Lest we forget

Today 77th anniversary of 'D' Day, seems a lot of the media have forgotten,

What sad times we live in

Mick

There was an item on tthe newly opened British Normandy Landings memorial in France on Radio 4 this morning, Should be available on BBC Sounds ( About 9.30 am?)

I do believe a memorial is being officially unveiled today at Normandy for the British who died . Isn't it going to be on TV?

Saw an article about it in the week interviewing one of the veterans

Rod just beat me to it!

Edited By Mike Hurley on 06/06/2021 10:21:13

The Sunday Express has a full page piece about remembering it on the editorial page and a 2 page piece about the memorial in France.

Brian

Edited By Brian H on 06/06/2021 10:23:45

We all owe our freedom to the men and woman who fought and died that we may be free ! I will never forget ! On the morning of the 60th anniversary I drove a DUKW on to the beach at Hunstanton, stopped and offered up a prayer for all those who had fought and died ! Noel

Getting coverage on the BBC TV since early today and some current stuff on BBC News Channel.

I’ve been out most of the morning so missed much of it.

2 Minutes silence at 11 I think.

Edited By V8Eng on 06/06/2021 10:36:01

Nearly all gone now, just like with the WW1 people the world moves on

Well We won't forget them

The main reason I do Lathe stuff is because of the war crowd

I never knew such contented people as the post WW2 brigade, happy with relatively simple lifestyles, no want want want culture. Beer, allotments, a job that paid the bills, family and friends and sunny weekends at the beach

The question I would like to ask, to all of those who sacrificed their lives for our 'today' , is this.

For what we are today , would you do it again ?

Absolutely pointless, they were 'of their time' as we are 'of our time'. there was a job to be done and that was the end of it.

Tony

It's the fate of great events to fade from memory, or even to pass by entirely unless we happen to have studied the era. Why do Brits remember Agincourt but not Castillon? Who remembers Trafalgar Day? Or when Ladysmith was relieved, or who won the Seven Years War, which was the first First World War? How many westerners know of Operation Bagration, which started on June 22nd 1944, and inflicted the greatest defeat in German military history by destroying 28 of the 34 divisions making up Army Group Centre?

Although Overlord and Bagration together sealed the fate of Nazi Germany it's interesting to speculate when exactly they lost WW2. It's distinctly earlier than 1944. In 1942 Alamein was followed almost immediately by Stalingrad after which it was all downhill for National Socialism, but arguably the Nazi failure to take Moscow in 1941 only confirmed the writing on the wall. Failure to knock out Britain in 1940 meant there was no prospect of Nazi victory in the long run because US foreign policy before Pearl Harbour was already dead against the formation of a far-right European super-power. (They weren't keen on far-left superpowers either, or European empires!)

If I had to choose one date to remember from WW2 it would be August 30th 1942. Nothing much happened - no historic event or any obvious change of fortune. But that Sunday was the high-water mark of Nazi expansion. After then no more significant victories, just retreats leading to total collapse, unconditional surrender and the German people discovering they'd supported a criminal regime rather than a just cause. Although no-one noticed at the time, 30/8/1942 was the day WW2 tipped finally in favour of the Allies.

Ten years ago I got chatting to an old chap in my doctor's waiting room. Turned out he'd landed on the Normandy beach on Day 2, and felt cheated throughout his life because all the glory went to the first wave. I was proud to shake his hand. Perhaps we forget too easily that June the 6th was only a beginning, and only one day amongst many that should never be forgotten.

Dave

I think SOD's right about late summer 1942, though I think the start of the tidal reverse was too fuzzy to put an exact date on it.

The first El Alamein battle had effectively ended the Axis offensive in North Africa, and it was becoming increasingly clear that Rommel wasn't ever going to reach Alex, never mind join up with the Eastern Front through the Caucasus. Stalin's view of the desert war as a "sideshow" seems to have stuck - unjustifiably. It may only have involved about a third of the forces of the Eastern war, but it was fought on a distant continent with enemy nations between, across complex and disputed seaways, and concerned really critical oil resources and logistic routes.

But Stalingrad still looked uncertain as a turning point - German forces were still gaining ground in the city and pressurising the small Soviet bridgehead on the west Volga bank, and the encirclement counterstrike was embryonic at best.

D-Day was a critical step, and would have to happen to bring a conclusion; but it was developing an unstoppable momentum and the actual date on which it would occur was a matter of considerable contingency.

Edited By Mick B1 on 06/06/2021 15:04:54

Speaking of being forgotten, my father was a 'D Day Dodger' and proud of it.

David

Many of those accused of that were fighting a hard and dogged campaign north through Italy, against capable and stubborn German opposition. Those people had every reason to be proud.

Observer/Guardian has two pieces, one on the new memorial, one on veterans being unable to attend due to covid.

Google shows the Express, Telegraph, Mirror, Sun and Evening Standard have coverage, as well as BBC, Sky and ITV.

BBC also had a multipart documentary with Dan Snow.

Interestingly, my dad, who was a child during the war, queried another 'popular documentary' while I argued we need to make sure young people can learn about it in ways which are appealing to them. He then enjoyed seeing thing such as the 'funnies' which the Royal Engineers were still using when he did his national service (including the time a 'dummy' petard round that had spent years as a doorstop got used for practice with a Churchill put a large dent in a hangar... it had been wrongly marked and though the explosive charge was a dummy the propellant wasn't.

Neil

The one I always remember is operation Typhoon, which ended on 5th December 1941 and sealed the ultimate fate of the German Army in the Soviet Union

I believe something happened on 7th December 1941 which helped speed things up a bit too

It was June 6th 1954, at 10 in the morning. Teacher, Mr Dedman looks at his watch and says...."..hmm 10 o'clock. Ten years ago I was walking ashore at Gold beach", then he carried on with the lesson, ( it may have been Sword beach, I was only seven.) It's amazing what you remember, no idea what the lesson was, but I remember what he said!!  Eight years later on a school exchange we went to Normandy, and whilst on what had been Gold beach, I said a little private "Thank you" to Mr Dedman.

Lest we Forget.

Bill

Edited By Bill Pudney on 07/06/2021 00:44:22

Every time, going back over thousands of years, world peace has been put at risk by some megalomaniac, of some persuasion.

And "the common herd" have paid the price

Sadly, I fear that they will in the future..

But honour to those who fought and died for the safety of others.

To see the war graves in France with the rows and rows of headstones, and the Menin Gate, commemorating those of all creeds and nations is an emotive experience.

Howard