In 2019 I participated in my first Battlefield Bike Ride (BBR) with Wounded Warriors Canada (WWC). The ride, called Operation Overlord, marked the 75th anniversary of the greatest amphibious assault in history.
Our ride began in Dieppe, France. The Dieppe Raid, officially called Operation Jubilee, was launched on 19 August 1942. With 3,367 of the nearly 5,000-strong Canadian contingent killed, wounded or taken prisoner, Dieppe was a disaster! It was, arguably, the bloodiest day in Canadian military history.
From Dieppe, we traveled west towards the Normandy beaches, arriving there in the afternoon of 4 June. Juno Beach, the Canadian beach for the operation, would be saved for 6 June, the 75th anniversary of the assault. The 5th was spent visiting other beaches in the area.
Riding towards Gold Beach, one of the British beaches, we met up with several British soldiers. I got into a conversation with them and didn’t notice that my ride group had taken off without me. Trying to catch up, I took a wrong turn. I ended up on a hill at what seemed to be an open-air museum. From there, I overlooked the town of Arromanches and Gold Beach. Misadventures like that often tend to reap great rewards. Such was the case here.
While wandering through the museum, I came upon the statue of an elderly British veteran, Bill Pendrell, MM. He was sitting in quiet contemplation, overlooking the beach at Arromanches. This was where he had landed 75 years earlier. I saw the struggle in Bill’s eyes. He was trying to remember the events of that day. Looking around, I saw several other statues in the garden. created by the artist, John Everiss. They seemed to reconstruct Bill’s fading memories, leaving a hollowed out shell.
The garden was very emotional. Even now, more than 5 years after visiting the garden, I am amazed by the work of this artist. It has truly impacted me. Without a doubt, this, through misadventure, was one of the high points of the trip for me.
The Artist – John Everiss
In preparing for this post, I reached out to the artist, John Everiss. I was very pleased to get a reply from him the next day. I found it interesting that my interpretation of the art was different from his intended vision. This was especially true for the statue of Bill Pendrell. But, isn’t that what art is all about? In his own words:
“Please feel free to use any images and script relating to the garden. It’s all about keeping the story alive and the more people that become interested the better.“
Born in London and now based in Lancashire, John is an accomplished garden designer and sculptor of over 30 years. Using these two areas of design he has been able to create a range of inviting and vibrant spaces covering all sizes from personal projects to RHS Chelsea Flower Show award winning gardens and features.
“Sitting on a block at the Chelsea Flower Show. Each block had a quote from a D-Day veteran carved around the top. The one that sticks in my memory is-
“we could see the bodies floating by”
“My connection to the D Day story began in 2018. I was approached by the D-Day revisited charity to create a feature garden at Chelsea Flower Show in 2019, commemorating the 75th Anniversary. My father had been a Navigator in Bomber Command during WW2, so I’ve always had a keen interest in history. As a Garden Designer, sculptor and amateur historian I was a good match!
“We wanted to use a D-Day veteran as a figure head for the project, forming the two main sculptures, a veteran having a conversation with his 22-year-old self. Bill Pendell was in the Signals, landing on Gold Beach on the first day and eventually going on to be awarded a Military Medal. Bill sadly passed away in late 2018 aged 97, but we decided to keep his memory alive within the garden.
“The garden at Chelsea was a huge success, 166,000 visitors, 50 veterans, worldwide coverage and a chance for people to meet and chat face to face, a career highlight for me. Chelsea was just a preview so a permanent home was vital. At the end of the show we had 3 days to pack up, load up the three artic lorries and rush down to Portsmouth for the overnight ferry to Caen.
“8.30 am the following morning we were building again. As well as my team, I was ably assisted by 14 Royal Engineers, 1 Para and a Gurkha. A real team effort to put the whole garden back together in 6 days ready for the 6th June. It was an honour to spend time in Arromanches in the build-up to this momentous commemoration. So many veterans came to chat to us on the clifftop and show their appreciation for the work we were doing, Brits, French, Americans and of course Canadians.“
Footnotes
After writing this post, I was struck by just how much this garden has affected me. When I visited it in 2019, I was still in my sixties. Now that I am in my seventies, I reflect on many of my experiences from my early twenties. I realize just how much my memories, like Bill Pendrell’s, are fading. Not just my memories. Consider the history that is being lost as the last few veterans of Operation Overlord pass on.
This year, BBR24 returned to Normandy to honour Operation Overlord. 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the landings. This year, the D-Day 75 Garden was on the itinerary of the ride.
Thank you John for allowing me to use your artwork for this project.
Ride The Road To Valour
The Road To Valour 