Club Arnage

Some links to articles in today's Sunday Times which may be of interest:

Details of D Day events (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1128056,00.html)

D-Day veterans mass in thousands for one last invasion of Normandy (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1127708,00.html)

Rather scarily - French distribute decontamination suits in case of terror attack (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1128272,00.html)

I am travelling next Sunday and was planning to take the usual Rouen route, but I'm going to study the maps and see if the Paris alternative would make much difference.  

I really wish the significance of next Sunday had occurred to me when I was booking my crossing - I would have gone a day earlier and been able to be part of this commemoration.

  Can you give us the gist of those??  I'm not a subscriber so they won't show :(

Two solutions:

1. Buy the newspaper

2. Look for similar articles on the Telegraph site, which is non-subscription.

Good luck.

Sorry, I didn't realise I was a subscriber: i definitely don't pay anything for it!

Full articles follow (copyright Sunday Times!)

Note: some events are dependent on suitable weather conditions and readers should try to check with venues before travelling. Some, particularly in France, may require security passes.

EVENTS IN BRITAIN

Today and Tomorrow
US 101st Airborne Division re-enactment, Duxford aerodrome, Cambridgeshire
Today to Saturday 5 June
Meet the veterans sessions, equipment displays, tank demonstrations and children’s events, Duxford aerodrome, Cambridgeshire
Tomorrow
Veterans of US 29th Infantry Division awarded freedom of town of Falmouth
“Briefings” at D-Day Museum, Southsea, Portsmouth. Visitors are given the same briefings presented to troops before they departed for France (to Tuesday)
Wednesday 2 June
11am D-Day memorial service and parade, St Budeaux parish church, Plymouth
7.30pm D-Day commemorative concert, Portsmouth
Thursday 3 June
4pm Veterans march past with bands of Royal Marines and Edmonton police pipes and drums (Canada). Prince of Wales takes the salute, Portsmouth
Friday 4 June
2.30pm D-Day anniversary walk, Portsmouth
Evening Performance of specially commissioned play The Night Before D-Day and film screenings, Cabinet War Rooms, London
Saturday 5 June
8.45am Symbolic channel crossing on chartered ship Van Gogh leaves Portsmouth for Caen, escorted by British, French and American naval ships, historic vessels and landing craft with flypast by vintage planes
8pm “Euro-rock” concert in thanks for peace in Europe, with bands from Britain, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portsmouth
Evening naval field gun demonstration, “forces sweethearts” tribute concert, Portsmouth
Sunday 6 June
10.30am Seafront service and parade of D-Day veterans, Portsmouth
10am Commemoration service at National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire, with live television relay from Normandy and “poppy drop” by Hercules aircraft. Open to public, admission free
10.30am Drumhead service and official reception, Blackpool
10.30am Remembrance service for veterans on the quarter deck of HMS Belfast, which served on D-Day June. The ship’s main 6in guns will be fired at 12pm and 3pm. River Thames, London.
11am Commemorative service at the Royal Navy monument on the Hoe, Plymouth
11.30am D-Day and Normandy Fellowship annual service, Portsmouth
3pm D-Day service in conjunction with Imperial War Museum North, Manchester cathedral

EVENTS IN FRANCE

The listing is not comprehensive. Presentations of offical badges to veterans, wreath-laying ceremonies, receptions, exhibitions and other events will take place in towns and villages throughout the invasion area of Normandy next weekend.

