IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON D DAY 80 COMMEMORATIONS

The Spirit of Normandy Trust recently underwent a planning visit to Normandy ready for the 80th Anniversary events.

In the spirit of openness and to assist those travelling independently, please see below some of the details passed to us by the Préfet of Calvados, appreciate things may change but it will be wise to have an alternate plan for June 6th.

There will be a restricted access zone in place for June 6th (and potentially a restricted area around Bayeux on June 5th PM). Anyone wishing to enter and drive around in this area will need to have vehicle passes and these will be very difficult to get. SONT have been told that we need to reduce our vehicle footprint down to 3 vehicles and advised that only those on our official list will be permitted in those vehicles.

Access to the British Normandy Memorial will also be very heavily restricted, mention of 500 guests total for the main ceremony have been mooted, please note that this is not the decision of the BNM but other agencies involved with planning. While groups like SONT will have access we will be unable to help other solo travelers with getting access to this event.

Given this it may be prudent to have not just a plan B, but also a Plan C and D including attending areas outside the restricted zone for the 6th June.

Those travelers wishing to attend a ceremony with the veterans are more than welcome to attend the SONT services at Coleville Montgomery at 1030 on the 5th June and Ranville Cemetery at 0930 on the 7th June.

As far as we are aware, there are little or no restrictions for the 4th, 5th (apart from Bayeux) and 7th and 8th June – but as always we will keep everyone up to date as and when we get information.

If you have any questions please email mark.sont1944@outlook.com