D-Day Remembered

75 Years ago today something quite incredible took place. The largest seaborne invasion in history had been a long time in the planning but by the time the Allies were ready to launch their offensive they had done pretty much all that was humanly possible to make it a success. Victory in Normandy was by no means assured and the technical demands of this new front alone would be a constant headache for the allies in the months that followed. All of this, however, would have been for nought had it not been for the remarkable courage of the soldiers, sailors and airmen at the vanguard of that mighty armada.

It has been one of my life's greatest privileges to meet and get to know (in a very small way) some of those extraordinary men. Today I am accompanying a group of Veterans to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire for a service of remembrance. Many of these gentlemen are pushing 100, yet they still feel it necessary to pay their respects to their fallen comrades seventy-five years after they risked everything for a foothold in France. I'm not ex-military but I feel it is vital that the current generations salute the bravest generation for their service. If you get the chance to meet a Veteran - of any conflict - shake their hand and thank them for their service. Without their courage, the world would be a much darker place.

DAK's over Duxford - Build up to D-Day

Over the next two days, the Imperial War Museum Duxford is having a special air show called DAK's over Duxford. It gathers together dozens of Dakota aircraft that served in WWII, many in the D-Day invasion and later in Operation Market Garden. As members, we were able to have access to the site on Sunday to watch many of these aircraft arriving from across the world. Later in the week, they will be performing a mass flyover to Normandy, replicating the huge airborne armada that mirrored the seaborne landings below them. Unfortunately, I won't be in Normandy to see that, as I'm accompanying local D-Day Veterans to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire for a special anniversary service. 

As usual, I took a load of pictures of the aircraft but rather than bore you with yet another museum photo report here's just a handful of pictures from the day. 

This C-47 was built in 1943 and towed Waco Gliders on D-Day and later dropped Paratroopers during Market Garden.

A C-47B Skytrain built 1943 which again took part in the D-Day invasion

Most of the DAK's arrived singly during the day but towards the end, we had seven fly over the site before landing. 

This Mk. IX Spitfire was built at Castle Bromwich in 1943 as an LF MK IXc and entered service with 441 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) serving with the RAF. 

C-47 Skytrain "Virginia Ann" on D-Day it carried paratroopers of 2nd Btn, 507th PIR.

It was good to see the B17 Salley B back in action after its winter service.

I'll post some pictures of the D-Day service here after the event on Thursday, but I'm also planning on putting a few 'live' photo's on my Twitter account during the day, so if you're interested they will be here. 

Another historical weekend away

I've been away on yet another short weekend trip, this time down to 'Hells Corner' in sunny Kent. We had to dodge a few showers but on the whole, the weather was pretty good and we had a great weekend. We have been taking full advantage of our English Heritage membership, re-visiting sites we haven't been to in several years. The weekend started with a relatively short trip over to Rochester and from there we travelled on to Dover Castle and the coastline of the Cinque Ports. 

The 12th Century keep of Rochester Castle

The internal floors are missing, but the walkways through the walls are still accessible.

The view from the top is stunning, especially when the sun is shining. This is the view across Rochester towards Chatham and the building in the foreground is Rochester Cathedral. 

Another view of the Castle, this time from outside the curtain wall. 

Then on Monday, we drove down to Dover for a WWII weekend inside arguably Britains most important castle. Dover castle had a special WWII themed event this weekend so we decided to make the relatively short trip down to the coast and stay overnight. This corner of Kent was literally on the front lines in the second world war, with German-occupied France clearly visible across the Channel. Dover itself was the target of many air raids and was even under direct shellfire from German railways guns and coastal batteries. Over 10000 properties in the city were damaged during the war with the loss of 216 civilians. 

One of many AA guns positioned around the site. This corner of Britain was known as Hells Corner as it was in the front line. Dover itself was bombed many times in both the first and second world wars and in WWII it was also inside the range of German railway guns in France. 

Admiral Ramsey, the mastermind of Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk. Ramsey initially estimated that he could save about 30,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force trapped in northern France, in the end, he was able to rescue over 330,000 British and allied soldiers. 

Another AA gun this time with shell cabinets and a mock crew. 

Smaller 25 pounders still had a maximum range of about 7.5 miles so could also be used to defend the harbour. 

The event had several reenactment groups present and some brought larger equipment for display, like this Dodge Carrier. 

Up on the battlements of the central keep at Dover, the highest point of the site. As with Rochester the view from up here is stunning. 

Looking West across Dover itself. The town was heavily damaged during the second world war. Less than 26 miles from the coast of France this part of England was on almost continuous invasion alert. 

Looking out towards France. The French coast can be seen very clearly when the weather is good and guns from both sides of the channel would exchange fire. 

One of two monuments on the hills overlooking Dover dedicated to aircrew and Artillery crew who served in the defence of the area. 

Part of the Chain Home radar station built in 1937 and operational the following year. They formed a vital part of the, the Dowding system, a ground-controlled interception network which collected and filtered this information on incoming air-raids.  

The next day we headed off to Walmer Castle, a 16th Century castle built by Henry VIII as part of the defence of the Cinque Ports. I wanted to come here as this was for a time the home of the Duke of Wellington until his death in 1852. There is an extensive collection of memorabilia related to his tenure, including his Death Mask and items relating to his funeral. Unfortunately, photography inside the building is not allowed. 

The entrance to Walmer Castle. 

Photography isn't really allowed but I managed to snap a cheeky picture with Old Nosey. 

The real value of Walmer Castle was its seaward facing guns which could protect a large area of sea known as the Downs Anchorage. 

I'm still feeling the after-effects of all the walking we did over the weekend but when the weather is good, Britain is a beautify place to holiday and take in some heritage.

"Your Graveyard is in the Post"

Way back in April I headed off to Salute 2019 with a very long shopping list. One of the items I wanted was a set of 15mm gravestones to accompany a church I have for my Normandy setup. I wanted to get the MDF 4Ground ones but by the time I got to their stand they had sold out. Thankfully though they offered to order them for me and send post free, so I paid for them and tucked the receipt into my wallet... and then promptly forgot all about it. Then last week I received an email from an unknown email address with the above-mentioned subject line and for a moment several thoughts passed through my head, including "This is a rather unusual spam email...", "The local undertakers have taken marketing to a new level...", "My wife has bought me a plot and not told me about it!!",  and finally (as the penny dropped) "Hang on a minute, didn't I buy something at Salute...".

A few days later a little package arrived in the post and settled the question, it was my order from 4Ground, a little later than expected but non-the-less welcome. So I have worked up the gravestones and made five bases that can be arranged however I need them around my Church building. 

Although these come 'ready painted' I needed to give them a lick of grey to cover the burned MDF edges and make the stones look a little more realistic. There are several fresh plots...maybe one of them is mine and the wife hasn't told me yet. I wonder if this has anything to do with the Insurance documents she had me sign a few weeks ago?!*

*Incidentally our Will's give everything to the surviving partner, so technically she's the half owner of a very impressive Lead Mountain. Strangely she didn't look terribly impressed when I pointed this out to her.