Durham Cathedral; discover this magnificent cathedral, its treasures, St Cuthbert, the Venerable Bede and the Anglo-Saxon World.

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The Coventry Doom Painting. One of the top doom paintings in Britain

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The Wenhaston Doom Painting. A magnificent, highly colourful doom, with clear images that are easy to interpret.

The old phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words” is very appropriate when looking at the magnificent Wenhaston doom painting. In the medieval world where few people could read, a painting of the events of the “Last Judgement” would carefully show what was going to happen to souls when the world would come to an end. This would guide people to manage their lives to ensure a wonderful future. The picture of Hell left no one in doubt that sinners would have a horrible future. The doom painting at Wenhaston is in remarkable condition with very little missing or incomprehensible.

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Exploring the enigmatic Medieval wall paintings of the quaint "All saints Church", Little Kimble.

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St Mary's Church North Leigh, is a treasure trove for medievalists with a doom painting, a Knight's effigy, medieval stained glass, some fan vaulting, and a Saxon tower.

St Mary’s Church North Leigh, on the outskirts of the Cotswolds and north-west of Oxford, is a fascinating place to visit. To me, the star of the show is a wonderful doom painting which, unlike many, is in good condition. Medieval parishioners participating in services would have no doubt what awaited them when the inevitable happened and they died. The three panels of their doom painting left it very clear. Only a 10 minute drive away is another incredible doom painting at South Leigh. St Mary’s can also boast of a chantry chapel with fan vaulting, a knight’s effigy with links to the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses and a Saxon tower.

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South Leigh Medieval Doom Painting's Vision of the Last Judgement. Were they going to Heaven's gates of Hell's fires?

South Leigh doom painting north west of Oxford is a great example of what medieval people were expected to believe. Unlike some paintings with large areas lost, this doom painting is clear and easy to understand. At the Last Judgement, souls are summons from graves and decision are made as to their future. Heaven, on the left as the observer sees it, welcomes all sorts but likewise Hell on the right, also welcomes kings, queens, bishops and a whole variety of sinners. The devils surrounding Hell look gruesome as does a monster with a large, gaping mouth coming out of Hell to catch them. Allied to the doom painting is a medieval wall painting of St Michael weighing souls to see who goes to heaven and who has sinned so much that they will end up in Hell. Again, various Devils are in the painting and in this case trying to influence the decision. Also at South Leigh is a wall painting of St Clement and a painting of the “Seven Deadly Sins”.

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Warriors and Castles: Warkworth Castle, Shakespeare's Harry Hotspur and the mighty Percy family in the Wars of the Roses.

Life in medieval times in the north-east of England was one full of danger with a constant threat of war. Viking raids, as well as raids from Scotland, were a regular problem and from time to time kings of England came to this area to consolidate their power. Warkworth was owned by the powerful Percy family for over 600 years who preferred it to the much larger Alnwick castle. The Percy’s were renowned for taking some poor decisions in dynastic wars and losing their lives as well as their properties and titles. One Percy known as “Harry Hotspur” became a popular knight and has been remembered over the years for featuring in Shakespeare’s Henry IV part one.

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The D Day Series. "Beyond the Battlefields: Embracing the Peaceful Aura of Bayeux War Cemetery"

Completed in 1952 and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, this peaceful cemetery is the last resting place for 4144 named Commonwealth (the UK and former British Empire) soldiers and 338 unidentified ones. Added to this, are 500 graves of soldiers from other countries, the majority being German. It is a fascinating place to visit and observe all the different headstones and some of the stories they tell. The cemetery provides a solemn and peaceful atmosphere, with meticulously maintained rows of white headstones bearing the names of those who fell in the line of duty.

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The D day series. Honouring sacrifice; A Journey through the Graves of German Soldiers in Normandy's La Cambe".

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The D Day Series. Storming the cliffs; Pointe du Hoc's Legendary Raid and the Men Who Conquered It.

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The D day Series; Explore the daring World of the paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Divisions at the awesome St. Mere Eglise's Airborne Museum!"

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The D day Series. Airborne heroics,John Steele's harrowing experience above St Mere Eglise"

Combine a visit to the church of St Mere Eglise with a visit to the amazing Airborne Museum next door and you will have an enjoyable day out. Anyone who goes past this church without knowing the story of John Steele will think a parachutist snagged on a church tower is very peculiar. It commemorates his terrible mishap when he was parachuting into the German held Cherbourg peninsula on D Day. Steele was meant to land just outside St Mere Eglise but his pilot was inexperienced and visibility was difficult due to extensive cloud cover. Steele was dropped right above the village and unfortunately, he was to snag his parachute on a pinnacle of the church.

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The D Day Series. Beyond the Beaches; Visit Longues Sur Mer and see how it could have played a pivotal role on D Day.

