Next year I am planning to retrace my Canadian father's Army military travels during WWII. He landed at Juno Beach and was in Bully-Les-Mines near Calais; Cruelly; Villes Le Sec; Orne River; Belleray; Antwerp, Belgium; Ollan, Belgium; Vaught, Holland. I need help researching locations or reconnecting with people he knew(I have some names and addresses from the late 1940's) as well as finding the Canadian military memorials. We will drive and stay at B&B's so any experiences/reviews of accommodations would be welcome. Thank you.
Posted by
Vancouver, BC, Canada
107 posts
Harry,
Definitely, go to the Juno Beach museum, it was cool. They also have walking tours of the beach, I did not get a chance to go on the walking tour but plan to next time I am in Normandy.
For researching try the Heritage Canada Web site or the Veterans Affairs.
Here is one link.
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=memorials/europe
Have fun.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Harry, for accommodations in France, look at the website www.logisdefrance.com. These are small, family-run inns and they are all over France. The Government of Canada website given to you above is a fount of information on Canadian battle sites, memorials & cemeteries. I wish you luck in your research.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5529 posts
While in Normandy, I'd highly recommend that you consider taking the Canadian Highlights tour that is offered by Battlebus (www.battlebus.fr). I did not take this tour, but I took the two day American tour offered by Battlebus and it was just outstanding, well worth the money as the guide was both extremely knowledgeable and passionate. It was one of the best tours that I have ever taken. While in Bayeux, I also met a young Canadian couple who had taken the Battlebus Canadian tour and they raved about it too. This company might also be point you to resources to help with your research.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I wouldn't particularly recommend driving in Antwerp. If your family has a wartime connection to the city, that's one thing, but don't expect to see any memorials or monuments in the city proper- as far as I know, there aren't any. Of course, there are many other reasons to visit Antwerp...
At other points along the Scheldt, however, there are more memorials to the battles fought there (in my American opinion, the Battle of the Scheldt Estuary was one of the most important operations of the western front in WWII, and it is sadly neglected in the US collective consciousness... probably because the US played a minimal role in it). I've never seen any of them, but they exist.
Posted by
San Francisco
14521 posts
Harry,
The big Canadian military memorial in the Picarde region in northern France is at DIEPPE because of what happened there in 1942. If you want to see the Canadian monument from the First World War, go to VIMY near Arras in the nord Pas de Calais region, very poignant and impressive. You can take part in a tour at VIMY.