Bayeux
Bayeux Museum and Cemetery
Bayeux is served by a
rather erratic train and far better bus service from Caen. Although separate
facilities, the museum and cemetery are only a few hundred yards apart, on the
southern edge of Bayeux. It is rather nice that the Museum adjoins a school;
the sound of children’s happy voices at play permeates the museum and
emphasises some of what ‘IT’ was all about; the freedom to grow up without
fear….
Bayeux Museum is a superb
collection of everything from tanks to telegrams; and well worth several hours
of your time. Here’s a few photos of the outside:
A short walk from the
museum, the Cemetery is a (now) peaceful but hugely sad place; nearly 4000
graves, primarily of British servicemen, and in common with every other
cemetery in the region, immaculately maintained. Opposite the cemetery
stands a formal stone structure, containing the names of those who are still
missing in action, for whom no remains were ever found…. And there are a lot of
names. The top of this structure has a large carved Latin inscription which
translates roughly as ‘we who were once conquered by you return as liberators’
(or words to that effect)….. an element of dark humour there, but of great
fraternity; in that the British and the French are to some extent one gene pool
only separated by language and a body of water……..While in Bayeux you might
also wish to see the Tapestry which details the 1066 Invasion.
Panning videos of the
cemetery here : 180 degree and 270 degree perspectives
The videos are in the AVI
format, which should be playable by most computers. If your internet connection
is a bit slow or you find the playback jerky, you might find it easier to right
click on the link, select “save as” and download the file to your computer;
then play it directly. There is no sound on the video clips.
Please bear in mind that
in the video it is only possible to really see a small part of the cemetery; I
would estimate that less than a quarter can be seen from the viewpoint at the
gate, you really have to be there and walk around it to appreciate just how
very large it is……. The building to the left in the picture above contains a
register of the graves, so that if you have the name of a relative or friend
buried here it should be possible to find their last resting place quite
easily.
Some photographs of Royal
Engineers’ graves from Bayeux Cemetery appear here
Everyone still in precise ranks, and most of them
20 years old forever……….
There are several other statues and plaques
scattered around the city; this
site gives a good overview
In common with other
military cemeteries in France, this one is here in perpetuity, thanks to the
French Government and the gratitude of the French people.