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Photos of Normandy during WW2


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I'm new on this forum, so may be posting about something everyone already knows - apologies if that's the case!

The photo-sharing website www.flickr.com has a set of truly awesome photos of Normandy from around August 1944, i.e. just after the invasion.  Log onto flickr (you may need a Yahoo password - not sure, as I'm a member), search under flickr members for photosnormandie and you'll get to his page - there are 2750 photos of excellent quality (flickr members can download them for private use) mostly from US Army or Wehrmacht sources.  You could be really lucky and find a photo of your house, or your village - there are some amazing aerial shots of Vire, for example, post-bombing, and a few colour shots too.  (I, typically, was unlucky, and didn't find anything closer than about 10km down the road, but....)

Happy Hunting,

English Eccentric

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My mother has a set of postcards of Le Havre which are very telling.  Each is a picture of the same scene before and after the bombings.  They make chilling viewing.  Next time I'm back in the UK I will try to scan them as I'm sure they'd interest you, EE.
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EE - that is a terrific set of photos.  thanks for the link.

I notice that the poster gives permission to reproduce with attribution.

I've saved a number of them for my 'work in progress' telling the story of the Liberation of our corner of Normandy by the 2DB.

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[quote user="cooperlola"]

An earlier war but here are a couple : Amiens in 1918

 

[IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q103/cooperlola/ww1pc2.jpg[/IMG]

and Albert, Somme, 1918

[IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q103/cooperlola/ww1pc1001.jpg[/IMG]

[/quote]

 

I can tell you that not a lot has changed in Albert since then!

Aside from Albert where there is now no longer any land left for building (and hence the huge price increase for land) nearly all the new building in the surrounding communes is on plots of land where the houses were never reconstructed after WW1.

Most times I dig footings etc I find munitions or human remains, the WW1 fanatics here regularly "field walk" and I am staggered by how much they find on each and every walk.

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I'd love to know if anyone does find a picture of their house in those photos - as would (I imagine) the poster - I think his goal is to be able to definitively identify with as much detail as possible the locations & contents of as many of those photos as possible.  I spent ages trying (fairly unsuccesfully) trying to find out a little of the history of the house we were buying - then when (last weekend) we finally signed the Acte de Vente, a quick chat to the next-door neighbour and we learnt that the Germans had put an anti-aircraft battery in our hamlet, so the Allied airforce (he blames the US airforce!) tried to knock it out; the house that stood where ours now is (and others) were damaged beyond repair.  He told us that there are some photos in the Church at Sourdeval; we'll be taking a look before very much longer!
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We have a photograph of our house in Normandy taken as the liberating (American) troops are walking past. The house was taken over by the Wehrmacht and the family were allowed to live in the stables next door. The army radio aerial is clear on the photo and the mounting holes in the stonework are clear today.

Apart from a rusty allied pattern hand grenade (deactivated) and a few twisted bomb fragments we have not found anything of note - yet!

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J.R. the postcards were sent from my great-uncle Sandy (who survived, btw, with only  a small piece of one ear left in France and only died about 15 years ago) to my great-aunt Doris.  They are fascinating.  There is another one of the church at Albert with the statue on the top just about to fall off.  I will see if I can find it.
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That is the most popular and most copied card in the region, the German gunners used the basilique to set up their range etc, for most of the war the virgin mary was holding the baby in her arms horizontally saving him from falling, it was said that when he fell the war would be at an end.

In fact the royal engineers had belayed it off with cables.

We have a shiney new gold one now which is a great landmark on sunny evenings, the basilique is well worth a visit but for me the best ever is the cathedral at Amiens.

I also have some live ammunition in a german soldiers belt holster (WW2 this time) which I found in the grenier.

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So how much are the originals worth then JR?  Sorry, I should not make light of a serious subject.

It all sounds fascinating - if a little disturbing.  Presumably you have to wear armour before you start digging anywhere?  They are re-modelling parts of the (motor racing) circuit here and every other day seem to dig up an un-exploded bomb (WW2 in this case).

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The department des mines is here at least twice a week removing and disarming ordinance, the farmers when they plough them up just phone the Gendarmes and then leave them at the side of the road, they are as commonplace as discarded Mcdonalds packaging in the UK!

I chatted to one of the disposal guys one lunch time, it turned out that he was a qualified scuba diver, his last posting was recovering the unexploded ordinance from the mediterranean coast.

The Belgiums apparently have a real problem as they have a higher proportion of mustard gas shells, they are all removed to a facility for disarming and unpoisoning (sorry I am losing my English and cant think of the word, rendering safe?) but there was a television exposee that showed that they were receiving more than they could process, if they got no more it would still take 75 years to process the stock thay already have that was piled up against the perimeter fence in a built up area!

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This is a slight deviation from the thread, so apologies to that, but related. 

I've been searching to find info regarding an annual trek replicating the ww2 hike by downed airmen across mountains to Spain, perhaps Andorra.  I recall seeing article in France Mag about 2-3 yrs ago on event which takes place in July each year (?).  Searched their archives and find nothing.

I've mentioned this to French friend whose father was part of resistance and he's also interested.

Thanks to anyone who can shed light.

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