Juno Beach

Devon is a very beautiful place. The B&B that I stayed in was comfortable. It was a super old farmhouse. The owner was delightful. I slept so well. There was absolutely no noise. It was a complete contrast from my stay in London and a welcome respite.  

My purpose for heading to Totnes was to visit with Nell, my grandmother, who is 98. Nell has dementia. It has been a few years since I have seen her. I am really glad that I had the opportunity to visit with Nell although it was difficult.  

Totnes has a lovely city centre. It is rather bohemian. There are lots of music shops, fair trade food, vegetarian restaurants, cafes, and shops selling interesting and unique items.  

My B&B combined with the English countryside and the lovely town was an excellent way to spend the last couple of days I had in England.   

Saturday and Sunday were travel days:  

Saturday: Train from Totnes, Devon to Bristol Temple Mead.  

Train from BTM to Portsmouth.  

Stay in a tiny hotel room overnight - no sleep due to my inablity to not worry. Will my alarm go off? Will the taxi ordered by the hotel show up? Will I get to the ferry on time?  

Sunday: Of course, the taxi showed up on time, got me to the ferry very early, and I caught the ferry without any issue. So, lost sleep for not reason. I will never learn.  

The ferry ride from Portsmouth, England to Ouistreham, France took just over 5 hours. The ferry was not busy at all. I was able to enjoy a lovely cooked breakfast, so not so lovely coffee, and then time reading and watching shows on my tablet.  

I caught a shuttle bus (the company was called Twisto which I think is a really neat name) to Caen. I was dropped off at the city centre and made my way to my hotel. This room was lovely and comfortable and almost a wee bit luxurious.  

I was really tired but needed to find some dinner first. I walked to the local supermarket which was closed. It seems like a lot of places are closed on Sunday around here. However, there was a restaurant close to my hotel that was open. Since the town in located around a harbour I thought that there may be some sea food. I sat outside at the restaurant and enjoyed shrimp with asparagus, salmon with goat's cheese (and an apparent unlimited quantity of bread), and a 1604 beer. It was a delicious meal.  

I was in bed and asleep early.  

Monday: I picked up a rental car for the week! It is great to be driving again after 5 weeks. I feel a bit of freedom. And I feel like there is way less planning to do. I don't have to spend time checking out public tansit services, making connections, being limited about where and how far I can do. AND I don't have to carry my pack very far. I will totally take advantage of the car this week!  

My first stop was Courseulles-sur-Mer in order to visit the Juno Beach Centre. The Juno Beach Centre opened in 2003. Back then, Canadian schools were asked to raise funds to help build the centre. I was put in charge of organizing the fund collecting. St. Joseph School raised $500. That was the amount that would allow us to have a plaque on a monument at the centre. Our school also received a wooden replica "brick". Of course, I wanted to see this plaque in person.  

More importantly, I wanted to visit Juno Beach. I truly feel that it is so important to remember, reflect, show respect, and learn and relearn to appreciate the sacrifices of others. I have always found the concept of freedom a difficult one to come to terms with. Thankfully, I have never had to experience the opposite of freedom. But that lack of experience makes me wonder if I truly understand and truly appreciate freedom. I am not too sure that those who have always lived so comfortablely and without the threat of war are really able to appreciate freedom.  

The Juno Beach Centre is fantastic. It is comprehensive and beautiful. As you enter the first part of the centre, you are greeted by a film that surrounds you on three walls. This was a brief introduction to the connection between Canadians and Juno Beach. From there, I entered into a room that was dedicated to educating people about Canada in general, and more specifically the state of Canada during the years leading up to World War II.  

Following through a corridor, there were a number of old fashioned radios set up that were "broadcasting" speeches from the different leaders of the time as they addressed their respective nations about entering war. This was a really effective part of the museum. All of the broadcasts were original recordings so at the end of the corridor the speeches were printed up for everyone to read in a variety of languages. Speeches included Hilter, George V, William Lyon MacKenzie King, Charles de Gaulle, and Winston Churchill.  

The next section focused on the army, navy, and air force. Before World War II, these were relatively small and completely unprepared in any way for a full scale war. The information provided demonstrated how Canada prepared for war, how many people volunteered to fight, and how, by the end of the war, Canada's army, navy, and air force had completely changed. Many of the statistics kept repeating things like, "by the end of the war, Canada had the fourth largest involvement in ship building..." Whatever the statistic was, we were always the fourth largest. There was so much information to read. And I read it all. Like I said, it is a very comprehensive museum. I needed to take a break for lunch. Luckily, I was able to leave and return and complete my visit.  

When I returned, I picked up where I left off. The next part of the centre focused on the major theatres of war that Canada participated in. For instance, the Italian theatre, Normandy (including the Dieppe landing and D-Day), The Netherlands, the build up to the end of the War, and victory. Especially touching were the videos of veterans that were telling of some of their experiences in the different parts of WWII. It is always enlightening to hear, first hand, from those who have lived through these horrible experiences.  

The centre did a wonderful job including the role of women, Canadian contributions on the homefront, as well as the role of First Nations during World War II.  

The next small room had a projection on the ceiling that slowly scrolled through the list of those Canadians that had lost their lives during WWII.  

A short film called "They Walk With You" is shown every 20 minutes or so in the theatre. This is a very moving film. First, we are shown battle film from WWII and the Juno Beach landings. It is graphic. It is loud. It is heartbreaking. Also of interest were the scence of Caen, where I was staying, after the city had been decimated by bombs. The city was rubble and totally unrecognizable. The last to sections of the film were the most movie though. Still photos of soliders were shown, posed as if these photos had been taken as a group of friends would take a picture. Slowly, some of the soldiers in the photos faded away. Generally, about half of the men disappeared from each picture. The last scence showed a Canadian family visiting Juno Beach in the present day. The family discusses why they are visiting and what had occurred on the beach 70 years ago. The boy askes he parents how long do they have to walk on the beach and the dad answers that he guesses it depends on how much appreciation he wants to show. As the family is having this conversation, faded images of soldiers begin to follow them along the beach. They Walk With You.  

The last room in the centre was interesting to me as a Canadian, in that there were quotes from different Canadians from all walks of life about being Canadian. It was interesting to read how different people from different nations had immigrated to Canada and their feelings about Canada and being a Canadian. Also, in this part of the centre were different items that anyone may thing of as being typically Canadian: the canoe, curling rock, hockey, out health care system, our natural resources, our environment (no Tim Hortons but that is just me - totally have been missing my Tim's coffee!)  

Outside of the centre, there are path ways that lead you to the beach. On the way, there are bunkers from the war that you can walk down and look in to. The Canadian flag flies proudly beside the French flag. A narrow passage leads you to the beach.   In places where there is lots of history, I have had the experience of feeling the presences of others. Walking down the streets of The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, climing the spiral staircases of a medieval castle, staying in a farmhouse that is a few hundred years old, you can feel the history. I recognize that people have been here before. Hands were used to place each stone that build the castle or laid the cobbled road. Many have walked the path before me. After seeing the film and then stepping out on to Juno Beach, I could definitely feel the presence of those who came before.  

In complete contrast to the footage that I had just seen of the D-Day landings and have seen in the past, the beach was empty but for some seabirds, beautiful, as is often the case where land meets sea, and smelled wonderfully of salt sea air. The sky was cloudy with some ominous looking clouds that addes to the dramatic feel of the place. But above all else it was peaceful. And, in the end, I guess that is truly what these soldiers that were walking with me along this beautiful beach had faught for.  

Thank you