D-Day Normandy Tour 2010
Mark Hames,
18 June 2010
At 6am on Tuesday the 1st of June, cadets who would normally be fast asleep were up, showered and wide awake loading their suitcases into the minibus. This was day one of Oxfordshire Army Cadet Force's annual D-Day Anniversary Tour to Normandy, France.
Started in 1999, the tour is run by Major Alan Hames and takes cadets and instructors to the battlegrounds of D-Day. The aim is to teach the history of the nation and the battles of our forming and county regiment The Ox & Bucks Light Infantry, and also to represent not just the ACF but the British military as a whole at the ceremonies held to remember this turning point of WW2.
After the long journey from Oxford, across the English Channel and to Major Hames' holiday home, it was time to set up camp. For the females this was as easy as dropping their heavy cases in their room but for the gents it was a much more exciting challenge. The male cadets were billeted in 12x12 tents and military camp beds, which were welcomed as much more fun and exciting than simply sleeping indoors. After a brief for the week ahead and a welcome meal it was time for bed.
The next morning started in true military fashion with a nice loud wakeup and a hearty wash followed by an alien experience – no cookhouse fry up or unconvincing toast here! The cadets were welcomed to English cereals and French pastries which went down quickly and there were requests for ‘maybe just one more... please!’
The next 3 days were filled with visits to battlefields, cemeteries, museums and much more, stopping for the famous Normandy picnic lunches prepared so skilfully by the tour staff. The sites and visits give the cadets a real feel for how those first days in June of 1944 were fought and how life was for the soldiers – British, American, Commonwealth and German. There was plenty to learn and the cadets took full advantage of being out of the classroom and into the open air.
On the evening of the 4th, preparation began for the next two days of parades with drill practice, ironing and polishing, and there was a real feeling of excitement for the days ahead. The morning of the 5th was full of final preparations as we headed off to Pegasus Bridge – the target of the first allied action in Normandy on D-Day, captured by glider-borne troops of the Ox & Bucks led by Major John Howard.
Over the past few years, the cadets of Oxfordshire ACF have become an integral part of these ceremonies, providing often the only British military presence and also assisting the few surviving veterans and their families in any way they can. Mrs Penny Bates, daughter of the late Major John Howard DSO, took time to thank the cadets for their presence and watched on as two cadets laid a wreath on the original bridge now in the grounds of the Pegasus Memorial Museum.
That night, the cadets joined the veterans and onlookers at a midnight ceremony to celebrate the exact moment they became the first allied troops to land in Europe, and listened to a recording of Major Howard describe the events of that historic night.
After a nice lie in to recover from a late night’s work it was back to the bridge, this time for the D-Day Parade. The route across the bridge was lined with hundreds of onlookers clapping and cheering as the cadets marched past to come to a halt at the gliders’ landing site. Later the cadets remarked that as the Oxfordshire ACF bugler played the last post they felt immense pride to be there and be part of what has become such a huge event.
The rest of the day was spent with the veterans at smaller ceremonies special to the men of the Ox & Bucks, remembering the sacrifice our county regiment made. Each ceremony we attended was marked with the laying of a wreath by two cadets on behalf of the Battalion and the ACF. It was hot work in the June sun but the cadets were spectacular in their duties and represented the Army Cadet Force with an exceptionally high standard of turnout.
That night it was time for one last dinner of traditional Normandy chicken for the cadets and adults to bid farewell to Major and Mrs Hames, before their reluctant return to England the following day.
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The cadets' first day in Normandy
| ©
2010
Mark Hames
Cadets laid a wreath on the original Pegasus Bridge
| ©
2010
Mark Hames
The cadets were thanked by Mrs Penny Bates, daughter of Maj John Howard
| ©
2010
Mark Hames
Oxon ACF Normandy Tour 2010
| ©
2010
Mark Hames