Hi John, From the field usage visible on the satellite view, I would guess its the same owner for all those fields within your red outline. The Mayor's office in town might be the easiest way here Sean if you have the time? Thanks, Pat
Hello there Sure. Been quiet of late due to being busy, sick, busy, away..... but better now and as it' calming down work wise I have some time. I'll keep you up to date. Cheers Sean
Greetings all, The Normandy gathering sounds so very interesting. Reluctantly, I am unable to join you as our daughter’s wedding requires my presence; even a few weeks in advance of the actual date! However, my husband and I will be in France mid May and plan a few days in the Boissey area...Charlie’s church/ T-junction to be explored. Thank you for your commitments to a better understanding of our collective history. I look forward to your posts and the new avenues of research. Ellen
Hi Ellen, Hopefully we will have found the railway embankment by the time of your visit in May. Do please let us have some photos of the locations when you are in Normandy; you can now upload them directly from your device using the 'Upload File' link at the bottom of the post window. Enjoy the trip! Pat
Seasons Greetings, Yes, I look forward to retracing our father’s July 17th 1944 activties with photos to share. If there is something I can do/ search for Whitebeam whilst in the Boissey environs, please let me know. Wish you much happiness and continued successes with the Forum in 2018. Warm regards, Ellen
As the new year begins, I wanted to pop in here to see how things are developing. We're going to be planning our year soon and I'm hoping that we will be able to be in Normandy for this. I saw that the CP had been secured and that there was a tentative schedule for the 9th and 10th. Are there other details determined yet that haven't hit the thread?
Hi Dave, Yes, we need to move things along here now that the New Year is upon us. John has the farmhouse booked for the nights 7th to 17th June as per his post #63 Just to refresh, who wants to stay with us at this location for all or part of this time frame? Who intends joining us during that period for activities/tours/walks etc. but want to stay at another location of their own choice (and booking)? Thanks, Pat
Hi Dave, I am fully committed, and have purchased my airline ticket already! I will be flying out of the US on June 6th to arrive on June 7th and I am looking forward to the trip very much. I am anxious to plan out a few things, but I think many wanted to wait until these next couple upcoming months before starting to work out some details. I have my list in mind, but I would love to hear what you might be interested in doing as well. John
John, Dave, All, Since quite a few here are interested in gliders in the American Airborne Sector, could we put together a dedicated Glider Tour as an initial starting point? Pat
I'll be staying at the converted stables adjacent to the main house. My dates are 31st May to the 10th of June so I only have the 8th and 9th available to tour with you. Dedicated Glider Tour sounds good though and happy to assist in that.
Hello all, I'll be heading up to enquire about access and similar in the next week or two, so could I just confirm which places are "definite requests"? From Pat's earlier post: Holdy (battery and crash site*) Pratt field** La Londe fields*** From John's post: The potential site of the "Waverley Wray action"**** Possible issues (outside of the chance of general reluctance of the land owners)... *The battery field sometimes has horses in it, the crash site is frequently corn, which by June would prohibit access I think **Usually has cows but I don't think it's used for crops ***Combination of crops and pasture ****Ditto. Assurance that we'll be sticking to the sides of the fields along the hedgerows might nullify some concerns. As work requests are getting more frequent, I could do with firmly blocking some dates. 8th, 9th and 10th I've kept free for certain. Cheers for now, Sean
Hi Sean, We will firm up dates this weekend. Any fields with livestock are to be avoided unless the owner goes along with us. I have been to the Brecourt Battery on two occasions with horses in the field and young foals came up to the group...fine to a point, but not everyone will know how to handle livestock and apart from H&S concerns, we want to leave a positive impression with land owners. Standing crops must not be damaged either, so access, which may be granted in principle now, would need to be accessed on the day. Thanks Sean, Pat
Hi Sean, I agree with Pat's comments above... I also want to reiterate the point too that there is nothing that I want to see from the middle of a field, (other than maybe the Holdy Horsa site). Everywhere I go I hope to see, and experience as a soldier who traveled along the cover of a hedgerow. This includes any other areas such as Brecourt Manor, La Fiere, Neuville au plain, and glider fields we intend to go too. John
Hi All, We are looking at doing a full day tour of American glider locations on Saturday, 9th June. Access to some fields is being kindly sought from the owners by Sean at present. The tour would probably commence with a visit to the Hiesville area, since our CP location is close by. The remainder of the tour locations has yet to be finalised, but suggested stops include: LZ W Boutteville Marshes Holdy D14/D115 Crossroad La Londe Farm Sainte Mere Eglise area Note:This is a dedicated full day Glider Tour and the sites which will be included relate to American glider landing locations. If interested in taking part, please let us know by posting on this thread. Thanks, Pat
I think those locations covers the glider landings Pat. When you say that it'll start at Hiesville, will we cover the Pratt location and pond field/Edna which is close to Chateau Colombieres?
I Pat. I am still very interested in this. What information do I need to give you to finalize my plans. I would like to stay in the farmhouse. What would be the earliest day I could arrive around the 7th? I certainly want to be there for the glider sites tour and I would like to have sometime while Neil Jones is there. I will probably stay until about the 13 or 14th. Thanks Chuck
Hi Chuck, I don't know if Pat has a list, but as far as I can recall you are the only other member that is planning on staying at the Farmhouse with Pat and I so far. I believe that Charles Bass may also be a possibility of staying with us too, but I don't know for sure. If there are others who wish to stay with us, we need to know so we can develop a headcount. I understand the farmhouse sleeps 10, and I don't even care if I get a bed.
A Absolutely Neil, Though to what extent we can access the various fields in any of these areas remains to be seen. I would suggest the most efficient circular route possible in order to avoid backtracking. We can work on this over the next week or so and then amend as required on the day. One thing the professional guides like Sean, Paul and Dale Booth have thought me over the years touring with them is to not cram too much into one day, so if required, we could combine outlying glider sites into another day's tour such as a customised American Airborne Tour. Just some thoughts, Pat