Fair stood the wind for France as we embarked on the MV Normandie on the 3rd of June 2024. The air-conditioned cabin was perhaps a little more comfortable than those who had loaded and travelled some 80 years before. The early morning of June 4th saw us in Ouistreham eating croissants smothered with butter from St Mere Eglise. A quick Uber (amazingly) took us to St Aubin Sur Mer, or as it was known on the day, Nan Red sector, Juno Beach. The British and Canadian beaches had been named after fish; Swordfish, Goldfish and Jellyfish. However Churchill deemed it unfit to die on a beach named Jellyfish so it was renamed Juno. The sun shone over the empty golden sands.

The Canadians of the 3rd Infantry Division were responsible for this sector of Juno Beach on D-Day. A and B Companies of the North Shore Regiment disembarked at 8:10 am with the support of the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse). Resistance was stiff. Especially due to the large anti-tank wall and the two strong point pillboxes (WN 27 and WN 28). These were not open to the sea and were thus not damaged by the preceding naval bombardments - with their 50mm guns they could sweep the beaches with impunity from either end of the beach. They were manned by soldiers of the 5th Company Grenadier-Regiment 736 of 716 Infantry Division. They were eventually neutralised, St Aubin was taken, and the Canadians headed west to take Bernières-sur-Mer. At 0855 hours, 48 Royal Marine Commando (UK) landed and they headed east to take Langrune-sur-Mer, their first objective.

At midday, about 8km east of St Aubin, 2nd Battalion RUR landed at Queen Red beach, part of the Sword assault zone.Once ashore, the Rifles made their way to the assembly area at Lion-sur-Mer, a kilometre inland. The Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR) was the only British regiment to have its full strength of two battalions deployed on D-Day. Many soldiers from the Irish Free State as well as Great Britain formed part of its ranks. The battalion's war diary states some of the soldiers were small in size and had difficulty getting ashore from the landing craft, carrying equipment, weapons and a fold-up bicycle - although many of those were thrown overboard to be recovered later. There were some initial casualties due to mortar and shell fire. However, there were no beach fatalities for the RUR and their war diary states they were met by the sight of surrendering German soldiers.

At 2100 hrs that night, 1st Battalion RUR as part of 6th Airlanding Brigade landed in Normandy. Their gliders came down at LZ-N close to the village of Ranville, east of the Caen river. From there, 1RUR deployed south of the bridgehead to take Longueval and began a long and bloody campaign throughout Normandy. Charles Alfred Bowen, Vice-Headmaster of Campbell served as a Major in Africa with The Royal Ulster Rifles during the Second World War. Bowen's eponymous House at Campbell was created in his memory in1982. In July 1944, the RUR were given the Battle Honour 'Caen', meaning the RUR would lead the 3rd Infantry Division's advance on the heavily-bombed city, which was one of the first to be liberated. Almost 200 RUR soldiers died between D-Day and the end of August 1944.

Interestingly the 6th Battalion RUR was commanded had been commanded early in the war by an OC - Lieutenant Colonel W J English VC. English had won his VC at Vlakfontein during the Boer war in 1901. English attended Campbell from 1898 to 1899 and sadly died of a stroke at the age of 59 on active service in 1941 en route to the war in Egypt. His medal group was lent by the College for a 10-year period, from 2010 to 2020, to the Imperial War Museum, London as part of their Victoria Cross and George Cross Collection.

June the 5th took us to Arromanches at the centre of Gold Beach. It was here on the beach where the artificial temporary 'Mulberry' harbour was built to allow the unloading of heavy equipment without waiting for the liberation of the deep water ports, Cherbourg and Le Havre. It was operational by June 14th. During 100 days of operation of the port; 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of materiel were landed. The concrete caissons of the breakwater and several of the pontoons still remain to this day. Bagpipers played in the sun and re-enactors drove their Willy's jeeps up and down the seafront.

Morning of 6th June. Blinked and missed the PM (kidding)! Four US C-130 Hercules aircraft painted with their white and black invasion stripes roared along the beaches. Breakfast with vue-sur-mer over the warm golden sands. To Bénouville and Pegasus Bridge in our maroon t-shirts and camouflage trousers (3 Para Battle Group Afghanistan 2006). “You're well dressed re-enactors” was met with, “We're not re-enactors!” Café Gondrée always had a party air - it was arguably the first house to be liberated in France on the night of 5th June by a glider-borne force led by Major John Howard of 2nd Ox and Bucks on Operation Mallard. This year it was truly buzzing, and still the re-enactors clogged the roads. A dinner of oysters at La Voile Blanche in Ouistreham was the perfect end to the day.

Why did I go? I had joined the British Army in 1983 just after the Falklands War. Over about 15 operational tours as a trauma surgeon I'd seen my fair share of death and disfigurement. I wanted to pay my respects and remember all those who died for our freedom. I also wanted to remember those who died more recently on return from recent conflict. My surgical friends Mike McErlain and Pete Templeton who each died a month after a return from Afghanistan. Mike's death was particularly poignant as he was running along the top of Omaha beach on June 6th 2013 raising money for military charities on what is now called the D-Day 44 Miler. I'd done the shorter 22 miler a few times. I also wanted to remember anaesthetist Andy Haldane who died on June 8th 2023. Pro tantrum quid retriebuamus? Ne obliviscaris.