Part 3 - Standing With Giants & Visiting Omaha and Utah Beach!

Robert and I Standing with Giants!

Welcome back to the third part of my Normandy Blog. If you have caught up with my last two installments you will know just how intense my performance days were over the D-day period. Once Robert and I had completed all our singing commitments it gave us time to reflect and to visit a couple of the museums. There’s so much to know about the D-day Landings and all the museums tell it from a different beach perspective.

For me the highlight of our visit was to see the British Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer. “The Standing with Giants” art installation was breathtaking and

We Will Remember Them!

it was beautiful to reflect in the peace and quite of the French country-side. We could have stayed there all day and those few hours we were there will stay with me for the rest of my life. It was extremely moving. When you read the names and the ages of the young men who perished in the campaign it’s truly heart breaking and we must never forget their sacrifice.

While Robert and I were in Arromanches we were invited to visit the 6th June museum. I had had the pleasure of visiting the new museum last year when I was staying in Arromanches so as this

Inside the Musee du Debarquement!

was Robert’s first visit to Normandy I was keen for him to learn more about the Mulberry harbour and it’s importance during the D-Day Landings.

What I didn’t realise was that this was the first Normandy museum designed to commemorate 6 June 1944 and opened in Arromanches way back in 1954, just nine years after the end of WWII. Built opposite the still visible remains of the Mulberry artificial harbour, the museum tells the story of the Allied forces’ arrival, known as Operation Overlord, and describes how

Robert and I at Dead Mans Corner!

Arromanches harbour worked. I remember the old museum very well having performed on the steps and in fount of it many times before.

The new museum was built on the old site of the previous museum and it opened in April 2023. It’s a very elegant structure and is now known as the ‘Musée du Débarquement’. It features several exhibits on the planning and execution of the D-Day Landings, as well as the aftermath of the battle. The museum also has a section on the role of technology in the battle, which includes a replica of the Mulberry Harbour. Many weapons,

Out-side the D-day Experience Museum!

tools, accessories and uniforms are exhibited, along with life-size models of soldiers and military vehicles.

It’s a very interesting place to visit and so too is the smaller “Liberators Museum” which is situated at 9 Rue Colonel Rene Michel in Arromanches. I’d walked past it so many time before but on this occasion Robert and I were thrilled to be able to visit for the first time. It houses lots of fascinating personal artefacts from WW2. Everything has been donated by service personnel who served during WW2 bringing

Much to See and Take In!

all their stories to life.

It is a private collection and the family that run the museum are very friendly and welcoming. Robert and I enjoyed our visit very much and we would thoroughly recommend it. They also sell lots of genuine World War II memorabilia so needless to say Robert was thrilled to pick up part of a Sherman tank, foot powder and some shot up mess tins. What can I say – every house needs at least one!

For our last full day on the Monday we decided to spend some time over in the American sector. Much of the holiday and D-day traffic had cleared out so it was the ideal day to travel as we headed over to the D-Day Experience Museum at Saint – Come – Du – Mont – better known as “Dead Mans Corner”. The D-Day Experience is made up of two museums, dedicated to the airborne troops. One immersive where you can find out

The Famous Church at Ste Marie du Mont!

what it was like to be a soldier flying over to France through simulation and the other part houses a collection of uniforms arms and vehicles inviting the visitor to enjoy both educational and entertainment learning. I’d been to this museum once before and I particularly enjoyed the simulation where you are cleverly briefed for battle by a hologram 101 airborne officer and flown from the UK to France in a plane simulator. It’s a great experience and Robert and I had a terrific day there.

Utah Beach!

Afterwards we decided to head over to Utah Beach as we past through one of my favourite towns Ste Marie du Mont. I know this town well having performed at the WW2 encampment which usually takes place around the church over the D-day Weekend. On this occasion it was very quiet as every-one had moved out on the Sunday as we headed over to Utah. Robert had decided he wanted to collect sand from each of the five beaches as we made the most of our visit and drove over to Omaha.

So often when one is working, eating can be difficult as it’s a case of grabbing food

Remembering at Utah!

quickly between shows. Time is often short and we felt it best to prepare sandwiches which proved to be sensible as the volume of people made the queues long and difficult especially when you have to get on stage. On this occasion Rob and I enjoyed a beautiful evening meal at the D-Day House Hotel as we watched the sun go down over Omaha Beach. I can truly say this was the best meal we had while we were in France. Perhaps because it was superbly prepared and it was the first day where we had had time to enjoy it. It was a beautiful moment and an excellent location and I hope very much we will have the privilege of visiting again some time in the future.

Sadly all good things must come to an end and on the Tuesday Robert and I had to start making our way home once Rob had collected his sand from Gold, Juno and Sword. We also pressed some Poppies which we collected from the road side at Ver-sur-Mer.

The Sun Starts to Set on Omaha Beach!

This was a truly amazing experience and a great honour to be chosen by Arromanches to be their “Artist in Residence” for the 80th D-Day Commemorations.

I shall leave you with a few of my favourite photos and thank-you to Arromanches for making this trip possible. I hope you have all been enjoying my D-day memoirs as I document my experiences in France and truly momentous occasion.

In my next blog I shall tell you about performing for Blackbushe Air Show and Saturday Night D-day Show at the Wycombe arts Centre.