Kangaroo AWD site near Bayeux, France

[Mark W. Tonner]

So was I initially correct Hanno, the AWD was in the Ryes vicinity . . .

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thanks go to Mark and Tony who did all the legwork, gradually narrowing down the area where to look. When Bill and I dove into yesterday night, initially the coordinates in the diary did not seem to line up. Bill bought an electronic copy of the 1944 invasion map via the internet, and we started mapping the known info both electronically and on paper. Thus we confirmed the info which was there.
Next month I will be visiting Normandy and will do the necessary ground work and try to locate locals who might be able to provide eyewitness accounts.

To be continued!

Hanno

[Alex van de Wetering]

So Alex, are you ready to go hunting for this field in France next month?!?

Hanno....you bring the Ford...I'll grab the camera and some pictures of Priests and Kangaroos

[Alex van de Wetering]

I realised I have been very close to "Kangaroo field" a few years ago, when I was trying to find traces of "B8 Sommervieu", one of the many Advanced Landing grounds. The site (Sommervieu) can still be recognized from the Arromanches to Bayeux road as a large flat area.

I am surprised the airfield isn't shown on the "trace" Tony posted, as it is right in the middle of the routes drawn on the trace (it is shown on the pic Mark posted in post 12 of this thread). Sommervieu was active from 22 June, and allthough I am not sure when it was abandoned, I presume it was still active when the Priests were converted in a field nearby.

Attached is a pic of Sommervieu (Kangaroo field marked in orange)
Picture source: http://www.forgottenairfields.com/fr...b-8-s1111.html

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

I tried to find aerial photographs of the area.

Attached is a picture from the NCAP site. The pictures they have of the surrundings of Bayeux are all taken in April and May 1944), so no vehicles or airfields, but it does show what the "old equipment park" and "new equipment park" looked like just before D-day.

source: ncap.org.uk/

[Alex van de Wetering]

The french IGN website has a bunch of aerial photographs taken just after the war. The earliest picture they have of the fields in question, were taken in 1947.

Sommervieu airfield, although abandoned and returned to the former owners, can still be recognized (lower part of first and second picture)
"old equipment park" and "new equipment park" have been cleaned of any remaining kit so it seems...and basically both fields look like they did in May 1944.

source: http://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/accueil

[Alex van de Wetering]

The best detail pictures on the IGN website are taken in 1959. They give a good idea of what is presumably Kangaroo field.

As quoted on page on of this thread "in two fields near Bayeux with the camp sited in the protection of a neighbouring orchard".....

What is described as "old equipment park" could easily be called, "two fields" with the hedgerows in the middle. The Orchard is also obvious......apple trees I presume for making "Calvados".



The most interesting pics would obviously be those taken in August 1944 as they will probably show vehicles and stores everywhere. I hope the "Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies" in Ontario might have these, but even though they have thousands of pictures available online...I can't seem to find a search option(?). I will try to contact them tomorrow, to ask if they could at least tell me which "boxes" I should investigate. Does anyone have experience with searching for photograps in the LMH archive?

http://lmharchive.ca/france/calvados/

Alex