Standing with giants

A tribute to the British liberating forces of World War II brings together chapters in Normandy

Text: Jean-Pierre Postel, Caen Côte de Nacre Chapter

This year will mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Each year, veterans and their families return to this site in France which saw much blood spilled in the fight for liberty.

Every five years, the anniversary is marked in a significant fashion, with crowds assembling on the beaches where the first battles took place.

This year, our British cousins will be great in number as they join us to celebrate an artistic project created by one of their own: Standing with Giants.

Dan Barton is the artist behind the project. Born in Bristol in 1969, Dan grew up in an artistic environment: his parents bought him his first toolkit at the age of just eight years old. He was always encouraged to create, to question things and to explore his creativity.

Dan and his wife, Janette, started their own business and, with more than 30 years’ experience in management, they handle all budgets and logistics and solve any problems or issues with delays. In the past, Dan was largely able to finance projects himself, thanks to his strong relationships with local businesses who gave monetary donations as well as providing construction and waste materials to be used.

He has developed Standing with Giants with passion and energy: 1,475 soldier silhouette statues will be exhibited in Ver-sur-Mer, in Normandy, corresponding to the number of British soldiers who lost their lives on those beaches on 6 of June, 80 years ago.

More than 1,000 volunteers have been associated with this fantastic project – veterans, current military personnel, Scouts, schools, the Women’s Institute, other diverse organisations and even Harley-Davidson riders of the UK, including 17 H.O.G. chapters: Birmingham, Black Mountains, Bridgwater, Deva Legion, Geordie, Great Western, III Rivers, Invicta, Nene Valley, New Forest, Oxford, Rolling Hills, Sherwood, Thames Valley, Welsh Dragon and Wolfruna.

Elaine Shepherd, of Thames Valley H.O.G. Chapter, had been volunteering with the project since January and witnessed its progress from creation to shipping. To finally see the silhouettes was a proud and emotional moment.

“Just a few days after my initial trip I returned to volunteer,” explains Elaine. “I set out new silhouettes from templates, painted, drilled, rivetted them to frames, bent steel bars on guillotines, made up the wheel components for the stillages, assisted with welding, painted more than 6,000 eyelets for the guy ropes and used staple guns to cover plyboard with material. This was then covered with 22,442 poppies to commemorate each name on the memorial – that was a lot of staple gunning!

Here on the Normandy coast, it was impossible not to be affected by this surge of generosity. The Caen Côte de Nacre Chapter felt compelled to help our British neighbours while they were here by taking them on several visits and guiding them on the site itself. A modest contribution to the memorial activities, but a useful one.

On a Saturday morning at the start of April, we welcomed the 60 Harley-Davidsons and their riders at 6.45am. A good 20 or so Normandy residents were present, despite the early hour, with some of them having spent around an hour on the road to ensure they were on time for the ferry.

The riders were welcomed by the chapter and officials from the region over breakfast. Then, we rode to the legendary Pegasus Bridge and the Caen Harley-Davidson dealership. The group had arranged to stay in Bayeux for a few days, allowing them time to visit Omaha Beach and the American cemetery, or the artificial Mulberry Harbour in Arromanches. In reality, there were few visits as the group spent most of their time installing the statues for the new memorial in Ver-sur-Mer.

“Being involved with H.O.G. on a national level I have met many, many H.O.G. cousins along the way and to see so many familiar faces was amazing,” adds Elaine. “It was such a buzz to see so many chapters turning up to be a part of a much bigger, unique and respectful event. I will be returning mid-May as the back marker for H-D’s tour operator for their D-Day Landings Tour. It will be interesting to stand back and watch their reactions when they see it for the first time.”

For the Caen Côte de Nacre Chapter, the next meeting linked to the anniversary will take place at the end of September, when we will welcome 180 more bikers from across the channel for an interchapter meet-up that will follow in the footsteps of the liberating forces.

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