We  love   NORMANDY

A WEBINAR tour of the first town to be liberated by the US Army on D-Day. We will see the mannequin of Private John Steele still hanging from his parachute lines from the church bell tower, the original water pump used by the enemy soldiers and the townsfolk on the night of June 6th 1944, and the bullet holes still visible from the exchange of fire.

The medieval church of the Holy Mother is included in the tour, as are the fabulous stained-glass windows that pay homage to the paratroopers of the 505th regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. It's an amazing place and an enthralling story.

We take a walk through the dunes near Biville. 12 miles from Cherbourg and 30 miles from Sainte-Mère-Eglise, this area was liberated by the US 60th Infantry Regiment on June 20th 1944. Some of the armoured vehicles from the battle survive in the dunes here, used until 2012 by the French Territorial Army for target practice. The firing range was decommissioned, and in 2013 the area was designated as a nature reserve. Today, several armoured vehicles are still there among the 1,500 acres of the cratered landscape of the dunes.

The ceremony to mark Armistice Day at the new British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy. Organised by the Royal British Legion and the Royal Naval Association.

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The British Normandy Memorial records the names of the 22,442 servicemen and women under British command who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944. This includes people from more than 30 different countries. Inscribed in stone, their names have never, until now, been brought together. The site also includes a French Memorial, dedicated to the memory of French civilians who died during this time.

A LIVE on-location virtual tour of Juno Beach from the Signal Monument at Graye-sur-Mer via the Juno Beach Centre to Courseulles-sur-Mer.

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A unique chance to experience the sights and sounds of Juno Beach in Normandy where 21,000 troops of the Canadian Army came ashore under heavy fire on D-Day. On this tour we walk from Graye-sur-Mer to the harbour at Courseulles-sur-Mer. On the way we'll see the monuments and bunkers that bear testament to the events of June 6th 1944: the Canadian Infantry monument, the AVRE tank '1-Charlie', the Polish 1st Armoured Division monument, the Cross of Lorraine, the Juno Beach Centre, artillery pieces and the DD Tank.

A LIVE on-location broadcast. We revisit the important crossroads town of Sainte-Mère-Eglise for a tour of the monuments, the streets and the church of Our Lady whose stained-glass windows commemorate the actions of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the US Airborne Forces on D-Day. Echoes of the past include the bullet holes in the iron railings opposite the church and a 15-foot relic of the Roman Empire! 

A LIVE broadcast from Omaha Beach at WN65, Le Rouquet, in Easy Red sector. We visit the monument to 2nd Infantry Division, the 50mm artillery bunker, then climb the bluffs and walk along the ridge and down to the beach. We visit the Native American monument and the Charles Shay statue.

A walk in the Hedgerow country near We Love Normandy HQ. The Normandy 'bocage' hampered the US 3rd Army from 

6th June to 25th July. This patchwork of small fields divided by ancient country lanes sunk into the earth after centuries of use provided perfect cover for the defending German troops.

Various methods were tried to breach the hedgerows without much success until Sgt. Curtis Cullin of the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, invented the “Rhino” tank. 

A LIVE on-location tour and a unique chance to experience of the sights and sounds of the German war cemetery in Marigny, Normandy, and visit the final resting place of over 11,000 German servicemen.

Originally a temporary American cemetery, Marigny contains the graves of 11,169 German war dead including the high-ranking general Erich Marcks – the commander of the German 84 Corps in Normandy. A number of boys, killed before they turned 18, are also buried here.

The graveyard is a typical example of Robert Tischler's style with thousands of ceramic grave markers, usually identifying a pair of soldiers, interspersed by groups of three basalt gothic crosses, and a chapel at the entrance to the cemetery built in the style of a Norman parish church.

