It does make sense, there are so many scenes to see or to rediscover.

Have alook at those air pictures here! (select the departement and the villages you want )

La Normandie Vue du ciel

__________________

They don't seem to have got around to 'my' bit - Falaise, Chambois, Trun, Vimoutiers.....

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

not yet, the Eure (Evreux, Vernon, les Andelys is ready, the Seine maritime Rouen not completely and the Onre is being done) , I believe there is one picture in the paper every week so about 52 new pictures every year. wessex went to the Eure area and shoud like those.

__________________

He does!
Cheers chum.
I'll show the children in the morning. They'll love it too.
Merci beaucoup.

__________________

My bit too....

__________________
Regards
John

"It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see" - Winston Churchill

As you can notice, the Orne section has only a few pics. I will try to find to find another local paper with other modern air pictures. But isn't there a great data base anyway? We often use these as a local background for our artwork .

__________________

I was looking for 2007 pictures from Vimoutiers, but found some great 1944 ones instead:



http://www.normandiememoire.com/photos_civil/index.htm

__________________

Those pics are most interesting, Skipper - it is sad to see so many of these old Normandy towns so badly damaged by bombing. The centre of Vimoutiers today is rather 'soul-less' and uninspiring - unlike many of the older buildings on the outskirts.

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Martin,

Thanks for all the superb photos i am just starting to concentrate most of my Normandy trips around the Falaise pocket area but every time i have been it has been either raining cloudy or misty so to see some photos in bright conditions with good visibility is great, i have somewhere some info by the DF Battlegroup that opened the pocket so the Germans could withdraw i'l dig it out and post it,

Paul

Just one more shot to prove that the sun can shine in Normandy...I was already starting to regret choosing that jacket when I set out early in the morning.....




Do please post any info re the fighting in this area !

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

And here's one on a dull (August) day.

I just hope the weather is better when i'm there next week.

Attached Images

Moissy%20Ford.JPG (118.9 KB, 20 views)

__________________
Regards
John

"It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see" - Winston Churchill

Martin,

I think I put a question to you somewhere else, but saw no answer. So here we go:

Did you dare driving over the Dives at Moissy Ford? (I did not!)

Best regards / Mats

__________________
Mats R

Hello Mats - I think your original question came in while I was over there !

The answer is - no ...but then, the track doesn't really go anywhere much. And when I was there in September, I approached Moissy the best way...on foot, which always gives me a much fuller appreciation for a battlefield.

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Hello Martin!

I managed to find the road on the other side of the Dives. Had planned to pass the ford with the car, but did not dare! So instead I drove quite the other direction. A very small country-road. But afterwards it struck me that that must have been one of the roads that the germans took on there way to Moissy. Next year I will drive the same way again and make some stops in order to see if I cannot find one or two souvenirs. I am not a collector, but it would be nice to have something as a memory of that area.

Mats

__________________
Mats R

You just need a little patience, Mats...if you look at the edges of ploughed fields, or under hedges, you should be able to find one or two vestiges......

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Hi Mats, which road did you take, was it through Tournai sur Dives or Chambois ?

__________________
Regards

Neil

Good morning neil!

I shalll try to write down how I drove that day. Looking at your signature "Pegasus", perhaps I should start in Benouville? :-)

First I drove from Trun via St. Lambert to Moissy Ford. (A nice place to have your breakfast). Then I went to Chambois, turned to direction Argentan only a short bit, when I found a small road on the other side of the Dives (direction St. Lambert). That road goes to Moissy, and it was from there I did not dare passing the river! But something like 50-100 meters before you reach the Dives, there is a very small road going to the left. I would say that it is a road which only the farmers use (plus me of course!) No signs or anything that tells you where you are heading, but it was in direction St Aubry I think.

Unfortunately, I have no good map to help me giving you better information, but on the bad map that I have, I can see that it was here that the germans came from both Argentan and Tornai when the wanted to reach the bridge in St. Lambert and the Moissy Ford. This must have been the main area where the Air Force had there "hunting".

I will see if I can find any better map on Internet. If you have any other questions - you are wellcome with them!

Best regards
Mats

__________________
Mats R

Mats, one of the most helpful maps for the area is IGN 'Carte de Promenade' # 18 Caen/Alencon. This is available from most newsagents and tourist information centres in the region.

When you drove along the track from Chambois/Moissy, you would have passed within about 2 metres of where I found many of the items in the 'Relics From Moissy Ford' thread.......

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Thanks Martin - will try to order it today! Cannot wait until I get down there!

If anyone want to read about the closing of the gap, here is a good article from The HistoryNet:

TheHistoryNet | World War II | World War II: Closing the Falaise Pocket

Regards / Mats

__________________
Mats R

Only 2 more days to my next trip to Normandy, especially Moissy.

Most of the items that i have found on prevoius trips to the moissy area were found on the edges of the pathway leading down to the ford, items can even be found on the pathway itself, i found bullet heads and parts of MG belts here.

A photograph of the items i found can be seen in the same thread that Martin mentions 'Relics From Moissy Ford'.

__________________
Regards
John

"It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see" - Winston Churchill

Martin and Jagdpanther44!

I think that you use a metal-detector on your trips. Am I right?

Mats

__________________
Mats R

Yes Mats i have used a metal detector, but it is not a necessity.

Mats, is this the country road you went along?

Attached Images

Path.JPG (80.3 KB, 9 views)

__________________
Regards
John

"It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see" - Winston Churchill