Hi, I have just come across this forum and noted that you had talked about the ford at Moissy and the Vimoutiers Tiger Tank. I was at both sites last week and took some pictures. The ford has not changed, but I include some pics of the Tiger Tank.
First of all, welcome to the forum, Thomas6449 and thanks for sharing your photographs. Great to see the Vimoutiers Tiger making another appearance on the forum, I've spent many an hour climbing all over the thing, what a beast... Please post more photos of your Normandy trip.
Hello again, Here are some more pics. The knocked out Panther is shown to give you the picture of the house that is in the background today. the cement structure is a Tobruk bunker on the western edge of Carpiquet Airport (near the flying club). The 50mm anti-tank gun is from a bunker overlooking Juno beach. The emplacement faces east-west along the beach and is heavily protected on the seaward side.
We went to the Abbeye d'Ardenne to see where 22 Canadian soldiers were murdered by members of the 12th SS Hitler Youth Division. I included the old pic from 1947 showing the damage the Abbeye sustained.
Here are some pics of the vehicles at the Mont Ormel Polish Memorial overlooking the Falaise-Chamois gap.
Here is some misc pics. One is of a german 150cm shell at the Bretteville war memorial, Another is St Lambert Sur Dives, where David Currie won his VC, and just up the road from the Moissy Ford, and the last is of the grave in the Beny sur Mer cemetery of The Rev. Walter Brown. He was the only Allied chaplain murdered in WW 2. He was murdered along with his driver by advance units of the 12th SS Hitler Youth Division near Galmanche. A Canadian Lt. was wounded but feigned death and escaped back to Canadian lines. Rev. Brown's body was not found until early July in a ditch along with his portable communion kit.
Hi Thomas, nice pictures the abbeye-Ardenne is on my list of places to see in Normandy, I have been to the chataeu Adure (not sure the spelling of the chataeu is wright I will check later) where around 50 Canadans where executed by the SS, if you tell the hotel you are intersted in staying they will let you explore the grounds There is a lot of shrapnel and bullet damage on monument at the rear of the chateau there where fresh flowers on the spot where the majority where shot (rear of the orched) nice to see they are not forgoten
I suggest taking some pics of the Abbeye d'Ardenne taken during the war, and then compare the very quiet beautiful place it is today. Quite a contrast. We did two days with Battlebus Tours on their Canadian Battlefields and Juno beach tours. They really know their stuff and have lots of info and pics of the places they show you. Check out Battlebus - Tours of the D-Day beaches and battlefields of Normandy . They seem to be really busy though!
Walking the battlefield with 'Jagdpanther44' recently, I told him how I reckoned I had accidentally lost or thrown away my very first 'relic from Moissy ford' But hunting around the attic back at home last week - I unearthed it for the first time in years ! When I first visited Moissy 11 years ago, the old man who then lived in the little cottage next to the Ford was working in his garden. He threw an object aside from under a bush - and on hearing my exclamation, gave it to me, obviously amused that I was interested in a piece of old tin. It was a readily-recognizable fragment of a German rifle-cleaning kit..... ...shown here next to an unissued one. The brass hinges still work. Yes, it's an old beaten-up piece of junk, but it was found just five paces from Moissy Ford. It was THERE...........
I remember our conversation well Martin. I also remember setting my eyes to 'scan mode' after you had pointed out the spot where you found the cleaning kit case...to no avail...
still a nice find anyway .. what do you fellows do with them clean them up or leave them the war they are for the collection ?? best krieg
If 'bits' are made from non-ferrous metals I clean them up. But mostly they are made of ferrous material and are so badly rusted by now that vigorous cleaning, wire-brushing etc would simply leave you with a handful of red dust.... So I usually just clean them gently with a light brush and maybe some wire-wool, and then treat with a penetrating oil such as 'WD-40' which inhibits further corrosion.
warm soap water and a tooth brush are the finest for small and fragile ferous items. I hesitate to use wire-wool because of the scratches and the fact that they can remove paint and text (if left)
Hi guys, I use stuff called deox c its made in England and avalible via post from bilt hamber laboratories in Essex, if you want there phone number pm me you just mix it with warm water and drop in your ferrous metal treasures, follow the instructions and it disolves the oxidisation, its also good on none ferrous metals
thanks for the tip Pegasus. I will meet a specialist this week, he is a real magician: give him a piece of torn and twisted iron , he'll get it fixed . Articulations are saved with intense heating, they burn the rust and the earth but save the metal. It's incredible how he seperates two pieces, that were melted together by fire and rust ,look almost like they were made yesterday.
Thanks for the tip, Pegasus ! I've checked out their website which looks interesting, & I've gone ahead and ordered some. I look forward to giving it a try.....