A video webinar and a unique chance to experience of the sights and sounds of the town of Bayeux in Normandy. We will walk through the narrow, ancient streets and find echoes of the town's D-Day past. We will take in the medieval cathedral, the Bayeux Tapestry museum, the Battle of Normandy museum before reaching our destination: the Commonwealth cemetery. Here, 4,648 servicemen are laid to rest: British, Canadian, Polish, Australian, Kiwi, and others. Here too are the graves of 466 German soldiers.

Under the portico of the memorial whose epigraph reads "We, once conquered by William, have now set free the Conqueror's native land." are the names of over 1,800 servicemen and women who have no known grave.

An on-location virtual tour and a unique chance to experience of the sights and sounds of the Longues-sur-Mer artillery battery in Normandy. We will walk from the 200ft cliffs to the two-storey enemy command post and fire control bunker, featured in the movie The Longest Day. Next we'll hike back through the fields to the four gun 'casemates' and take a look at the German firepower. We'll learn how the British and US Navy attacked this strongpoint, and how the men of the Devonshire regiment secured the position on 7th June 1944.

A video webinar tour, we will start from the E1 Draw at Le Ruquet at the Charles Shay Monument and the Native American Monument, the remains of the Rhino Pontoon, Strongpoint WN 65, the 2nd Infantry Division Monument and the monument to the Combat Medics. Next we will scale the bluffs at Strongpoint 62 and visit the German gun emplacements and bunkers, including the location of machine gun emplacement of Heinrich Severloh, 'The Beast of Omaha'. From there we go to the eastern end of the beach - Fox Green/Fox Red and the F1 Draw to Cabourg, and learn about Omaha's only Medal of Honor recipient - 1st Lt Monteith. Finally, we will visit the US Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer where 9,388 service men and women have their final resting place.

An ON-LOCATION four-mile hike along Omaha Beach. Follow two Normandy guides on a walk along Omaha Beach from Charlie Sector to Fox Red.

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A unique opportunity to follow TWO Normandy guides on a four-mile hike along Omaha Beach from Strongpoint 73 at the western end of the beach in Charlie Sector all the way to Fox Red Sector at the eastern end.

A VIRTUAL tour of the bunkers, monuments and the beach. We begin the tour at Pointe du Hoc where the US 2nd Rangers Battalion scaled the 90-foot cliffs to attack the German gun battery. Next the D1 draw at Vierville, the bluffs, enemy strongpoints WN72 and 73, the National Guard monument and the monument to 'The Bedford Boys' of the 116th Infantry Regiment. We will visit the Signal Monument and 'Les Braves' at the D3 Draw at Les Moulins, and finally visit the location of the 1st US Provisional Cemetery.

The coup de main assault of the Caen bridges was given to the 2nd Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Regiment. D company of the Ox and Bucks, commanded by Major John Howard, were transported in six gliders. 1st Platoon, led by Lieutenant Den Brotheridge in number 1 glider and piloted by Staff Sergeant Jim Wallwork, touched down between the marshes and the canal and only 40 yards from the bridge.

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We visit the Gondrée Café, the new bridge, the 50mm gun, the monuments to the three gliders and Major Howard, and the museum: Pegasus Bridge, the Bailey Bridge, the Horsa Glider and the armoured vehicles and other weapons.

A LIVE on-location virtual tour of Utah Beach at Strongpoint WN10, including the Leclerc Monument, military vehicles, the bunkers, the dunes, and the wreckage still visible on the beach.

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A unique chance to experience the sights and sounds of Utah Beach in Normandy where Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr led his troops of the 4th Infantry Division on the morning of D-DAY, June 6th 1944.

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General Leclerc's French 2nd Armored Division disembarked on August 1st 1944, and the Utah Beach Signal Monument here is dedicated to him and his troops.

A LIVE on-location virtual tour of Saint Lo in Normandy. The town that Samuel Becket named 'the capital of ruins' was bombarded by the Allied air forces on D-Day and finally liberated on 18th of July by the US 29th Infantry Division supported by the 30th and 35th Infantry Divisions.

