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When you visit the small village of Benouville now, it is hard to imagine what it must have been like to live under the German Occupation. A peaceful sleepy village situated just inland from the port of Ouistreham, and on the banks of the Canal de Caen which runs parallel with the river Orne. The focal point of the village is of course the Pegasus Bridge which spans the canal. It was here on June 6th. 1944 that the British 6th. Airborne entered the history books with their heroic capture of the bridge.
The first house to be liberated on this day is situated at the far end of the bridge from where the gliders of the troops landed. In 1944 it was a café owned by the family Gondree, The daughter of the owner was a little girl in those days and remembers the moment the British actually banged on their front door to tell them they had been liberated! Her name is Arlette and to this day she is now the owner of the café.
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The Café Gondree in Benouville on the banks of the Canal de Caen has become almost a shrine. Everyone who visits the bridge also visits the café. When I entered the dining room I was welcomed by Madame Arlette Gondree, the whole room is a virtual museum, with memorabilia and personal letters from the troops who were there on D-Day. To sit in the room where Winston Churchill actually had a meeting, and which was also used as a hospital, is very moving.
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The picture on the left was taken from the exact spot where Major John Howard's glider landed, at this very spot is now a sculpture of the Major which was presented to the Mayor and people of Benouville from the Airborne Assault Normandy Trust and the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Association.
To stand here and look at the bridge it is amazing how near the gliders were from the target.
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Here is the bridge in all its glory! raised to let a passing canal cruiser through. The present bridge is obviously not the original one which was built in 1935, that had to be replaced in 1994 due to it being worn out. The veterans and local people were furious about this, so the original can now be seen at the 6th. Airborne Museum which is located across the road approx. 200 meters from the canal.
Never the less, when you visit the site I do not think it detracts the importance of the location and the name Pegasus Bridge lives for ever more.
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