Craig Allen made the journey to Normandy to honour the heroic actions of his regiment on D-Day and in the seizing of Pegasus Bridge
Ireturned to Normandy this year for the 79th Commemoration of D-Day, concentrating on the events around Pegasus Bridge. As usual, I stayed at Ranville – the first French village to be liberated on the night of June 5, 1944. This area has a special significance for me as a former paratrooper, as it was here that my Regiment fought desperately to protect the flank of the Allied beachhead. Badly scattered during the night drop, they nevertheless succeeded in seizing both bridges over the Orne and assaulting the Merville Battery. Paratroopers and Glider troops of the 6th Airborne Division then took and held the key ground of the Breville Ridge, keeping the German armour at bay.
