Team CMV travelled to Normandy for the 74th anniversary of the D-Day landings
words John Carroll
One thing is for sure and that is that the military vehicle enthusiasts’ movement has come a very long way from its lowkey beginnings in the 1970s. Then, organisations like the Military Vehicle Conservation Group (MVCG) ran small tours to Normandy to mark anniversaries of D-Day. Now, every year, groups of military vehicle owners make their way to Normandy for the days around June 6, the date of the landings in 1944. This year was no exception even though it is the 74th rather than the 75th anniversary of D-Day. In just a three-day spell of our own, we saw military vehicles with number plates from all over Europe as well as the UK including France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Netherlands.
Consequently, there were hundreds of military vehicles along the roads and at every monument and museum, as well as at especially planned events such as at a big militaria fair in Saint Mere Eglise and commemorative events and carnival-type celebrations in towns marking their liberation from occupation.
A French website lists numerous events all over Normandy but, when the five landing beaches stretch along mor…
