This week I had the honour of attending two meetings with Mr Romain Bail, the Mayor of Ouistreham (the port of Caen) and many people he is currently working with to establish a new museum, right on the beach in Ouistreham.
The beautiful little town of Ouistreham Riva-Bella is very often just used by ferry travellers as the place to get on or off their ferry to and from Portsmouth. It does, however have much to offer people wanting to so something before getting on board that ferry.
This museum will add to its offering with an array of information about not just recent Franco-British history, but also the two countries' history going back over the last 1000 years.
Ouistreham was in a sector under British command on June 6th 1944. It was liberated by the Free French Forces fighting alongside British troops. The strong links that event created between the veterans of World War Two grew and strengthened over the years. Every year since commemorations began, there have been events to mark D-Day in Ouistreham.
It was on 6th June 1986 that the first regular ferry crossing between Portsmouth and Caen-Ouistreham took place in the presence of many of those same war veterans. Since then countless travellers have passed from Portsmouth to Caen and vice-versa.
On June 6th 2014, British and French citizens attended the international ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day, along with many dignitaries such as then then US President Obama and the newly elected mayor of Ouistreham M. Romain Bail.
His idea is to create a museum marking the history between France and Britain right on the beach at Ouistreham, where the allies landed on D-Day (Sword beach).
The objectives (taken from the promotional leaflet I was given) are:
* To pay tribute to our liberators
* To ensure remembrance and the transmission of peace in Europe
* To present the history of Franco-British relations
* To illustrate the complexity and highlights of these relations
* To give the visitor and active role using the latest digital technology
To work to understand the future of Franco-British relations with a research unit
The museum will tell future generations the tale of our tow nations and their inter-linked histories from the time of William the Conqueror right up to the present day. It will be the first of its kind in France.
This museum, of course will not come cheaply. The museum will be funded from both public and private sources. The local authority in Normandy is supporting the project.
The project has been presented to their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge along with many authorities in the UK.
The visit this week was part of a fact finding mission with visits to Portsmouth to have talks with those behind the renovations of the D-Day Museum here in Portsmouth, along with a visit to the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard.
They also went to the UK home of the French Ambassador here in London and to the Imperial War Museum in London. All these visits were for advice on how the different museums work among other points of interest.
Anyone wanting to make a donation to this project can make one to the Association of Friends of the Franco-British Interpretation Centre by e-mailing amiscifb@gmail.com
Below are images from the reception at Portsmouth Guildhall with The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Portsmouth, Councillor Frank Jonas and myself. This reception was just before the meeting with Mr Andrew Whitmarsh of the D-Day Museum and Portsmouth City Museum who gave an interesting overview of what the D-Day Museum, was and how it will be. Also giving interesting insights into how the new renovated museum will have changed to meet the demands of 21st Century museum visitors.
