War Poets - WWII

[smallhobbit]

The final day saw us visiting more places in Normandy with D-Day and following connections.

We began at St Manvieu Church where the roof was destroyed due to shelling:



From there we went to Tilly-sur-Seulles War Cemetery, which has many pink roses planted amongst the graves stones



and is where Keith Douglas (another poet who wrote mostly about the war in North Africa) is buried.



In the early afternoon we headed to the major American War Cemetery



and looked down over the ground the Americans had to conquer



to Omaha Beach, where they landed



After which we stopped at the memorial to members of the French Resistance



And finished at Bayeux Cemetery



With a chance to remember all those who died in the D-Day campaign and in the battles of Normandy

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Poignant scenes! I hate to keep commenting on the weather but it looks like you had clear skies. Good for walking.

[smallhobbit]

Very! We had beautiful weather - it was good morning and evening, but really too hot in the afternoon to do much but seek the shade.

[aome]

Interesting that they never replaced the roof. Most places destroyed by WWII bombs were. But it certainly gives you a much better idea about the types of damage war causes.

[smallhobbit]

They built a new church in a different part of the village. A lot of places it's hard to imagine the destruction because it has all been rebuilt. We did see another church with evidence of damage to the walls but that was minor. Here it wasn't a bomb but mortar fire as the Allies slowly pushed the Germans back and the Germans resisted.

[rusty_armour]

Oooops...I missed this post. As so often happens, I'm playing catch up again.

You've taken some beautiful photos. I especially like your picture of St. Manvieu Church and Tilly-sur-Seulles War Cemetery. It looks like you really saw a lot on this tour.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much - I'm delighted you like the photos.