Thursday 3 June
2pm Statue for peace inauguration, Vierville sur Mer
4pm Commemoration at Franco-American monument, Graignes
Reconstructed American military camps open to public at Longueville, Vierville sur Mer
Friday 4 June
Series of presentations and ceremonies through the day in Caen
Reconstructed British military camps open, Colleville-Montgomery, Ver-sur-Mer, Longues-sur-Mer
10am Ceremony to honour RAF pilots and US paratroopers killed during D-Day drops, Magneville
10.30am Inauguration of memorial to US paratroopers, Herouville-St-Clair
6pm Army air corps band beat retreat, Ranville
6.30pm Street picnic, Mezidon-Canon
8pm British army curry dinner, Merville-Franceville
8.30pm Devon and Dorset regimental band concert, Asnelles
8.30pm Glenn Miller big band concert, Argentan village hall
10pm Night parade of military vehicles, Courseulles-sur-Mer
Evening British memorial garden reception, Caen harbour; official reception for US Rangers and families, Cricqueville-en-Bessin
Saturday 5 June
8.20am Anglican service and parish mass at St Etienne’s church, to be broadcast on BBC in the afternoon, Caen
8.30am Departure of walk commemorating Operation Cobra, American break-out from Normandy beach-head, St Lo
8.45am Symbolic channel crossing on chartered ship Van Gogh, leaves Portsmouth for Caen, escorted by British, French and American naval ships, historic vessels and landing craft with flypast by vintage planes.
9.45am Prince of Wales inspects guard of honour at 4/7 Dragoon Guards memorial, Creully
10am Guided tours of German defences on Mount Canisy, Benerville-sur-Mer
10am Commemoration for 2nd US Infantry Division, Saint-Georges-D’Elle
10am Norwegian Royal Guard parade, Caen
10.30am Unveiling of replica Horsa glider, Pegasus bridge
11am Normandy Veterans Association parade and homage to Field Marshal Montgomery, Colleville-Montgomery
11am 3rd Parachute Brigade parade and drumhead service, Le Mesnil, in presence of Prince of Wales
11.45am Statue of Brigadier James Hill, most senior surviving D-Day officer, to be unveiled by General Sir Mike Jackson, chief of general staff, Le Mesnil
11.45 British air-landing brigade march, Benouville
Midday Naval and Marines parade and wreath laying by Prince of Wales, Landing Craft Association tree-planting ceremony, Ouistreham
1.30-2.30pm Glider landing commemorations in presence of Prince of Wales, Pegasus Bridge
1.30pm Amphibious vehicle demonstration, Courseulles-sur-Mer
2pm Military vehicle parade, Baron-sur-Odon
2.15pm Drop by paratroopers from US 507 parachute regiment, Amfreville
2.45-3.45pm (to be confirmed) All 650 members of 1st battalion, Parachute Regiment, jump on to original D-Day drop zone, Ranville. Prince of Wales and picnicking veterans watch from nearby hillside
3pm Franco-Canadian official ceremony, Beny-sur-Mer
3.30pm Arrival of allied navy ships, Ouistreham
3.30-4.30pm Unveiling of 51st Highland Division statue, Breville
4-9pm Street entertainment, Arromanches
4pm British 6th Airborne Division remembrance ceremony, Breville
4.30pm Lancaster bomber drops 1m poppies on the Van Gogh in the Channel before it docks at Ouistreham
4.30pm Ceremony for veterans of US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, St-Mere-Eglise
5pm Inauguration of British Garden of Remembrance in presence of Prince of Wales, Caen
5.30pm Normandy veterans parade and presentation of flag, Arromanches
5.45pm Commemoration of those who died during allied bombardment, Coutances
6pm Parachute Regiment and Army Air Corps cocktail reception with Red Devils parachute display, chateau at Benouville
7.30pm Wreath laying at Royal Marine monument, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain
7.45pm Town dinner for 4 Commando veterans, Colleville-Montgomery
8.30pm Mass for the dead Te Deum, St Etienne church, Caen
8.30pm Village dinner in reconstructed American military camp, Bonneville-la-Louvet, bookings required
10pm Marchpast at Pegasus Bridge
Evening Formal French reception and performance of Fauré Requiem for VIP guests, Omaha beach
Evening French reception for veterans of 4 Commando, Colleville-Montgomery. Receptions for veterans in communes across Normandy
11.20pm Fireworks displays at all five landing beaches and other locations throughout invasion area
Series of stamps to be issued commemorating 60th anniversary and liberation of France. Nearly 50 temporary post offices across Lower Normandy will sell them
Sunday 6 June, D-Day anniversary
12.16am Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire light infantry veterans commemorate to the minute their arrival in France in 1944, Pegasus bridge
8am Laying of wreath at Field Marshal Montgomery’s memorial, Colleville-Montgomery
9.15am Church service at Bayeux cathedral
9.30am US-French ceremony, Utah beach
9.30am Commemoration of Norfolk regiment, Bieville-Beuville
9.40am Franco-American official ceremony, Colleville-sur-Mer
10am Parachute Regiment memorial service, Ranville
10am Canadian and British Juno Beach commemoration, attended by the Queen, Courseulles-sur-Mer
10-11am Wreath laying ceremonies at Caen chateau
11am Anglo-French parade and service at Bayeux cemetery attended by the Queen, President Chirac. Presentation of Legion d’Honneur medals to veterans
11am Memorial mass in public square followed by ceremonies at cemetery, St Mere Eglise
11.30am Polish commemoration, Pont-D’Ouilly
Midday Royal Navy, Marines memorial service, Ouistreham
Midday British 3rd Division memorial service, Herouville St Claire
12.40pm VIP lunch for heads of state and government, Caen
3pm Big band concert, Argentan
4pm Ceremony commemorating British landings on Gold Beach, with landing craft exhibition and possible re-enactment, Asnelles
1.15-4.45pm Main international event with 17 heads of state and government including the Queen, George W Bush, Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schröder and Vladimir Putin. Military music festival with 10 bands, allied veterans’ marchpast, naval review, flypast, presentation of Legion d’Honneur, Arromanches-les-Bains
4pm British veterans’ commemoration of liberation of France, Banneville-la-Campagne cemetery
5pm US official ceremony, Pointe-du-Hoc
5pm US military vehicle parade, Bonneville-la-Louvet
5.30-6pm Final parade and march past of Normandy Veterans Association, attended by the Queen and Tony Blair, Arromanches
5.30pm Concert by Devon and Dorset regiment band, Asnelles
5.30pm French government ceremony for German contingent, Ranville
6pm French government ceremony for British contingent, Arromanches
6.20pm Franco-German government ceremony, Caen
7pm Commemorative concert, Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen
7.15pm British 3rd Division march past, Hermanville le Breche
7.30pm Street banquet for veterans, St Laurent-sur-Mer
7.30pm Dinner for British veterans given by local population, Colleville-Montgomery
8.30pm International military band tattoo, Ornano stadium, Caen
11pm Royal Marines beat retreat, Caen
Times to be confirmed
Royal British Legion to plant 1,520 flags on Sword Beach, one for every Briton killed on D-Day, Ouistreham
Reconstruction of US Rangers’ scaling of cliffs, Pointe-du-Hoc Cricqueville-en-Bessi
Monday 7 June
Normandy Memorial Association invites the laying of bouquets on graves in all cemeteries of allied armies in Normandy
London police officers’ walk (to 11 June), retracing paths of units who landed on D-Day, begins Arromanches
10am Parade by US 1st Infantry Division veterans, Caumont-L’Evente
11am Tribute to members of Sherwood Rangers and Essex regiments, Bayeux
11am Dedication of new memorial to British 3rd Division, Sannerville
2pm Canadian memorial ceremony, Caen

