February 06, 2024

The D day Series. Airborne heroics,John Steele's harrowing experience above St Mere Eglise"

February 06, 2024/ St Mere Eglise/ John Bird

Combine a visit to the church of St Mere Eglise with a visit to the amazing Airborne Museum next door and you will have an enjoyable day out. Anyone who goes past this church without knowing the story of John Steele will think a parachutist snagged on a church tower is very peculiar. It commemorates his terrible mishap when he was parachuting into the German held Cherbourg peninsula on D Day. Steele was meant to land just outside St Mere Eglise but his pilot was inexperienced and visibility was difficult due to extensive cloud cover. Steele was dropped right above the village and unfortunately, he was to snag his parachute on a pinnacle of the church.

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We are John and Loretta - two teachers who have spent a lifetime visiting historical places in the UK and abroad on holidays, school trips and any time we’ve had spare.

Seeing the Past was created to bring to life the stories behind historic buildings and events.

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Skara Brae: Discovering Scotland’s Remarkable 4,500-Year-Old Neolithic village.

Skara Brae in Orkney, is an absolutely amazing Neolithic settlement and has been on our “bucket list for years. Often described as the ‘Scottish Pompeii’, this remarkable prehistoric village dates back around 5,000 years and is older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. Hiddenbeneath the sand forthousands of years, it was uncovered after a violent storm in 1850, revealingremarkably well-preservedstone houses, passageways, fireplaces, beds and even stone furniture.

Visit Castletown D Day Centre with its amazing artefacts , an actual caisson nearby and the area where the D Day landing craft were loaded.

Tucked away in Isle of Portland in Dorset, the Castleton D Day Centre offers a powerful and immersive window into one of the most significant moments of the Second World War. Far from being a traditional “look but don’t touch” museum, the centre invites visitors to step closer to history — with a remarkable collection of authentic artefacts that can be touched, held, and even sat on, bringing the realities of the D-Day era vividly to life. Added to this are several friendly volunteers dressed in period outfits who have a vast amount of knowledge of those artefacts and are able to answer questions.

A Medieval Masterpiece: The Extraordinary Wall Paintings of the church of St Peter and St Paul , Pickering.

In the Church of St Peter and St Paul is an amazing set of medieval murals that miraculously were preserved for us to see, despite being totally covered with whitewash for 300 years. To see so many paintings all in one church presents a rare opportunity to investigate the medieval mind. As you open the door you will immediately be faced with a huge image of St George slaying a dragon, leading you to discover what else has been painted on both sides of the nave.

A Painted Past: Discovering the Masterpieces Inside St Teilo’s Church including an amazing "Doom Painting".

St Teilo’s Church, now lovingly re-erected within the open-air precinct of St Fagan’s Museum of Welsh Life, is a remarkable testament to Wales’s medieval and 16th century heritage. Originally constructed in the early 16th century, this humble parish church was painstakingly dismantled, transported, and restored to its former glory — not least its dazzling wall paintings, which have been carefully recreated with scholarly precision. These vivid murals, brought back to life through meticulous craftsmanship, offer visitors a rare window into the devotional art and storytelling of the late medieval period. Stepping inside St Teilo’s, you’re transported back half a millennium, immersed in a world where faith, community, and artistic expression converged on plastered walls that still speak with vibrant colour and enduring power.

Understanding Sacrifice: An Educational Experience at Vimy Ridge

Stepping onto the grounds of Vimy Ridge is to step directly into one of the most defining moments in Canadian military history. As we walked through the remarkably preserved trenches, wandering past numerous bomb craters and stood beneath the soaring limestone pillars of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, the story of the 1917 battle came vividly to life. It was here, during the First World War, that the four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together for the first time and achieved a hard-won victory against formidable German defences—a success earned through meticulous planning, innovation, and immense sacrifice. So many craters can only be explained by massive artillery bombardments from both sides and what readily can be described as “Hell on earth”.

Carved in Memory: Discovering the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing

Rising from the quiet countryside of the Somme, the Thiepval Memorial stands as one of the most powerful reminders of the First World War. Built to honour more than 72,000 British and South African soldiers who died in the Battle of the Somme and have no known grave. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial is not just a monument of stone, but a symbol of absence, loss, and remembrance. Its vast arches and engraved names speak for those whose bodies were never recovered, giving them a place in history and in memory.

Walking the Scars of the Somme: A Visit to the Preserved Trenches of Beaumont-Hamel where ninety percent of the Newfoundland Regiment were casualties on day one of the Battle of the Somme.

The Battle of the Somme has become known as one of the bloodiest battles in history with 57, 000 British and Empire soldiers being casualties, some within minutes of “going over the top”. This blog tells the story off what happened and what to look out for when visiting Newfoundland Park, the biggest preserved area of the Somme battlefield. Situated above the rolling fields of northern France, the Newfoundland Memorial Park invites visitors to step into a place of quiet remembrance and lasting meaning. It was here that the Battle of the Somme began on July 1st, 1916, marking a defining and tragic moment in history. Walking the preserved trenches and grounds offers a powerful opportunity to reflect on courage, sacrifice, and the enduring impact of those who served. If you can organise a trip in the summer months, a member of the “Student Guide Program”, from Canada will take you to the key features and enrich your tour.

Buckler's Hard: Where some of Nelson's navy was built and a chance to explore a preserved Georgian village.

Buckler’s Hard has three historical phases; a proposed sugar town that failed, a shipbuilding yard initially providing ships for the Royal navy and a base for various things linked to World War Two but especially D Day. Walking from the car park you suddenly come across this beautiful, unmodernised, Georgian street. One side of the road contains an amazing museum of all the activities that have taken place over the last 300 years. It includes some intricate models of sailing ship building here, loads of artefacts and full size waxwork models illustrating life in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

WW1 series. Where the Great War shook the Earth; the story of the Lochnagar Crater.

Some historians of World War One have stated that any tour of the Battle of the Somme area should start with the Lochnagar Crater. It is a massive crater one hundred metres (328 feet) in diameter and 30 metres (98 feet) deep. Why on earth was it made or rather, how on earth was it made? The Lochnagar Crater was created by the British, when two batches of explosive, 16 metres deep and 20 metres apart, went up at 7.28 am on July 1st. It was hoped that loads of the enemy near La Boiselle, would be killed and others would be stunned and not know what was going on. This, along with another eighteen mines, was the signal for men to “go over the top”, ie get out of their trench, make their way through the already cut barbed wire protection and then run at the enemy.

Cleeve Abbey, one of the best preserved medieval abbeys in England with an excellent display of medieval tiles.

Cleeve Abbey in Somerset is one of the best preserved monasteries in England. It has an amazing collection of medieval tiles and several of its buildings have impressive roofs, keeping the interiors dry. Walking around this tranquil abbey on a summer’s day gives an understanding as to the Cistercian monks choice of location. Beginning with the superb gatehouse, there are lots of rooms to explore especially the refectory where the monks ate and the dormitory where they slept. The questions what function did monasteries have in the medieval world and why were they closed are answered as well a brief introduction to medieval religious beliefs.

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Seeing the past

Seeing The Past

Seeing the past

The D day Series. Airborne heroics,John Steele's harrowing experience above St Mere Eglise"

Seeing the past

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