Letter from Normandy: Canadian historian in France for 80th anniversary of D-Day

Seven years ago, my father and I booked a trip to France, via a brief stay in Iceland, to visit  Caen, Bayeux, Mont-Saint-Michel, and the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy. After a short stop in Paris, we made our way out to the coast.

While driving along the A13, we were suddenly passed by a convoy of Second World War jeeps and trucks. Although an unusual sight, we didn’t
think much more of it, until my father realized that, entirely by accident, we had booked our trip to coincide with the 73rd anniversary of the D-Day landings.

The atmosphere that we encountered on the coast almost defies description. In every small town there were banners hung over the roads, massive crowds, and reconstructed military camps erected in the courtyard of their church. Without intending to, we stumbled across countless ceremonies and parades. Yet I found it was often the more understated moments of the commemorations that stuck with me most: watching three men unfurl the original beachmaster’s flag on Sword Beach after discovering it in an antique store; visiting the many Allied cemeteries and being able to visually contextualize the scale of loss from the invasion.

As a historian whose research focus is Canada and the Second World War, the trip was like no other. It was an incredibly poignant experience then when I was working towards my bachelor’s degree in history, and one that I have only come to appreciate more with time, especially now that I am completing a PhD in the field.

I knew that I needed to go back.

Although I have been back to Normandy since then with my fiancé, and was in the Netherlands on a battlefield tour on June 6 last year, I have yet to go back for an anniversary, let alone a major one. Earlier this year, I put my name on a mailing list from the Department of Veterans Affairs to be notified when registration for the 80th anniversary ceremony began. At the end of April, I was informed that registration opened, but I was emphatically told that just because I had registered, did not mean that I would be able to attend.

Flash forward to May 25, less than weeks away from the anniversary, and my attendance was approved for the official ceremony. Within a matter of hours, I had booked my flights and accommodation, and had rented a car. Now, here I am, three weeks out from my wedding, on an impromptu trip back to France to attend the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy at the Juno Beach Centre.

While the entirety of my trip has been built around attending the official Canadian ceremony on June 6, I have filled my time with as many commemorative activities as possible. I will be visiting Bény-sur-Mer twice, once for a commemorative ceremony hosted by the Government of Canada, and once for a candlelight vigil hosted by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

I will also visit La Maison des Canadiens twice, once for an official ceremony hosted by the town of Bernières-sur-Mer, and once for a lantern ceremony.

Outside of these ceremonies, I’m also making time to participate in two unique activities. First, is the Grande Parade Internationale des Pipers sur Sword Beach, a parade of over 200 bagpipers from 13 different countries. Second, is a commemorative walk that retraces the route of the Canadian Bathurst’s North Shore Regiment, who landed on D-Day. Finally, I will pay a visit to one of, if not the only group of re-enactors who have set up an authentic Canadian troop camp.

Over the coming days, I will be sharing my experiences of the 80th anniversary with Village Media sites.

Born and raised in Waterdown, Ont., Rosemary Giles is a PhD student in History at Western University who is attending the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy at the Juno Beach Centre in France. While overseas for this event, she will visit a variety of other ceremonies and commemorations.

— This first appeared in Village Media's FlamboroughToday.