LIVE broadcast. Juno Beach and the laying of a wreath at the Canadian Juno Centre by the members of the Normandy Battlefield Tour Guides Association, followed by a walk via the bunkers, dunes and beach to the Cross of Lorraine, the monument to the Polish 1st Armored Division, 'One Charlie' - the AVRE bunker-buster tank, and finally the Signal Memorial on the sands at Graye-sur-Mer.

A LIVE on-location tour of the bunkers, monuments and the beach. We begin the tour at the D1 Draw at Vierville, then climb the bluffs, visit the enemy strongpoints WN72 and 73, and see the monuments to the 5th Rangers Battalion, the 6th Engineers Special Brigade, the National Guard, the 29th Infantry Division and the the 'The Bedford Boys' of the 116th Infantry Regiment. And we'll discover what the British Royal Airforce were doing on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

A video webinar tour, we will start from the E1 Draw at Le Ruquet at the Charles Shay Monument and the Native American Monument, the remains of the Rhino Pontoon, Strongpoint WN 65, the 2nd Infantry Division Monument and the monument to the Combat Medics. Next we will scale the bluffs at Strongpoint 62 and visit the German gun emplacements and bunkers, including the location of machine gun emplacement of Heinrich Severloh, 'The Beast of Omaha'. From there we go to the eastern end of the beach - Fox Green/Fox Red and the F1 Draw to Cabourg, and learn about Omaha's only Medal of Honor recipient - 1st Lt Monteith. Finally, we will visit the US Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer where 9,388 service men and women have their final resting place.

Video Webinar. The German heavy gun battery on the 200ft cliffs at Longues-sur-Mer is one of the best preserved historic sites on the D-Day trail. Between the US beach OMAHA and the British Beach GOLD, the battery's four six-inch naval guns were capable of destroying targets up to 12 miles distant.

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Do you drive a Skoda? These guns were made by the same Czech manufacturer - and they are still in situ today. Three of the guns are in original condition, gun number 1 was destroyed by direct shelling from HMS Ajax on D-Day (although its remains are still visible, scattered in the field).

A video webinar and a unique chance to experience of the sights and sounds of Utah Beach in Normandy. We will walk in the footsteps of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr as he led his troops of the 4th Infantry Division on the morning of June 6th 1944. We will visit the monuments to the US Navy, the 4th and 90th Infantry Divisions, the Higgins boat memorial and the US Monument inaugurated in 1984 by Ronald Reagan. As well as the landing craft, we will visit the fabulous Musée du Débarquement (Landings Museum), the bunkers and the dunes.

An on-location virtual tour of the bunkers, monuments, the shelf and the beach. We begin the tour at the Strongpoint 65 at the E1 Draw, visit the 50mm bunker, then walk along the beach and the shelf to Fox Green sector, the E3 Draw and Strongpoint 62. We will climb the Coleville bluffs and see the 75mm bunkers, the observation bunker of Hein Severloh (the so-called 'Beast of Omaha'), the monuments and the trenches. We end the tour at the 1st Infantry Monument at the very top of the bluffs overlooking Omaha Beach.

A VIRTUAL tour of the bunkers, monuments and the beach. We start from the E1 Draw at Le Ruquet at the Charles Shay Monument and the Native American Monument, the remains of the Rhino Pontoon, Strongpoint WN 65, the 2nd Infantry Division Monument and the monument to the Combat Medics. Next the bluffs at Strongpoint 62 and the German gun emplacements and bunkers, including the location of machine gun emplacement of Heinrich Severloh, 'The Beast of Omaha'. We visit the monuments of the 5th Engineers Special Brigade and the 1st Infantry Division. Finally, we will visit the US Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer where 9,388 service men and women have their final resting place.

A recording of the last ZOOM PLATOON of the year. In this Zoom meeting we go back over some of the highlights and bloopers of 2021 and discuss plans for next year including the Normandy Excursion in March 2022. 

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If you've never attended the ZOOM PLATOON meetings this is a chance to meet the group. 

