In an extremely moving ceremony held at the Caen Memorial on the 76th anniversary of D-Day, 6th June, the Mayor of Caen, Joël Bruneau, led tributes to civilians killed during the summer of 1944, resistance members shot at the prison of Caen and the valiant soldiers of British and Canadian units who freed the city.
In a ceremony watched all around the world, speeches by the Mayor of Caen and the Prefect for Calvados were followed by the laying of a common wreath by the Prefect-Mayor and by the anthems “O Canada” and “God Save the Queen” and finally by ‘La Marseillaise’.
In the words of the Mayor:
“It was inconceivable for the City of Caen to miss this event of recognition. Therefore, we adapted the organisation to the context we live in so we were able to honour the memory of our Allied countries which liberated Caen in 1944 in a proper way.
Next year, we can all come together to deliver a common message:
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.”
You can re-watch the ceremony here: www.facebook.com/LeMemorialDeCaen/
The British Friends of Normandy look forward to joining together again with all our friends in Caen in June 2021.
Photos courtesy of Joël Bruneau, the Liberté Caen and Ville de Caen.
The British Friends of Normandy were also delighted that Major (retd) RJ Walker was able to place a BFN wreath in the British Garden at the Caen Memorial at the exact time, 4pm on 5th June 2020, when our own Service of Remembrance had been due to take place. We would like to extend our grateful thanks to Roy for carrying out this important task of reflective commemoration on our behalf.
