Click here for the French version of this site

Cliquez ici pour le version français de ce websit

The America and Gold Beach Museums open on the 1st of June for the 2021 Season

It is possible to visit the museums without a Health Pass but wearing of a mask and social distancing are still required

Normandy Memorial commemorative medal

Medal 8 Euros postage and packing France 3 Euros EU and GB 6 Euros

Medal in presentation case 10 Euros postage and packing France 5 Euros EU and GB 10.5 Euros

Medal on aluminium stand 9.2 Euros postage and packing France 3 Euros EU and GB 6 Euros

For multiple purchases please contact the museum to obtain a cost for postage and packing

Payment by cheque (France) or bank transfer  (France + EU) or Paypal (+1€ for charges).

Cheque payee : Association musée America-Gold Beach

N° SEPA : FR74 2004 1010 1405 3695 4Z03 520

Paypal : america.goldbeach@sfr.fr

The British Normandy Memorial

The official opening of the British Memorial for the fallen in the Normandy campaign at Ver Sur Mer  is on the 6th June 2021 To commemorate this event the museum has created a unique medal. It is a limited edition only 1000 to be made and is 7cm in diameter

The medal will be on sale in the museum shop for 8 euros of which one euro will be donated to the Normandy Memorial Trust to help to maintain  this poignant memorial to the fallen

December 2020

A few weeks ago, the museum acquired from a second-hand dealer in Arromanches an "old wooden sign" with a text recalling the presence of Royal Navy officers in the former hotel AMERICA, a hotel which was then just in front of the town hall of Ver-sur-Mer, in the Place Amiral Byrd. This sign hung in the hotel for a long time, maybe at the entrance on the side of the alley but we do not know when it was removed, perhaps after the hotel closed .

Today on the gable end of the old hotel overlooking the Place Amiral Byrd, there is a "contemporary" sign recalling the presence in June and July 1944 of British officers in this building. The hotel baptized "AMERICA" in the 1930s (in memory of Byrd and his crew who on the night of July 1, 1927 were forced to ditch off the coast at Ver-sur-Mer) was renamed "GOLD INN" in June 1944 by officers of the Royal Navy. I realized that the "contemporary" panel does not tell exactly the same story as the "old panel" ... And this is where I realized that some times and with good intentions, history or facts are not correct and in this specific case, social networks have nothing to do with it ... But the facts are often stubborn and when the day comes, there is always a chance to exhume them and bring them back to light!

The "old panel" can be dated between the end of 1944 and the end of the 1940s. It was painted with an off-white paint that could be found everywhere until the 2000s on lots of shutters, windows and doors throughout our area, including in Crépon where my old shutters and doors were painted with the same paint when I arrived in Crépon 25 years ago. A village "elder" told me that this paint came from a large stock left in 1944 by the Royal Navy, stock quickly recovered by the locals after the departure of the British.

The letters painted artistically enough in red present a text translated into French from an original text in English, several clues shown in it; text written to leave a precise memory with indications and purely military terms such as the acronym "DSO" (Distinguished Service Order), which designates a decoration absolutely unknown to the French. There is also the rank of "Captain" DOLPHIN which is a bad translation of the rank of "Captain" used in the Royal Navy and which by correspondence should be translated as "Ships Captain" (for the reader not used to military ranks, it is the equivalent of a Colonel). So on the panel it is not a question of a "Captain" in the sense of the Army or the RAF , but of a naval officer who has greater responsibilities. The term "104 Beach sub region" is an attempt at a difficult translation designating a large British landing logistics unit whose original English name is "104th Beach Sub Area". This organization brings together (a few days after the initial disembarkation on June 6) the two beach logistics units controlling the two beach sectors of the GOLD BEACH  sector; the 10th Beach Group on "JIG" (Asnelles) and the 9th Beach Group on KING (Ver-sur-Mer). This organization conatins  approximately 5000 men and it works in the unloading of the ships, in the storage of the supplies to feed all the divisions dependent on the 30th British Army until the end of July 1944, as mentioned on the "old panel". (From August 1944, the units of the classic army supply chain will take over, the 104th Beach Sub Area and the Beach Groups attached to it will be dissolved or partially dissolved and the troops dispersed to provide reinforcements towards other units). The various transport ships (troops and vehicles) running aground on our beaches or docking at the unloading platforms of the "Mulbery B" facing Arromanches needed a command located on land to effectively direct the traffic of hundreds of ships and ensure unloading in good order before sending them back to English ports. Only the Royal Navy could professionally ensure such movements.

