5 Day Trip To Normandy by Three Generations of The Morgan Family
Itinerary J-Day
Tom - Leaving Portsmouth Harbour
Portsmouth Harbour - Spinnaker Tower
English Channel - 5 1/2 Hour crossing
Calm Crossing
Courseulles-Sur-Mer. Juno Beach - The statue of five soldiers honours those who fought in World War II; especially Canadians at Juno Beach. Featuring 5 soldiers - one for each of 5 D-Day Landing beaches... Juno, Sword, Gold, Utah, and Omaha. The 5 soldiers are joined at the base to represent solidarity. They are standing back-to-back protecting each other.
Memorial Tank - Churchill VIII (with 95 mm howitzer)
Tank on Graye-Sur-Mer Beach
Bunker - Juno Beach
Shell hit Over Opening
Juno Beach
Distinguished Visitors June 16th 1944
Juno Beach
Itinerary J-Day +1
Pegasus Bridge - Ranville (origonally Called - Caen Canal Bridge)
Bridge in Action - Flags on Far Side are Where the Gliders Landed on June 6th 1944
Cafe Gondree - Pegasus Bridge. Owners in 1944, George & Therese Gondree
First property to be liberated on D-Day
Very soon the café was taken by the 7th Battalion to serve as their Headquarters and Regimental Aid Post. Georges disappeared into the garden to dig up no fewer than ninety-eight bottles of champagne that he had buried in June 1940, and very soon the scene was one of great celebration as free drinks were handed out to all and sundry.
Major John Howard - "D" Company, 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry - Memorial
Major John Howard - Distinguished Service Order, Croix de Guerre with Bronze Palm
Original Caen Canal Bridge. Relocated
Lieutenant H.D. Brotheridge, died from wounds of a Grenade. The explosion fragment damage is still seen on the bridge
Four holes where the location of the only explosives located on the Bridge. Only two where needed either side and Strategically placed they would have collapsed the bridge. The explosives where removed every evening by the Germans and where not on the bridge when attacked.
Original Bridge
Armoured personnel carrier
Horsa glider. This is a copy of the origina
Glider inside
PIAT (Projector Infantry Anti-Tank) bomb launcher. 5-6 rounds / minute. This was the largest amunition used to defend the bridge.
Major John Howard
Various items - Spirit flask of H.D. Brotheridge, presented by his widow Margaret
New Pegaus Bridge
British Cemetery Ranville
British Cemetery Ranville
British Cemetery Ranville
British Cemetery Ranville and view of Church
Grave Stone of H.D. Brotheridge. Believed to be the first allied Solider to die on D-Day
Arromanches beach. Remains of Mulberry harbour.
View over looking Arromanches.
View of Arromances
Mulberry harbour section on beach
Mulberry harbour section on beach, hollow inside.
Longues-Sur-Mer coast, with view of Omaha and Gold beaches.
The only remaining German coastal defence battery still in location with guns
Looking out from inside gun emplacement
Looking out from inside gun emplacement
Still Intact.
View from inside previous picture
Firing out to sea
Observation post for gun battery located 300 yards in front of the guns.
View from inside the observation post. In 1944 no trees would have obscured the view of Ships in Channel around Gold and Omaha beaches.
Itinerary J-Day +2
Carentan. The old Desire Ingouf is now Restaurant La Renaissance. This was the aid post that 101st Airborne used, as shown in Band of Brothers episode Carentan
Republique Place, centre of Carentan
Medieval arcades on the Republique Place.
Dead Mans Corner museum. During the invasion it was a German Command post
88mm gun showing various shells - Dead Mans Corner
Sainte-Mere-Eglise Church.
Three Generations
Memorial paratrooper located on church.
Stained glass window inside Church. Note parachute at top of window.
View of Church
The actual paratrooper on D-Day was John Steele. 'F' Company 82nd Airborne.
John Steele.
Sherman Firefly - The 17 Pounder (76.2mm) gun was a British weapon which, with some difficulty, was installed in the American Sherman tank. It was not renowned for its accuracy but, with a muzzle velocity of 3950 feet per second, firing Sabot ammunition, could penetrate 135mm of armour at 1,800 metres.
