65th Anniversary of D-Day

[firbeck 860]

On Saturday it's the 65th anniversary of D-Day, probably the last time that many veterans from this country will get the chance to be there.

For a start, our government refused help to financially pay for some of the old boys to get over there, it was left to that Great British Institution, the Lottery Fund, to step in and pay instead.

Now, I gather that the slimey French President Sarkozy has refused to invite members of the Royal Family over there for the celebrations and has turned it into a Franco-American lovefest. According to reports, French TV will concentrate completely on how the Yanks won D-Day and the British and Canadians won't hardly be mentioned. It's all part of a political strategy to curry favour with the Yanks. Gordon Brown is going over there but isn't invited to have much to do with the events, though I gather that the dickhead isn't going to Arromanches either, the centre of the British invasion, from where my old man was put into action to rescue the Yanks from the fiasco at Omaha caused by their arrogance by not accepting British advice.

Having said that, I gather from watching his interview on ITN last night that Obama isn't very happy with things and is pressurising the French to invite the Queen, but I doubt whether that will happen.

Lets look instead to hearing how the French and Americans managed to secure the beach heads between themselves, lets ignore the 20,000+ British and Canadian troops that died liberating France, let alone the Poles and other nations that died in the cause.

I took my old man back to the 50th anniversary of D-Day, I've not forgotten how appallingly the French authorities treated us, I recall how we were actually threatened by an armed Gendarme who pulled his gun on us over nothing but my vet dad wanting to attend a beachside service, I only got out of the situation by driving my car at him and leaving the evil b@st@rd lying in the road, I hope he was badly injured and suffered as a consequence.

I'm not knocking the Yanks, we could never have pulled off D-Day without them, however much they screwed up until Patton arrived, but go to the French D-Day museum at Bayeux and it's Yanks, Yanks ,Yanks, they never even went into the town, my old man fought his way in there, not them or the bloody so called Gestapo downtrodden French who were gorging themselves on steaks and red wine while the UK population was eating crap.

[firbeck 860]

Just for the record, a real Nottingham D-Day hero, my dad.

969445 Sergeant H R Truman, Royal Artillery, landed at Arromanches, got shelled by German 88's using airburst minutes after landing and while being forced to parade by a moron of a CO:-

With his mates while preparing for the landings:-

His medium gun battery practicing in the UK for their assault on Bayeux:-

Finally one of my last pictures of him at the 'Proper' 60th D-Day celebrations at Duxford in 2004:-

I shall be putting my usual flowers on the war memorial in Braintree on Saturday, lets not forget our unsung heroes.

[Ashley 288]

I see Charlie has been invited now, wonder who's going from the axis powers?

[mariag 4]

A few years ago on a trip to france (last time I ever go there) we went to normandy for a not so cheap holiday. We went to the normandy landings museum. Most of this was geared for the americans. The cemetrys of the yanks was perfectly manicured and well looked after.

Did anyone read that history in the secondary curriculem of british schools is being changed. At present they study the victorians, the plague, the tudors and of course the second world war...... I have heard that these are not going to be studied anymore.

Even out here my daughter is studying the above as part of her course.

[poohbear 1,360]

Not at all surprised, we should be ashamed of our colonial history.

They would be happier if we had remained living in huts and painted with woad.Then, as the primitive underdogs they could teach our kids about the horrors of the Roman Empire.

[firbeck 860]

I see Charlie has been invited now, wonder who's going from the axis powers?

Knowing the paranoia of French security, at least the last minute inclusion of 'His Nibs' will be creating all sorts of fear and panic over there, it will be well worth it. In 1994 the French security was completely out of control, I recall the mayhem on the beach at Arromanches when the security were shoving the old boys all over the place, they wouldn't let my old man into the town and they had marksmen with sniper rifles trained on us from inside the old Mulberry Harbour cassons. Even the French public that were with us were going mental, I recall one woman standing with us spitting at the Gendarmes and accusing them of being worse than the Nazis that my old man had fought against. Best of all the re-enactors turned up with 4 Shermans loaded up with vets and threatened to drive over the French police if they didn't let them through to the ceremony, the situation had to be resolved by non other than one of the Queens Equeries, some chinless army officer who was cr@pping himself.

I recall driving along a road and being stopped and searched by the French military, why, President Mitterand was about to fly over the road in his helicopter, they obviously thought that an old artilleryman and his 8 year old grandson posed a massive security threat. What was even more amazing was that they had Roland ground to air missiles positioned at the side of the road apparently just in case a light aircraft tried to take him out. This was pre 9/11, God knows what they are like now.

As far as the Axis powers are concerned, they were deliberately excluded in 1994 and no doubt will be on Saturday. My old man thought it was a disgrace at the time, he never bore any grudges towards the Germans and believed that it should have been involved as an act of reconciliation, as he put it, many of those who died were'nt diehard Nazis and were some mothers sons just like everyone else. Whenever we went to a cemetery, he always made for the German section just to make sure that someone remembered, he was the only one.

[Beefsteak 305]

The French have always been "Cheese eating surrender monkeys" so why would you expect anything less than over reaction from the frogs ??

I personally don't like them , for far too many reasons than I'm prepared to go into here.

[firbeck 860]

Beefsteak, or should I say Rozbif!!!

I understand that the French are'nt popular over here, but I've had many holidays in France and had a great time. Apart from the security fiasco in 94, I've never had any problems and enjoyed great hospitality, in fact, it's my preferred country for a holiday. I've even been to business meetings in the country and had many adventures, nice ones too. I don't know what else to say, if thats the way you feel, fair enough, but I bet I can match your bad experiences with my good ones, of which there are many.

I used to be able to speak reasonably good French, I suspect that it may have had something to do with their attitude towards me, to be honest.

[Beefsteak 305]

number one

I take my widowed mother into a restaurant with a big sign stating "English spoken here" , and we get rudely treated and ignored because my French is not brilliant and they refused to (Or couldn't) speak English.!!

[firbeck 860]

Fair enough, I sympathise, but have you ever seen a restaraunt in this country with a sign saying 'Francais parle ici', unlikely, not even in Dover, it works both ways old pal, they are just as arrogant about their past as us, probably even more so as they didn't have the impact on the world as they would like to think. Napoleon was a an evil dictator, yet is revered in his glorious tomb in the centre of Paris, imagine Hitler being so exalted in Berlin, same difference, isn't it, they are so desperate for recognition, but just get Anglo inspired hostility instead, it must hurt such a proud race.