A very early chilly morning greeted the fourteen members of 10 Region members who set off from the Chelmsford area of Essex to the Channel Tunnel at Folkstone Kent. Such was their enthusiasm that they were actually eligible to get an earlier service to France and off to a superb start for the journey to Normandy.
The crew this year consisted of both some ‘newbies’ and ‘vets’ so the mix was a good one. As ever the Tour Guide – Ian Rayner – provided outstanding commentary to the points of interest he guided us too.
One of the main challenges that always faces tour organiser Phil Parker is to find suitable accommodation to house all of us under one roof. This is sometimes made easier as we travel ‘out of season’ but the task is always demanding!
This year the challenges remained but he was able to secure a converted lodge/barn which had accommodation for us all – but in two separate Gites. One of the mainstays of these visits is the opportunity to spend social time all together in the, ‘spirit of friendship’. This includes evening meals which is of course a great time to socialise with everyone, ‘mucking in’ with various chores. Unfortunately, neither of the Gites was substantial enough to allow us all to enjoy an evening meal together. However, this was solved by taking a more substantial meal at lunchtimes and ‘snacking together’ in the evening. Of course, with this and a few glasses of the, ‘good-stuff’ the world was soon being ‘put to rights’. Both the Gites had challenges with heating and with full agendas the evenings terminated rapidly to ensure an early start the next day!
On Friday 23rd February en-route to the accommodation the team visited The Bayeux Cemetery and the Museum of the Battle of Normandy…
On the Saturday we visited many more WW11 items of interest where the 82nd and 101st US Airborne Divisions saw action, including the famous attack on the German gun positions at Brecourt Manor in a tactic that is still taught today in the USA plus the Utah Beach invasion museum
The Saturday evening, we visited a local restaurant before returning to the accommodation for a ‘debrief’…
Sunday was a similar theme with visits including the Bayeux Tapestry, a German cemetery, the Juno Beach Centre, the 101st Airborne Division memorial at Carentan plus the German gun battery at Longues-Sur-Mere. Saturday evenings meal was home cooked (well heated anyway) pizzas! plus cheese and stuff – oh and a few more drinks!!
The following morning after a thorough tidy up at the accommodation we made our weary way back to Calais where we took the train back to Folkstone and then onward to Essex with the ‘Beast from the East’ nipping at our heels – but confident that another successful trip had passed…
Special thanks as always to Ian and Phil, already mentioned – but also to Mike Smith, the Tour Photographer who is always first out of the bus and last in who not only takes ‘millions’ of images but kindly sends us all a souvenir DVD afterwards with his selection on!
Next year is already being spoken about…!
Steve Hunt, 10 Region Secretary