 On the two sectors of beach GOLD (JIG and KING) was assigned a specialized unit of the Royal Navy called "Royal Naval Commando”  The unit working on the KING sub-sector was the Royal Naval Commandos Composed of 6 officers, 3 petty officers and 51 sailors, they operated from a point directly on the beach facing the sea. The unit communicated with offshore ships, with radios, optical signaling lamps, loudspeaker, signal flags, colored rockets, in Morse code or in "voice" and organized the arrivals and departures of ships that ran aground on the beaches at the mercy of the tides. The unit working on the KING sub-sector was the Royal Naval Commando "T", the one which operated on JIG was the Royal Naval Commando "Q". These two units were placed under the command of a superior officer called "NOIC" (Naval Officer in Charge) who on the sector GOLD "was the Captain George, Verner, Motley DOLPHIN. Captain DOLPHIN received the news that he had been designated to be decorated by King George VI of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on November 14, 1944 for the recognition of his exceptional command during the landing operations in Normandy. So here is our senior officer of the Royal Navy mentioned on our "old sign" (note that on June 6, 1944, Captain DOLPHIN was in charge of the "G3" convoys bringing two brigades of the 50th British infantry division to the beaches by GOLD). Captain DOLPHIN's tactical HQ (command post) was located in the village of Meuvaines. He and the officers of the Royal Navy placed under his command had taken up residence in Ver-sur-Mer in the hotel AMERICA. History does not speak about it, but this name AMERICA had probably been "censored" by the German occupier, who of course had requisitioned the hotel at the end of 1941 after Nazi Germany declared war on the USA. After the change of "clients" in June 1944, Royal Navy officers deemed it more appropriate to rename this hotel "GOLD INN", which is translated on the sign as "Auberge d'Or". The hotel will keep this name after the war and maybe until it is closed.

What does the "contemporary" panel tell us, another story with great confusion, Captain DOLPHIN and the "104 Beach Sub Region" are removed, they are replaced by  "Colonel Harper" and the "9th Beach Group", who in addition in a totally erroneous way are associated with the Royal Navy ... We do not know who wrote the text of this "contemporary" panel, it is not a question of reproaching anyone but of re-establishing the facts precisely. Lieutenant-Colonel Harper commanded on June 6, 1944 the 2nd Battalion The Hertforshire Regiment, this unit is well known to inhabitants of Ver because it is commemorated by a memorial located near the bar-restaurant "the Sexton" at the traffic lights along the D514. This standard infantry battalion was the nucleus of an army formation integrating logistics units, all forming the 9th Beach Group and Harper was in command of this composite unit. The 9th Beach Group was therefore a unit of the Army and not of the Royal Navy, it was in charge of unloading ships and logistics depots in the KING sector. In no case was this unit in charge of regulating maritime traffic. Lieutenant-Colonel Harper and the staff of the 9th Beach Group were certainly never lodged at the "GOLD INN", which was occupied, as the "old sign" reminds us, by the Royal Navy officers active in the GOLD sector under the command of Captain DOLPHIN. Any clarification, information, photos on the history of this hotel are welcome.

7th June 2020

A short ceremony was organized on Sunday, June 7 at noon in front of the war memorial of the 6th and 7th battalion of the Green Howards in Crépon.

Under the presidency of the mayor of Crépon Monsieur de Poncins and the presence of members of the municipal council, the general councilor Monsieur Nouvelot, the mayor of Ver-sur-Mer Monsieur Veret, Jean-François Le Cuziat president of the association of the museum America & Gold Beach of Ver-sur-Mer and the representative of the veterans Mr. Mundebeltz. It also included the participation of Mr. Yves Le Cuziat in the trumpet and the flag bearer of the town. The ceremony was attended by a small Créponnais audience and people passing through the town who stopped to watch.

The ceremony began with the mayor's welcoming address and the reading of an extract from the poem "The Fallen" by Laurence Binyon by Jean-François Le Cuziat, followed by the laying of wreaths and the wreath sent by Colonel Clive Mantell President of the Green Howards Veterans Association. The Last Post followed, a minute of silence and the Marseillaise à cappella by the audience. The town of Crépon then invited the audience for a drink of friendship at the bar in the church square

6th June 2020

The America & Gold Beach museum association represented by its president Jean-François Le Cuziat and its secretary Eric Viel, along with Corine Vervaeke guide-lecturer and her husband, General Philippe Vervaeke deposited at 9:30 am on June 6, 2020 a bouquet of flowers and two white roses at the monument of the 6th and 7th battalion of the Green Howards of the Paisty Vert in Ver-sur-Mer.

The small group then joined Place Winston Churchill at 10 am where a remembrance ceremony was organized by the town of Ver-sur-Mer in the presence of the mayor Jean-Luc Veret and several members of the town council. Mr. Witchell represented the Normandy Memorial Trust, J-F Le Cuziat represented the museum association as well as a representative of the Gendarmerie. Several residents of the town who attend  this ceremony of remembrance were also present. The short ceremony took place in the rain and wind, Jean-François Le Cuziat first read an extract from the poem "The Fallen" by Laurence Binyon before the wreath, white roses and poppies was laid. After a minute of silence, the mayor addressed the participants.

