Outwood Academy have just returned from a successful tour to the D Day Landing Beaches where the students visited Pegasus Bridge, Arromanches Beach, the 360 Degree Cinema, the guns at Longueville & the American Cemetery that featured in ‘Saving Private Ryan’.
Students learnt about the daring mission to capture Pegasus Bridge by Major Howard & his team of crack commandoes who landed secretly in Horsa gliders to completely surprise the enemy & capture the bridge after a 10 minute gun battle.
In the late winter sunshine overlooking Omaha Beach it was difficult to imagine how this was the scene where many young Americans lost their lives as they fought bravely to capture the beachhead – ‘they gave their tomorrows so that we may have our todays’. The students were intrigued by the tales of heroism on 6th June 1944.
The final day was spent at the Bayeux Tapestry where students viewed the tapestry before viewing a film explaining the events of 1066. It really hit home how Normandy has played such an important part of the history of our country from William the Conqueror through to our recent history & the fight against fascism.