French civilians around the battery at Longues in 1946, also film of the remains of the Mulberry Harbour http://www.cinematheque-normandie.fr/batterie-de-longues-sur-mer-en-1946/ Perhaps this website will give us further links for our Battle of Normandy research? Allan
Hi Allan & All, I found another piece of footage shot in 1964 on the British Pathe site here. The BP Film ID No. is 2687.25 in case we ever loose the link. The kids running up the side of the crater at Point du Hoc gives a better indication of the dept than is apparent today. A lot of soil and debris has gotten into the craters with the passage of time, though they are still very impressive features at the site. The three nuns are at the very tip of the Pointe where the fire control bunker is located. The Longues sur Mer Battery shots in you clip and here in this BP one show us a different world for kids today...safer but probably not as exciting...the guns no longer traverse There is other footage somewhere showing kids swarming over a section of 'Rhino' barge if I am not mistaken; they must be jumping down 10 or 12 feet onto the sand; just can't find it at the moment. Regards, Pat
Thanks Pat "Health and Safety" stops so many things these days that we did without harm when we were younger - but in a society that sues at the drop of a hat who is to blame anyone for stopping this sort of thing from happening. "Where there is a blame, there is a claim" seems to be the norm now!! Can you imagine H & S in 1944 - careful on the beach chaps, those nasty germans are likely to be shooting at you!! Allan
Hi Allan, Only a couple of years ago here in Ireland the Government (aka the taxpayer) had to fork out huge sums in compo claims for hearing loss in ex-members of the Irish Defense Forces :exclamation: Regards, Pat
Allan, Another few seconds of footage here showing the Longues sur Mer Battery 10 years later in 1974. The kids are grown up and nobody is playing with the guns anymore - the salt is probably after finally getting into the bearings. The passage of time... Regards, Pat
Hi Allan, Here is the one I was looking for. It's not a 'Rhino' barge but what looks to be some kind of landing craft support vessel. There's got to be a dozen H&S rules being broken - they just don't make them like than anymore - the kids I mean Regards, Pat
Thanks Pat - both films are very interesting - way back between 1952 and 1955 I lived in Moret-sur-Loing and Fontainebleau where Dad was on NATO duty at A.A.F.C.E. (Allied Air Forces Central Europe) and the Americans used to have a parade every liberation day in the August, as Patton's 3rd army had liberated the place. I thought initially that the kids were jumping off of a LCI (L), but I have never seen one with a smooth top deck, so very interesting - nice the way they were coming out of an LCT with the little jeep!! regards Allan