Strongpoint WN01 was equipped with 100mm field artillery to provide enfilade fire across the mouth of the Orne estuary and along the beach at Riva Bella - the site of the British invasion beach Sword. Fearing that the gun batteries contained more powerful 150mm canons, the British Army decided to launch an airborne attack of the strongpoint. Paratroopers from the 9th Parachute Battalion, led by Lt Col Terence Otway, were given the task of silencing the guns on the night of D-Day as part of Operation Tonga.

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"a Grade-A stinker of a job" - Brigadier James 'Speedy' Hill, commander of the 3rd Parachute Brigade.

A LIVE on-location virtual participation at the ceremony to mark the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Coutances, Normandy, and to commemorate Colonel Louis J Storck, 4th Armored Division, KIA July 30 1944.

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The occasion was commemorated in Square Colonel J Storck, rue Pont de Soulles, Coutances on Wednesday 28th July in the presence of Colonel Storck's daughter, Molly Storck, with wreath laying, addresses with prayers and the National Anthems.

A LIVE virtual walking tour and a unique chance to experience of the sights and sounds of the town of Bayeux in Normandy, liberated by the British Army on D+1 June 7th 1944. We will walk through the narrow, ancient streets and find echoes of the town's D-Day past.

LIVE broadcast of the The Stanley Hollis trail. We walk from Gold Beach to the British Normandy Memorial via the Mont Fleury artillery battery where the brave actions of Stanley Hollis were rewarded with the only Victoria Cross given on D-Day.

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The visit to the British Normandy Memorial was recorded on the day of its inauguration, 6 June 2021.

A LIVE video webinar and a unique chance to experience of the sights and sounds of two German war cemeteries in Normandy.

Originally provisional American cemeteries, Marigny and La Cambe together contain the graves of over 32,000 German war dead including the high-ranking general Erich Marcks, WW2 Tank Commander Michael Wittmann and flying ace Helmut Bergmann.

The graveyards are typical example of Robert Tischler's style with thousands of ceramic grave markers, usually identifying a pair of soldiers, interspersed by groups of basalt gothic crosses.

A video Webinar tour of the bunkers, monuments and the beach. We begin the tour at Pointe du Hoc where the US 2nd Rangers Battalion scaled the 90-foot cliffs to attack the gun battery. Next the D1 draw at Vierville, the bluffs, enemy strongpoints WN72 and 73, the National Guard monument and the monument to 'The Bedford Boys' of the 116th Infantry Regiment. We will visit the Signal Monument and 'Les Braves' at the D3 Draw at Les Moulins, and finally visit the location of the 1st US Provisional Cemetery.

A video webinar of the lead-up to D-Day, 6th June 1944 and the American Forces' role in Operation Overlord.

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We will visit the landing sites of US V-Corps and US VII-Corps including, Sainte-Mère-Eglise, Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach and the US Cemetery. This tour is a useful primer for Patrick's more in-depth virtual D-Day tours. LIVE from We Love Normandy HQ near Saint Lo, Normandy.

An on-location virtual tour and a unique chance to experience of the sights and sounds of Utah Beach in Normandy. We will walk in the footsteps of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr as he led his troops of the 4th Infantry Division on the morning of June 6th 1944. We will visit the monuments to the US Navy, the 4th and 90th Infantry Divisions, the Higgins boat memorial and the US Monument inaugurated in 1984 by Ronald Reagan. We will walk the beach, climb the dunes and visit the bunkers.

An on-location virtual tour of the first town to be liberated by the US Army on D-Day. We will see the mannequin of Private John Steele still hanging from his parachute lines from the church bell tower, the original water pump used by the enemy soldiers and the townsfolk on the night of June 6th 1944, and the bullet holes still visible from the exchange of fire. The medieval church of the Holy Mother is included in the tour, as are the fabulous stained-glass windows that pay homage to the paratroopers of the 505th regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. It's an amazing place and an enthralling story.