US anti aircraft gun
Inside main building at Musee Airborne Sainte-Mere-Eglise. Douglas C47
US Transport vehicle
Having Lunch in Sainte-Mere-Eglise
Brecourt Manor Memorial. Located at crossroads near Manor
Commemorates 101st Airborne division 506th ‘E’ Company.
Photograph of inscription located on top of memorial.
Major R. Winters first sketch of events at Brecourt.
Enhanced image of map.
The Mile stones of liberty, located on Utah Beach. These are located along the route of liberating US army all the way to Bastogne in Belgium
Monument to the U.S. NAVY. Monument with 3 powerful symbols: The commander, the sailors and combat units (battalions in charge of cleaning the beach). These three units were working in the same direction with a single objective
View of Utah Beach
Monument to the U.S. NAVY. Monument with 3 powerful symbols: The commander, the sailors and combat units (battalions in charge of cleaning the beach). These three units were working in the same direction with a single objective.
Musee Utah Beach and Monument to the 4th Infantry Division U.S. Opened June 6, 1964 by General Bradley commanding the 1st U.S. Army to Utah and Omaha in 1944.
Itinerary J-Day +3
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Colleville-Sur-Mer
Headstones: 9,387, Latin Crosses: 9,238, Stars of David: 149, Medal of Honor recipients: 3
Died June 6th 1944
Looking out to Omaha beach.
Looking out to Omaha beach.
Located at the bottom of view. Two status representing the United States and France standing at the west end of the central mall.
Inside the Chapel
Mosaic ceiling depicts America blessing her sons as they depart by sea and air and a grateful France bestowing a laurel wreath upon the American dead.
Alf Morgan in quite reflection
looking out west over Omaha beach. Around the headland seen in picture is Pointe Du Hoc.
Theodore Roosevelt. One of three medal of Honor's in the cemetrey. Played by Henry Fonda in The Longest Day.
om - Memorial 22-foot statue "The Spirit of American youth rising from the waves".
Gun emplacement Pointe Du Hoc.
View of bomb craters Pointe Du Hoc.
More Craters.
Raised viewing area. Alf / Tom.
The Guns at Pointe Du Hoc had been relocted further inland prior to invation by orders of Rommel.
The Rangers found that the "guns" were telephone poles. Tracks leading inland indicated that the 155mm cannon had been removed recently, almost certainly as a result of the preceding air bombardment.
View of Pointe Du Hoc, from gun emplacement.
It was a nearly 100-meter-high cliff, with perpendicular sides jutting out into the Channel. It looked down on Utah Beach to the left and Omaha Beach to the right. There were six 155mm cannon in heavily reinforced concrete bunkers that were capable of hitting either beach with their big shells. On the outermost edge of the cliff, the Germans had an elaborate, well-protected outpost, where the spotters had a perfect view and could call back coordinates to the gunners at the 155s
The basic method of climbing was by rope. Each LCA carried three pairs of rocket guns, firing steel grapnels which pulled up plain three-quarter-inch ropes, toggle ropes, or rope ladders. The rockets were fired just before touchdown. Grapnels with attached ropes were an ancient technique for scaling a wall or cliff, tried and proven. But in this case, the ropes had been soaked by the spray and in many cases were too heavy.
Itinerary J-Day +4
The Merville Battery defences were formidable. A 400-yard anti-tank ditch, 15ft wide by 10ft deep, wound its way around the west and north-western sides. Two belts of barbed wire surrounded the whole Battery, the outer not being too fearsome, but the inner was around 6ft high by 10ft deep. Between these belts was a minefield, while other mines had been sown in various possible approach routes around the Battery. The garrison was estimated to contain 160 men, manning 15 to 20 weapons pits, each containing 4 to 5 machine guns and possibly three 20mm anti-aircraft guns.
Battery. The garrison was estimated to contain 160 men, manning 15 to 20 weapons pits, each containing 4 to 5 machine guns and possibly three 20mm anti-aircraft guns.
The task of silencing the Merville Battery was given to the 9th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, which was part of the 3rd Parachute Brigade. The Battalion's Commanding Officer was Lt Colonel Terence Otway. The nucleus of the Battalion had evolved from the 10th Battalion, The Essex Regiment.
