In April 1997, I went to Normandy and was offered a plot of land, for which no charge would be made, by the Mayor of Ouistreham in Normandy, close to the sea on what had been Sword Beach in 1944 and well situated opposite the entrance to the Brittany Ferries Terminal (Portsmouth-Caen Ferry). I asked him which of the two designs which I had prepared he would prefer, and luckily he chose the less expensive one of the two but this was far less imposing than the other, which I believed to be beyond the possibility of my raising the necessary finance.
I then decided to accept an offer by Lieut Cdr RJ Brend MBE RN (Rtd) to join me in this enterprise and I suggested that we must find someone to join us as Treasurer and we should then form an Executive Committee.
Mr. SD Derges FCA was appointed as Treasurer and the Executive Committee soon got business under way. It was agreed that the plot of land I had been offered would be very satisfactory as would be the design for the memorial I had drawn which had been accepted by the Mayor of Ouistreham. If possible, the emplacement and unveiling of the memorial should be on the 56th anniversary of the D-Day Landings. It was also agreed that a request be made to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to be Patron of the Memorial Fund. Appropriate headed notepaper, a publicity brochure and arrangements for bringing progress of the creation of the memorial to the attention of members of the LST & Landing Craft Association were also agreed and that application to the Charity Commission be made for Registration of the Trust.
A list of ports and towns thought to have been involved with landing vessels during World War II was drawn up for possible invitations to make donations; various organisations were noted for future approach for donations and a separate Bank or Building Society Account was agreed to be opened.
It was decided to seek a grant from the National Lottery Charities Board; a monumental mason was consulted about producing the memorial and consideration was given to acquisition of an old kedge anchor for inclusion in the design. Completed forms for submission to the Charity Commission were agreed, as was the opening of a Bank Account, which it was thought would be the most suitable Account to be opened. It was noted that the National Lottery Charities Board were prevaricating.
Registration by the Charity Commission was approved; final details were agreed with the monumental mason and an estimate of cost would be received soon. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh accepted the position of Patron of the Memorial Fund; an application was submitted to the National Lottery Charities Board for a grant.
The monumental mason seemed unwilling to proceed quickly and an alternative might need to be engaged; preliminary consideration was given to the Unveiling arrangements. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was invited to Unveil the memorial and the Chaplain of the fleet to conduct the Service of Unveiling and Dedication. The application for a grant by the National Lottery Charities Board was not approved.
Due to the intransigence of the monumental mason, an alternative company was engaged. The Royal Marines Corps undertook to transport the memorial from Helston in Cornwall, where it was being constructed, to Poole in Dorset by lorry and onward to Ouistreham by Landing Craft (LCU). The Chaplain of the Fleet consented to conduct the Service of the Unveiling and Dedication. The foundations were built and the paving laid.
Jim Brend and I attended a meeting at Whale Island, Portsmouth to agree with high-ranking RN and RM officers the minutiae of the Unveiling and Dedication Service on 6th June. It was confirmed that HMS Exeter would be alongside and some of her ship's company would form a Royal Guard of Honour; the presence of HM Band of the Royal Marines would be present; the appointment of Colonel Anthony Smith RM to take over the detailed planning of the Ceremony and to liaise with the French was confirmed.
©2007 Maurice Hillebrandt