Phillip writes:

From June 13-16, 2024, I embarked on a deeply meaningful motorcycle tour through Normandy, marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day. This tour, long a personal ambition, was enriched by Eugenie Brooks, an independent battlefield guide, whose research added significant personal meaning to the journey. This trip honoured all Old Pangbournians (OPs) involved in the D-Day landings of 1944, particularly Major Anthony Charles Wellesley Martin DSO and Major Lionel George Charlton who both gave their lives in the initial days of Operation Overlord.

Day 1: Thursday 13 June
We began with an early ferry from Poole to Cherbourg and visited the US 82nd Airborne Memorial and Dead Man’s Corner Museum. Despite the rain, our group of 11 motorcyclists arrived in Bayeux, where we found unexpected connections with fellow Pangbournians within our group.

Day 2: Friday 14 June
The itinerary for the day included Pegasus Bridge and the strategically important Merville Battery that could shell both Sword & Juno beaches and where Major Edward Charlton (OP 1926-31) fell whilst leading the attack on this key German fortification. Eugenie recited what Major Charlton did that day and we later visited his grave at Ranville War Cemetery, the first British cemetery created after D-Day, where I laid a remembrance cross on behalf of the OP Society. The day concluded at the British Normandy Memorial overlooking Gold Beach, with a striking display of black silhouettes known as “Standing with Giants” representing all those British troops who died on D-Day.

Day 3: Saturday 15 June
Today, our group explored the town of Arromanches located to the west of Gold Beach where the ingenuitive Mulberry Harbour was created that ensured the allied forces were supplied to support the invasion.  Later we all rode on to the lovely rural setting of Ryes Cemetery, where Major Charles Martin (OP 1930-34) is buried who was killed by a sniper leading his company across Gold Beach. I laid a wreath at his grave where our group performed an Act of Remembrance that was all the more poignant for me given we were honouring a Pangbournian. We then rode on to visit Omaha Beach and the US Normandy Cemetery, witnessing an impromptu American tribute by visiting veterans and families that was extremely moving to observe. Omaha Beach is clearly hallowed ground for Americans.

Day 4: Sunday 16 June
Our final day included visits to the German Cemetery near La Cambe, the Easy Company Memorial at Brecourt Manor, and the village of St Mere-Eglise where Eugenia again explained what happened her in 1944. We concluded our tour in Cherbourg to catch the ferry home, reflecting on the journey and the sacrifices that had been made 80 years ago.

This tour was more than a commemoration; it was a journey of learning, reflection, and respect for the past. It was an honour to pay tribute to the OPs who fell during Operation Overlord and personally was one of the most fulfilling trips I have ever undertaken. This journey reaffirmed our commitment to remembering those who sacrificed for our freedoms. The Old Pangbournian Society remains dedicated to preserving these memories. 

I hope to organise a similar trip next year for OPs using coaches or minibuses rather than motorbikes and invite anyone interested in coming on such a proposed trip to contact me or Sue Carpenter so I can gauge the level of interest and plan accordingly..