AFTER a late start and criticism that the British government was showing little interest in its war veterans, next weekend’s D-Day anniversary is promising to turn into the last large-scale battle commemoration of the second world war.

With most of the survivors who took part in the invasion now well into their eighties, there is unlikely to be another occasion like it.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 former soldiers, sailors and airmen are expected to make the journey to Normandy from Britain, the largest contingent of any nation.

There they will join thousands of Americans, Canadians, Poles, New Zealanders and other wartime allies, together with former French resistance fighters and even a few of the Germans they once faced.

The number of events — 130 in Normandy next Sunday alone, from international state occasions to village suppers — and the scale of the preparations have already drawn wry comparisons with D-Day itself.

One military source said: “At least in 1944 all the allied countries had the same aim, but this time everyone has their own plans about how they are going to mark the day.”

Many of the original participants looked as though they might never reach Normandy for this year’s “invasion”. It was only in February that the government, under public pressure, announced that £10m of lottery money would be made available to help war veterans to visit their old battlefields.

Free one-year passports have also been given to any veterans requesting them.

Despite complaints of military “overstretch” and last week’s deployment of more troops to Iraq, the British Army is providing about 1,000 soldiers to help to organise events. An entire battalion of the Parachute Regiment — nearly 700 men — will jump from the skies next Saturday, recreating their predecessors’ exploits in paving the way for the invasion in 1944 that led to the liberation of western Europe.

A spokesman for the battalion said: “These jumps are usually weather-permitting but it would have to be a pretty stiff gale and horizontal rain to stop us this time.”

While some events are taking place in Britain — including a ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire next Sunday — the main focus will be in Normandy, where events will begin on Friday honouring the American paratroopers who lost their lives and the RAF pilots who flew them in.

A reception for British veterans will be held at a memorial garden in Caen in the evening.

On Saturday morning a chartered ship carrying veterans will leave Portsmouth escorted by allied naval ships. The vessel, the Van Gogh, will dock at Ouistreham, near Caen, the British end of the 60 miles of coast. Here on June 6, 1944, the German defenders woke up to see an allied fleet of 7,000 ships and landing craft heralding the invasion of Hitler’s Fortress Europe.

Earlier this month Franz Gockel, a German soldier then aged 18 who was posted to defend Omaha Beach, described how he had single-handedly shot some 300 allied soldiers on D-Day.

More than 100 events will be held on Saturday, largely focusing on the paratroopers whose landings the day before D-Day secured the flanks of the beach invasion.

The events will include the unveiling of a replica Horsa glider near Pegasus bridge on the River Orne, where British troops who were flown in fought one of the fiercest battles of the invasion.

