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Exercise Red Crown - Normandy Battlefield Tour 2011 |
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Have you
ever heard of D-Day? The Battle of Normandy? |
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Come and
see where it happened - Experience the story of 1944 -
Let history come alive! |
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Do your
part in remembering the Battle of Normandy - Honour the
sacrifice made by so many for YOU |
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Following the success
of battlefield tours to Normandy in 2007, 2008, 2009 and
2010 by cadets of No.3 Welsh Wing, we are pleased to be
able to offer another Normandy tour in the Wing’s 70th
Anniversary year. Exercise ‘Red Crown 2011’ will take
place 13-21 August 2011. The primary aim of the
expedition is to give the cadets a greater appreciation
of the sacrifices made by our communities during the
liberation of Europe 1944-45 |
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will have seven full days in France, touring the
D-Day landing beaches and the beautiful
countryside inland. We will visit places that
are synonymous with history, such as Pegasus
Bridge, Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah
Beaches, the ‘Mulberry’ Harbour at Arromanches,
Point du Hoc, the Merville Battery, Ste
Mère-Église, Villers-Bocage, Bayeux, Caen and
Falaise. We will walk the beaches and
battlefields, hearing the story of the Normandy
Campaign as presented by our guide. Even sixty
years on, it is still possible to find the signs
of battle – German trenches, bunkers and
emplacements, tanks and armoured vehicles,
memorials, bullet-holes, shattered buildings and
even the veterans themselves, who are often
willing to tell their own personal story. The
group will also undertake ceremonial duties
while in Normandy; parading (including one in
uniform), laying wreaths and playing the ‘Last
Post’ at cemeteries and memorials in memory of
those who made the supreme sacrifice. |
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For those
cadets who have been before (and there quite a
few who want to come again for a second or third
time!), we will be adding quite a few new items
to the itinerary, in line with the feedback
received from cadets following the last two
Normandy camps. For example, we will spend one
of the days walking and studying one battle in
very close detail, to give the cadets a very
detailed picture of what it was like to take
part in a battle, deep in the hedgerows and
orchards of the Norman countryside. |
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But it won’t be all ‘War, War, War!’ There will
also be plenty of time for the group to relax
and immerse themselves in a foreign culture,
language, and (if they’re brave) the cuisine.
There will be plenty of chances for shopping in
Bayeux, Caen and Falaise and those cities hold
plenty of cultural delights (yes, some teenagers
do enjoy such things), such as the Bayeux
Tapestry, the tomb of William the Conqueror and
Falaise Castle. If the weather is good to us we
will also spend some time on the beach, soaking
up the sun for once, rather than history and
culture. We will also end the week with a
traditional three-course Norman meal (though
pizza is available for the faint-hearted). |
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In the battlefield expeditions run so far, we
have hosted cadets from 293, 334, 621, 948,
1092, 1284, 1358, 1429, 1574, 2318, 2420
and 2475 Squadrons, as well as cadets from Essex
and Dorset & Wilts Wings and from Dyfed &
Glamorgan ACF. |
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Accommodation
will be tented (utilising military 12x12 foot
tents and folding camp beds) and the camp site
is the superb, five-star Château de Martragny,
which is just to the east of Bayeux and is right
in the heart of the area to be explored. The
Château de Martragny has excellent facilities,
including swimming pool, restaurant and internet
café. The Château also holds special interest
for us, as it was the HQ and Officers’ Mess of
an RAF tactical airfield throughout the Normandy
Campaign.
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The expedition will cost £300 per person (which compares
favourably to other overseas ATC camps). This price is
all-inclusive. A completed application form, plus
Consent Form ACF13 and a deposit of £50 will need to be
received at 1574 (Pembroke) Squadron by 28 February 2011
– your child’s own squadron will obviously require it to
be handed in before that date, so that they have time to
pass it on to us. Please make cheques payable
to ‘1574 (Pembroke) Squadron Welfare Account’. The
final balance of £250 will be required by 31 May 2011,
along with your child’s passport number, if you haven’t
already given it to us by then. |
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Finally, we will require a European Health Insurance
Card (EHIC) number for every cadet before we depart for
France. If you don’t already have one, you can obtain
EHIC application forms from your local Post Office,
along with passport application forms. We strongly
recommend that anyone who wishes to take part in
Expedition ‘Red Crown’ who does not already have a
passport or EHIC card, should apply for them
immediately. Alternatively, you can apply for them
online
»here |
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We
sincerely hope that we can accommodate everyone who
wishes to come on this expedition. We can absolutely
guarantee that it will be fun as well as informative!
Every cadet who attended the last four expeditions told
us that they thoroughly enjoyed it and many even told us
that it was the best camp they’d ever been on. The
story and photo-album of the 2010 Normandy Camp can be
found
here |
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An information letter for parents and Squadron poster
are available in the
members area
(Activities Extra). |
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If you are interested in attending
this Wing Expedition, please ask your Squadron
Commanders for more information and an application form |
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Overview and pictures kindly supplied by: Flt Lt Mark
Davies OC |
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Red Crown 2012 __________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Red Crown 2011 __________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Operation Red Crown 2011 |
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here |
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Operation Red Crown Report 2011 |
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» |
here |
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Red Crown 2010 __________________________________________________________________________________ |
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3 Welsh Wing Prepares to Invade
Normandy |
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» |
here |
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3 Welsh Wing
Exercise Red Crown |
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» |
here |
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