving you a feeling of what i was like that fateful morning on June 6th.
Before the sunset, we drove back in land to see the German Gun Emplacements where the big 150mm cannons were used to fire down on the US ships and forces. Terrifying when you think ordinary men had to brave all odds to take these out and save their friends.
Hope you like the photos, more on the way, with the final stop in our grand tour St Michael's Mount on day 5.
(UPDATE : now all online)