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The D Day Series. The Overlord Museum, a great collection of dioramas and fascinating exhibits in a museum which is just a three minute drive from the American Cemetery at Colleville.

The Overlord Museum is particularly good when combined with the American Military Cemetery at Colleville and an excursion onto Omaha Beach. It has loads of fascinating exhibits from the Omaha landings and has some particularly impressive large dioramas. People of all ages will enjoy this museum, including children although people who have studied this period of history in depth may require a little extra information of some of the smaller exhibits.

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The D Day Series. Remembering the Heroes at Colleville-sur-Mer American Military Cemetery and asking the question, "what went wrong at Omaha Beach?"

The American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville is the most visited cemetery maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission with over 1 million visitors per year. Most of the servicemen here were either killed in the Normandy Invasion or in the ensuing action that took place afterwards.

Just 10 seconds standing in the middle of this cemetery brings home to the visitor the carnage of World War Two. Reading the statistics is shocking but being surrounded by crosses as far as the eye can see with each cross equalling one dead soldier, gives the visitor a greater understanding of the cost in human suffering. Having taken numerous school trips to this place, the reaction of my students is always one of amazement.

Every way you look in this cemetery, you will see crosses immaculately set out in straight lines. The straight rows are impressive but the perfect diagonals illustrate how much care was taken when setting out this important home for the dead heroes. The cemetery covers an area of 172.5 acres which contains 9,388 burials.

All the headstones are carved out of marble with 9238, crosses representing Christians and 151 Stars of David representing Jews. Note, these were the only two religions recognised by the American armed force at the time of burial.

Above; a star of David amongst loads of crosses.Below; a close of a Star of David with the name Joseph Mendelsohn. and the date Jan 14 1944, nearly 6 months before D Day. As the word “Bomb” is on the stone, I assume he was part of a bombing mission that got shot down.

Below; the grave of an unknown soldier with the inscription, “A comrade in arms, known but to God”.

Some graves to look out for.

If you watch the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan, you will notice a man searching for a grave in this very cemetery. The film’s story is all about the Tom Hank’s character, Captain John Miller, going behind German lines to find private James Ryan. James, is the last survivor of a family of four brothers, three of whom died in the war. The boys’ mother, has already received three telegrams informing her of the death of hers sons and the head of the army does not want her to receive a fourth. This story, inspired screenwriter Robert Rodat to develop the script the film after reading about Sergeant Frederick “Fritz” Niland. All three of his brothers Preston, Robert and Edward were also fighting for American forces until news came that Edward had been shot down over Burma and was presumed dead. In June both Preston and Robert were killed, leaving just Fritz. Fortunately, although Frederick had had been dropped behind enemy lines, he was found and sent back to his parents in the USA. Good news also came when Edward was discovered and was rescued from a Burmese prisoner of war camp.

Above; Preston Niland’s headstone which is to be found at Plot F, Row 15, Grave 12

Below; Robert Niland’s headstone which is to be found at Plot F, Row 15, Grave 11

An easy way to find them is to go to Plot F and look for a small crowd of people standing at your desired location.

Above; The gravestone ofTheodore Roosevelt Jnr, the oldest son of the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt. Among other heroic deeds, he was recognised for repeatedly rallying groups, directing them and leading men from the beach, over the seawall, and establishing them inland. He was at the frontline of the invasion of Utah Beach and despite heavy fire, he kept returning to do it all over again. This bravery was at the age of 56, when he was suffering from arthritis, having to walk with a cane and had heart problems! He was given the “Medal of Honor” for his bravery but died of a heart attack a month later aged 56. His character was played by Henry Fonda in the film, “The Longest Day”. His grave can be found at Plot D, Row 28 Grave 45.

Above; Quentin Roosevelt was Theodore Roosevelt Jnr’s brother. Although he died in July 1914 during WW1, his body was exhumed from his original grave at Chamery and re-interred next to Theodore after WW2. He can be found at Plot D, Row 28 Grave 46.

Above; taken on an earlier visit, this photo shows where the first scenes at Colleville in Saving Private Ryan were shot. Beyond the trees, you can view Omaha Beach itself.

Below; as you wander through those trees and back towards one of the entrances, you can see this map showing the landing beaches as well as having a good view of part of Omaha beach. Further down this post you will see another section of the beach that you can visit.

Above; the memorial to the American troops.On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names.

Above and below; on the memorial walls are several large maps showing the D Day assault and later events.

At the centre of the memorial is a large statue representing “The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves”.

What went wrong at Omaha Beach?

Planned to begin at 6.30 am, two U.S. infantry divisions, the 1st and the 29th, were given the task of capturing Omaha Beach. At the end of the day, a small “toehold “ had been won, nothing like the objective of being 6 miles inland. Out of the 34 000 troops involved, over 2000 were killed and 3000 wounded. Added to these statistics, a staggering 75% of their equipment was lost!