The Prince of Wales will represent Britain at several of the day’s events.

Among the most poignant ceremonies will be the unveiling of a statue of Brigadier James Hill, commander of the 3rd Parachute Brigade on D-Day. Hill, 93, from Chichester, West Sussex, who will be present at the unveiling, is the most senior surviving British soldier.

He recalled this weekend how his drop zone had been flooded by the Germans and several of his men had drowned in 10ft-deep irrigation ditches. At one point he gathered a group of 18 men to search for his headquarters.

“After about an hour my contingent was hit by low-flying (allied) bombers dropping anti-personnel mines,” said Hill.

“Only two of us kept on our feet. I thought I had lost my left leg, but I hadn’t; I’d lost my left backside. We patched the others up and gave them morphia. As we left, they gave us a cheer, but within two hours they were all dead. It was a dreadful start.”

Despite his wounds, Hill led his brigade in action for two months before returning to Britain for treatment.

The planners of D-Day, led by Generals Dwight D Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery, had feared a catastrophe, with the allies being massacred on the beaches. In the event, casualties — about 10,000 allied killed, wounded and missing — were fewer than had been expected.

By the evening of June 6, some 135,000 men and 20,000 vehicles had been put ashore and the allies had advanced as much as six miles inland.

The 1,500 British servicemen killed on the day will be remembered next Sunday at ceremonies in cemeteries, village squares and churches — and on the beaches.

In one tribute, the Royal British Legion is planning to plant a small flag in memory of each of the dead at Sword Beach.

The centrepiece will be a gathering of world leaders, including the Queen, President George W Bush, Tony Blair and President Jacques Chirac at Arromanches, above Gold Beach, where the British landed on D-Day.

For the first time a German leader will be present at a D- Day commemoration. Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, will join them to watch a march-past and a naval review.

French distribute decontamination suits in case of terror attack

French hospitals are setting up decontamination units  to treat victims in case terrorists use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in an attack on this week’s celebrations of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, writes Matthew Campbell.

The French interior ministry has delivered thousands of nuclear, biological and chemical suits to the region’s police and firemen for protection in case of attack. Hospitals have been given stocks of medicines for treating victims of chemical and biological weapons.

Extreme security measures coincide with warnings of an imminent terrorist strike in America and fears that Al-Qaeda may try to sabotage the commemoration of the Normandy landings that will bring together heads of state and other VIPs from 16 countries, including Queen Elizabeth and President George W Bush.

The regional hospital in Normandy will put a “mass decontamination module” on its lawn for treating patients exposed to nuclear or chemical attack. The hospital will also install a temporary morgue in its grounds as extra storage for bodies — whether or not the casualties are from a terrorist attack.

The American military is flying in 28 transport planes with equipment for the presidential team, including an operating theatre.

Bush will be joined at a ceremony next Sunday by heads of state including Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin and Jacques Chirac, the host.

The presence of so many dignitaries — including European monarchs — makes it a security nightmare for the French, who as hosts are responsible for the safety of their guests.

I'm impressed Smokie, some typing that, I do not subscibe but I got access through your links with no problems.
This time next week just arriving MB ;D

  Thanks Smokie, much appreciated, have a reason to commemerate the landings, and wanted to know what was/is going on.  Will elucidate on the other thread  ;)

Smokie - can you let me know what you decide re best route? We were going to do the usual N138 job from Caen - I can't see how we can avoid the jams?

One feels constrained to comment, but the sheer scale of events leaves me somewhat choked.     I just don't know what to say.

Apparently there is criticism of our politicians for leaving it all too late. TV coverage is just starting to become noticeable. I'll be honest, I am not an overly sentimental person, but I consider this to be one of the most significant anniversaries in my lifetime so far. Especially as, being the 60th, it could be the last major one which some of the participants will be able to attend.


Regarding route, I've been studying the maps today (and using www.mappy.com) and almost definitely decided to go via Paris. It's all motorway to the periphique, and out to Le Mans again. I'm sure the tolls will set us back a bit, but with the caravan my mpg goes down to abut 14 anyway, and that stretch of roundabouts (100 miles of 'em!) between Rouen and LM doesn't make for a fast journey. Mappy says it's about 47 miles further but again it might be as quick when towing. I have no idea whether the events next Sunday will impact the Rouen route but would guess they might.

Caravan came out of store today (1st time since last year!) and is clean and being loaded...not long now.

www.normandiememoire.com/NM60Anglais/accueil.php

couldn't work the hyperlink but it should cut and paste

There is mention in today's Times that Normandy roads are chokka with old military vehicles and Bush's security people.

Anyone travelling this weekend would be well advised to avoid.