Rest Day- exploring Canadian War Museum and Courseulles-sur-mer/Bernieres-sur-mer
Visited the Canadian Juno Beach Museum- the only Museum in Normandy devoted to the Canadian contribution and experience during the D Day invasion. Thoughtfully situated on the beach where the Canadians landed, it is also staffed by young Canadian university grads who have specialized in history. We especially enjoyed the guided tour of the bunker, beaches and explanation of the Canadian experience on that day. Our guide Scott, from Winnipeg was eager to share his passion for the subject. It was a very emotional experience to reflect upon the tremendous sacrifices made by the young Canadian men, as well as, that of Mary Ellen’s dad.
Her dad’s regiment, the Stormont Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders,“The Glens”, came ashore on landing crafts carrying a 70 lb. pack and a heavy folding bike. We learned that the tides and winds were particularly challenging that day - hard to imagine the struggles and fears that they faced. Her dad had often commented that the bikes proved to be useless on the cobbled streets and had to be thrown aside early on. It is a curious correlation that we are also riding a bike following the path of the invasion.
From what we have been able to piece together, we are confident that this is a photo of Mary Ellen's dad's regiment landing on D Day - note the bikes.
The Canadian Veterans group had fundraised to help support the building of the Museum by encouraging families to buy a plaque to commemorate the contribution of a soldier. It was very moving to find her dad, Jim Sandford’s plaque outside the museum. A living testimony of his presence there during the invasion.
The narrow streets of Courseulles-sur-mer - a bustling fishing port.
This is the story of the floating tank found at the bottom of the English Channel in 1970. Due to the challenging conditions on D Day, some of these were unable to perform as planned.
