Vimy 100 Trip: Day Six

We put our uniforms on and left Rouen for Bernières-sur-Mer, Courseulles-sur-Mer, and Bény-sur-Mer on the northern coast of Normandy. We visited the Canadian D-Day Memorial at Canada House, various monuments along the beach, the Centre Juno Beach / Juno Beach Centre, and the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery before carrying on to Paris.

Tomorrow, we end our trip with a relaxing day of shopping and touring various attractions in Paris. The cadets and staff had a great trip, but we’re all exhausted and looking forward to finally coming home and telling our stories.

Training Night Tonight (11-Oct)

Tonight will be a relaxed night of Range, Sports and potentially a Video from the recent BBC documentary “Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes”

Normal Parade Night timings in effect

All Cadets: Civilian Sports attire

 

A reminder to cadets and parents: please ensure there is an Officer on-site before leaving your cadet at the Squadron. Our cadets need to be supervised while at cadet trg and inside the school. The Duty Officer is at the squadron by 615pm – but must open all rooms/lights etc and cadets should not arrive prior to 620pm.

Vimy 100 Trip: Day Five (A Day at The Beach)

We started later today and drove north to Dieppe, the site of the 1942/8/19 Operation Jubilee Raid. The day was left largely unstructured in order to recharge after four days of packed schedule.

We began by walking the beach at low tide, continued on to visit the Dieppe Canadian Memorial and a few other regimental monuments, have lunch at a local cafe, and do some shopping. We visited the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery on our way out of town, and finished the day with pizza Rouen-style at Le Marégraphe near our hotel.

Tomorrow, we leave Rouen to explore the Centre Juno Beach / Juno Beach Centre and finish the day in Paris, so look for more updates then.

Moments:

OCdt Couroux ordering beef tongue for lunch and •really• enjoyed it. The portion was a bit large and he wasn’t able to finish it, which led to a semi-awkward exclamation of “Come over here and eat my tongue!” when his cadet indicated that he was still hungry.

Apparently the GPS considers closed roads and small footpaths to be valid routes for a large passenger van. Each time this sort of routing occurs, the laughter from the second van intensifies. I can’t be absolutely sure there’s a correlation there, but I’m beginning to suspect.

Vimy 100 Trip: Day Four

After getting the vans and picking up the cadets and remaining staff at the hotel, we drove to Wizernes to visit La Coupole, learning about the occupation of France by Nazi Germany and about the V1 and V2 weapons projects.
 
From La Coupole, we moved on to the key destination of our trip, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, where we spent the rest of the day. Between the sheer joy on the faces of our Canadian guides (pictured are Kate Harder, Alexandra McKinnon, and August Sobers) when we delivered their Kraft Dinner care package, the cadets’ fascination with the tunnels and trenches tour, and the glory of sunset on the monument itself, we shared an amazing experience today.
 
Today, the high-speed pace of the trip winds down dramatically as we spend the day in Dieppe, visit the memorial on the beach and explore the town. More to come then.

Vimy 100 Trip: Day Three

We began the day by catching the Thameslink train from Blackfriars to St. Pancras station. After making a quick stop at the Platform 9 3/4 Shop at King’s Cross, we rode the high speed rail most of the way to Dover. There was some track work, so we had to get a bus for the last leg of the journey.

The afternoon was spent at Dover Castle where we immersed ourselves in the WWII history of the Secret Wartime Tunnels before looking further back to the reign of the Plantagenet Kings of England. The mediaeval history •may• not have exceeded the simple fun of fun of castle exploration for the cadets, but I’m happy with the result either way.

To close the day, we crossed the English Channel to Calais, France. Tomorrow, we’re heading to La Coupole, and the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, with a •possible• stop at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. More pictures and updates to come.

Funny Moments:

Between CV Lett accidentally stepping on OCdt Couroux’s toe and CV Ross-Gowans inadvertently tripping him, he was certain that the ladies were trying to kill him at one point. CV Lett’s final comment of “We’ll finish you off!” may not have helped.

Despite my driving the van that carried all of the cadets’ luggage, the fact that I did not join them in their arduous hike up the hill to the castle earned me some flak. This evapourated when I offered to let them haul their luggage down to the ferry themselves.

Vimy 100 Trip: Day Two

It was a long day of walking for the cadets and staff today. We began with a visit to the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, followed by the Canada Memorial, Buckingham Palace, Canada House, Trafalgar Square, the Imperial War Museum, the Tower of London, and, after dinner, a quick walk around St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Tomorrow, we spend the day at Dover Castle before crossing the English Channel to Calais and beginning the French portion of the trip.

Vimy 100 Trip: Day One

Despite aircraft maintenance issues delaying our arrival by two hours, we had a productive day in London. We visited Westminster Abbey, saw the Battle of Britain Monument, the Royal Air Force Memorial and had a memorable and fun training night with 291 Westminster & Chelsea Cadets for the evening.

Tomorrow, we’re off to another full day in London. More pictures and updates will ensue.

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Vimy Cadets!

  1. Tonight: Presuming that you’ll have your uniform already packed, dress for cadets on the Vimy Trip will be black pants, white shirt, and black tie. Remember those first few weeks when you joined and you’ll do just fine.
  2. Passports: Just to make sure that I have the final list for check-in, bring your passports with you either on Monday or Wednesday so that I can verify them against the information I have.

Capt Lemoine

DCO 809 Newark Squadron