Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019

Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019 was very well supported with over 270 world war two military vehicles taking part, organised by Marc Husk who has made this such an enjoyable event. The parade has grow over the years with Marc making people feel welcome and appreciated.  Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019Before the parade there was a ceremony for the 47 Royal Marine Commandos on the hill hill above the harbour. They had landed on Gold beach on the morning of the 6th of June. The Commandos task was to take and hold Port-en-Bessin, they lost about 75 men killed, wounded and missing on the landings.  Setting off across the countryside in the towards Port-en-Bessin. The Marines avoided the gun emplacements at Longues-sur-Mer by moving inland, heading for the port some 12 miles west of Gold beach. By the end of the day 47 Commando were about 1.5 miles from the port, where they dug in and  prepared for the attack on German positions in and around Port-en-Bessin early next morning.Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 201947 Royal Marine Commando attacked Port-en-Bessin on the morning of the 7th with some house to house fighting in the port. Later in the day Captain Terry Cousins led a patrol up a path to the fortifications at the top of the hill overlooking the port. They encountered a concrete bunker, which Cousins and four men rushed. Captian Cousins was killed and the men with him were wounded but the German bunker was captured. This is the bunker that the ceremony took place. Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019There was a very good turn out of British and Canadian military vehicles for the parade, it would seem that there has been a growing interest in the British and Canadian built vehicles over the last few years. Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019 was interesting because of the mix of vehicles from small motorcycles to the large trucks British, Canadian and American.Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019As with any world war two event there will always be Jeeps, sometimes ignored because there are so many but it’s the Jeep that most of the general public recognise from the movies, so they are important to any event that wants to interest the public.   Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019Driving into the port with the streets lined with hundreds of people waving flags and taking pictures gave a idea of how it was in 1944 when towns were liberated by the allies.Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019Marc Husk made the Liberation Parade Port-en-Bessin 2019 a success and it is sure to be a firm favorite for next year.