75th Anniversary of Normandy Invasion

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Saturday, 22 June 2019 - Explored the historic town of Bayeux, beginning with the impressive 200-foot embroidered tapestry that tells the story of William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings, visited the magnificent Bayeux Notre Dame Cathedral, enjoyed lunch along the canal, and spent time at the Museum of the Battle of Normandy and the Bayeux War Cemetery with its poignant Commonwealth and German graves.

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The piece dating back to 1077 is beautiful with its vividly colored threads creating detailed images and scenes of this period and the battle. We visited the beautiful Bayeux Notre Dame Cathedral, a masterpiece of Norman Gothic architecture, and had lunch along the canal at an outdoor cafe.
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The present cathedral was consecrated on 14 July 1077 in the presence of William, Duke of Normandy and King of England. It was here that William may have forced Harold Godwinson to take an oath assuring William would be king of England. When Godwinson broke his oath, this led to the Norman conquest of England.
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Story in stone over the church entrance.
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High up in the spires of the Cathedral is a house occupied by a watchman who could see any enemy coming from far away.
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Flying buttress of the Cathedral - beautiful gothic architecture.
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Inside the Cathedral
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Note the flags of the Allied forces displayed in the Cathedral - pictures of the saints are on the ceiling.
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One of three great stained-glass windows.
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Stained glass detail
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Stained glass around the back of the Cathedral.
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Stained glass detail - beautiful stained-glass everywhere.
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Saint Michael slaying the dragon statue
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Frescoes in a side chapel of the cathedral.
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Cathedral organ
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Many of the windows in the town were decorated for the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
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Street medallion in the cobblestones
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The river Aure flows through Bayeux creating several beautiful settings.
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Museum of the Battle of Normandy - a great accounting of the D-Day landings through the breakout from Normandy. The whole museum only covered 3-4 months including Normandy landings and the battles which followed. The museum was great - good maps and diagrams explaining the various offensives after D-Day.

On the grounds outside there were several memorials to British units who fought at Normandy.
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To ensure that the names of the journalists killed in the line of duty are never forgotten, the City of Bayeux, in collaboration with Reporters Without Borders, created a Memorial entirely dedicated to reporters killed in combat around the world since 1944.
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The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest World War II cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France. The cemetery contains 4,648 burials, mostly from the Invasion of Normandy
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The cemetery grounds were given to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by France in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defense and liberation of France during the war.
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The headstones are very ornate due to the carving of the unit crest into each headstone.
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The graves have flowers planted next to them - making for a very colorful yet somber setting.
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The grave of a pilot
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The cemetery contains the Cross of Sacrifice or War Cross, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
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Due to the 75th Anniversary of D-Day there were many tributes to individuals and units around the base of the War Cross.
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In addition to the Commonwealth burials, there are 466 graves of German soldiers.
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A tribute to the American soldiers in a backstreet window of Bayeux.
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A water wheel on the river Aure.
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