IN THE TRENCHES

Thomas Russell

Normandy World War Two battlefields trip report

During Warwick School’s 2023 Activities Week 38 boys ranging from years 8-10 were accompanied by five teachers (Mr Sutherland, Mr O’Brien, Mr Walker, Mr Hadley, and Mr Bull), to Normandy. Despite meeting at 03:00 on Monday morning, the four days were filled with information and fervent interest.

The bus journey to Portsmouth and the ferry voyage to Caen occupied most of Day 1 but there was enough time to visit The Memorial de Caen. Here, they were able to examine tanks and learn a brief overview of D-Day and the allied invasion. A short film containing images and videos of the landings culminated the visit, preparing the boys for the rest of the trip.

Day 2 and 3 were action-packed and formed the spine of the trip. The second day was centred around the British landings, and it began with a visit to Pegasus bridge. Next to the museum the boys saw the landing grounds of the allied gliders – only the size of a small field – and the original bridge, which was visibly peppered with bullet holes. After a short bus journey filled with music and the occasional piece of background information from Mr Sutherland via the speaker, they arrived at the Merville Battery. This formed part of the Atlantic Wall and was 8 miles from Sword Beach (one of the British landing sites on D-Day). The dents in the derelict bunkers – from grenades – served as a reminder of the 150 men who landed, and the 75 who survived to disable the guns. The position was finally taken over a month later, but the work done by the 3rd Brigade of 6th Airborne was crucial. Finally, the boys and staff visited Arromanches, the town beside Gold Beach, the second British landing site. A 360 degree cinema added perspective to the missions, using images, videos, and audio to contextualise the invasion. The museum at Arromanches explained about the Mulberry Harbours: an artificial mile-long pier which would be carried in pieces and assembled only a fortnight after D-Day; and Pluto Pipelines: a supply of motor fuel beneath the seabed.

On the third day the boys and teachers visited Ste Mere-Eglise to look at the Airborne Museum. This had a flak (anti-aircraft gun) and an M4 Sherman Tank which Mr O’Brien explained the use of in the war and gave the boys an insight into life as a pilot or parachutist. The work of these men of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions allowed the landings at Utah and Omaha beaches to push inland once they had occupied the coast. These two Divisions made history, as Ste Mere Eglise became the first French town liberated on D-Day. After another coach journey, this time filled with Mr O’Brien’s cheese jokes as well as music, they arrived at Pointe du Hoc. This was situated at the top of a 100-foot-high cliff, but due to this, more German defences were positioned on the flat Omaha beach, where on D-Day there were 3,700 casualties. They then proceeded to the American Cemetery at Collevillesur-Mer. The 172.5-acre graveyard was pristine, and the 9,387 white crosses showed the abhorrent scale of the landings, and the amount of blood that was shed in the invasion.

Today, twenty-seven war cemeteries hold the remains of over 110,000 dead from both sides. Before dinner, the boys and teachers arrived at Longues-sur-Mer, to see the wellpreserved section of the Atlantic Wall. This battery still holds its guns, 200 feet up a cliff between the Allied landing beaches of Gold and Omaha. It was captured on 7th June. The day concluded with a visit to the Commonwealth Cemetery in Bayeux. Here, 4,648 tombstones and 1,800 soldiers with no known grave are commemorated. In contrast to the American Cemetery, there were plants in front of the tombstones, and custom messages incorporated below the soldiers’ names.

The last day consisted of visiting Sword Beach, where an estimated 683 soldiers fell on D-Day; and seeing the memorial to the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Max and Sam laid two small crosses in respect to the 154 men who lost their lives fighting for the local area. After a hectic ferry journey and more cheese jokes, we arrived at school in the meagre hours of the morning, all tired. Thank you to all the staff and a special mention to Gary the bus driver too!

Hadrian’s Wall