At 8.30 am, things seemed to be going so badly that General Bradley actually suspended the landings and actually considered re-routing the remaining troops along the coast onto Sword Beach! He wrote later that, at one point, his forces had “suffered an irreversible catastrophe!” Despite this initial setback, his men went on to capture the entire area and eventually broke out to go all the way to Berlin and victory.

Above; Omaha Beach monument.

Below; “The Brave”. The sculptrice, Anilore Banon, has written;

“I wanted this sculpture to honour the courage of these men sons, husbands and fathers who endangered and often sacrificed their life in the hope of restoring their freedom to the French people.”

She also wrote; “ These men were more than soldiers, they were our brothers”.

The initial problems began even before the troops reached shore. Unlike the British who used four man submarines named X craft to guide in the landing craft, the Americans took the view that they could be discovered and compromise the mission. Unfortunately, of the first wave deploying onto the beach, only one company got to the right spot! As a consequence, landing craft got muddled up and disorganisation in front of heavy German fire caused numerous casualties and a lack of penetration. An 18 knot wind and strong currents helped to drive the landing craft away from their designated objectives. There was a “make do” belief with troops landing in areas that they hadn’t been briefed about and not being able to carry out the original, coherent, plan. Each soldier was given a designated exit from the beach but now each soldier had to work out his own plan. To make matters worse, 80% of the radios sent ashore were lost or damaged, serving only to add to all the confusion.

Below; a diorama from the nearby Overlord museum of the situation on Omaha Beach.

Choppy seas resulted in 10 landing craft sinking alongside their ships and added to this, most of the modified Sherman tanks with bulldozer fronts for clearing beach obstacles fell off a boat into the water. Sherman tanks, modified to float in water, had a disaster with 27 out of 32 sinking. Apparently, they had been heading in the wrong direction and when their course was altered, water came in over the flotation collars so the extra weight took them to the bottom of the sea!

Above; a Sherman tank with its flotation collar raised.

Below; a Sherman tank with its flotation collar down. Both images copyright the Imperial War Museum.

At the planning stage, it was known that Omaha beach was going to be one of the hardest and therefore, bloodiest landings The beach was crescent shaped with steep cliffs on both flanks that would have soldiers firing down and across the beach, on all the troops attempting to land. The back of the crescent consisted of 40-50 metre “bluffs”, ie land sticking out onto the beach, again, ideal for soldiers in concrete fortifications to be able to fire down onto the Americans trying to get across and then off the beach. There were also some trenches safeguarding artillery observers who accurately could direct fire onto the beach. For good measure, between the bluffs, mines had been laid making the obvious beach exits highly dangerous. There were to be no hiding places for the invading troops.

A bombing raid of 500 B17s was supposed to neutralise the defences around the crescent and on the beach but heavy cloud resulted in missing the targets by over 1.5 miles (3km). However, the firing positions on the Port Du Hoc cliffs looking down on the beach were successfully bombed by 18 medium bombers of the 9th Air Force. Furthermore, shells from the battleships and cruisers anchored offshore put an end to the heavy guns at Longue Sur Mer.

Below; one of the destroyed artillery guns at Longue Sur Mer.

Below; the remains of the gun barrel!

 In the sea, Rommel had created a forest of traps for the incoming landing craft.

Above; a scene from the Overlord Museum, Omaha Beach.The blue arrow is pointing at a “Czech Hedgehog”’ ie welded girders that can rip through the bottom of a landing craft. The red arrow is pointing at a wooden stake that has been driven into the beach at an angle with a mine strapped to the top. Rommel believed that the enemy would approach at high tide and the traps were therefore placed just under the water so that they would not be seen at high tide until it was too late!

Added to these difficulties created by Rommel, there were some natural problems to overcome in the form of hidden sandbars and one metre deep channels which could catch out a soldier as he tried to make his way to shore.

It was believed at the time of launching the landing craft that the German 352nd Division was at St Lo, 28 miles away from Omaha and that it would take 17 hours for it to get to the battle area. In reality, they were a lot closer with the extra men having a significant effect on the fighting. There is some debate whether or not intelligence reported the 352nd’s advance or whether the intelligence did not get through or was even misinterpreted.

With all of these things against them, it is amazing that the landing eventually was successful, albeit at a heavy human cost.


Essential information

Getting there;

 

Travel via Car
Travel via highway A-13 towards Caen. Continue on N-13 to Bayeux and Formigny. Continue on D-517 towards St. Laurent-sur-Mer and D-514 to Colleville-sur-Mer. Signs mark the entrance to the cemetery. (note this is from the cemetery’s official website.) There are plenty of signs and we even found it easy before Sat Nav.

There is plenty of parking although if there is a ceremony taking place parking spaces can be limited.

Opening times.

Click here for current opening times as reported on the cemetery’s website.


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