After the ceremony at Place Churchill, Jean-François Le Cuziat, Eric Viel and members of the museum association went to lay a red rose at the monuments of the 2nd Battalion of the Hertfordshire Regiment and the Royal Artillery

November 2019

At the end of November 2019 Mr. Patrice de la Rochefoucault donated to the museum several objects and souvenirs from the America plane: a piece of the rope which was used to tow the plane on Ver beach, three pieces of canvas from the fuselage of the airplane with original aluminum paint (paint still very fresh after more than 90 years), three photos with the original signatures of two of the four crew members of the America, George Noville and Bert Acosta. These objects and souvenirs were donated many years ago by the Villefranche family. Count Guy de Villefranche was mayor of Cabourg in 1927 and after the landing of the America on July 1, 1927 in Ver, he then accommodated the crew at the Grand Hôtel de Cabourg. These objects and souvenirs will soon be exhibited in the museum. We thank very much the donor who received us at his home to give us these objects

We had 40 participants in the guided tour which was on the subject of the German defences at Ver Sur Mer in June 1944

On the 8km walk we gave talks about the six defencive sectors on Gold Beach King

Latest news from the museum

On 6th June 2019 the Association Amercia Gold Beach Museum and the council of Ver Sur Mer revealed two new memorials in the newly refurbished Place Winston Churchill. These are dedicated to those who died on the 6th June liberating the village of the 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment. Two hundred plus people attended this very moving ceremony

24th March 2019

On the occasion of the opening of the season 2019 we present in our collections an exceptional gift received by the museum last November, a blade of the central propeller of the plane AMERICA found by chance in a garage of Poissy in the Department of Yvelines. This blade of propeller was broken during the ditching, it was given to the museum by Mr. Alain Jouan and by Mrs. Pascale Grégy

Please note that group guided visits are only possible on Saturday and Sunday

31st May Thanks to Ron and his team, Jean Francois and Eric the Sexton has been painted.  Thanks also to Mr and Mrs Bracken from the USA who gave a very generous donation.

Commemorative book written to celebrate the 90^th anniversary of the historic flight by Capitaine de Corvette Richard E Byrd and his team towards France aboard the Fokker Trimoetur Monoplane ‘America’

W.T.W is no longer answering! The Fokker ‘America’ is expected at the Bourget airport the 30^th June 1927, but with bad weather and technical problems meant that they need to find another place to land urgently

Discover the extraordinary adventure of the first postal delivery by plane between the United States and France.

40-page book, containing numerous photos, documents, objects and letters. Text in French and English

This book was researched and written by Jean Pierre Dupont, the Curator of the America museum in Ver Sur Mer, who sadly passed away on the 30^th July 2017.  He had retired from Air France and was a specialist in the subject of aviation. The book was edited and published by the museum association in June 2017 for the 90^th anniversary of the ditching of the ‘America’ off Ver Sur Mer on the 1^st July 1927.

Payment by cheque in Euros made payable to ‘Association America-Gold Beach’ posted to the Centre Saint- Exupéry, 2 Place de l’Amiral Byrd, 14114, Ver Sur Mer, Normandie, FRANCE

For payment from other EU countries, bank transfers are accepted, please contact us for account details.

We also accept payments by PayPal at the america.goldbeach@sfr.fr

Price per book is 10 Euros

12th May 2017 - June 2017 ceremonies added.

11th May 2017 - Click here to see short video of museum

(French and Spanish, English subtitles.)

27th March 2017 - Passionnés depuis trente ans par l'histoire de l'« America », le conservateur du musée Jean-Pierre Dupont et son épouse Nany préparent un week-end de festivités pour célébrer le 90e anniversaire de l'amerrissage forcé du Fokker. |

Text and image Ouest-France March 2017

20th February 2017 - visit the museum to see a 1927 film of the ditching of the AMERICA, with commentaries in English, French or German.

17th February 2017 - opening hours clarified.

25th February 2016 - slight change to opening hours for 2016.

27th March 2016 - times of June 2016 ceremonies published.

Follow the links at left.

5th April 2016 - new exhibition about RHINO FERRIES by Major Edwin Hunt MVO. Visit the museum to see it!

5th April 2016 - new film about the ditching of the AMERICA. Visit the museum to see it!

5th May 2016 - times of June 2016 ceremonies changed, slightly.

19th May 2016 - poster for June ceremonies below (only in French, sorry!)

The AMERICA-GOLD BEACH museum is situated in the centre of Ver sur Mer, next door to the town hall. It commemorates two momentous 20th century events that took place her in Ver sur Mer.

In 1927, the first mail-carrying flight from the USA to Europe crash-landed in the sea off Ver sur Mer. The aircraft, piloted by Commander Robert BYRD, was called the AMERICA.

On 6th June 1944, elements of the British 50th Infantry division and supporting armour landed here, as part of operation OVERLORD, on the beach known since that day as GOLD BEACH.