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Coach
1 guide, Neil, in front of a tank memorial in Arromanches
to the British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division.
Arromanches was on Gold Beach, which was taken by the
British, with the Canadians to the east on Sword Beach
and the Americans to the west on Omaha Beach. The remains
of the Mulberry Harbour can still be seen in the sea
off Arromanches.
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Looking
out over the sea at the remains of the Mulberry Harbour
at Arromanches. The British Mulberry Harbour was well-secured
and large parts of it remain today, while the American
Mulberry Harbour was less firmly anchored and was largely
destroyed in a storm in the weeks after D-Day.
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Alistair
Kelsey balancing ball on head whilst manning shore defences.
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The
Longues Battery - German defences were set at regular
intervals along the Normandy coast. |

Bus
2 and guide Bill at the Longues Battery |

Commonwealth
war graves at Ranville. |

Ranville
Commonwealth Cemetery. |

Harrogate Grammar School left a wreath as tribute to all
those who died in the D-Day campaign, including the grandfather
of Tom Wilkinson, one of the students on this visit. |

The
German war cemetery. |

This
shows the replacement for the original Pegasus Bridge.
It is an exact replica, and the original bridge can be
seen reconstructed in a nearby museum. Pegasus Bridge
was captured, just after midnight, on D-Day and the adjacent
Cafe Gondree was the first piece of French soil to be
liberated. The cafe is still run by the daughter of the
couple who ran it at the time of the liberation. She was
four years old on D-Day. Three Horsa gliders brought in
Major John Howard and his men within tens of yards of
the bridge. |

The remains of the fuselage of a Horsa glider. Very few
of these are left. They would carry about 30 soldiers
and crew. This one is in the Pegasus Bridge Museum. |

The original Pegasus Bridge, now reconstructed in a nearby
museum. |
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