And so, on May 21st I and a car load of equipment set sail for Normandy to meet up with a BBC film crew and war correspondent Rageh Omaar.
On Saturday the 22nd following a morning spent 'filming' on Arromanches beach with the 'Midget' recorder, we travelled inland to the small village of Creully. This is where, in the days following the D-Day landings, the BBC set up an extemporised studio and Radio Link in a tower of the castle.
This view shows the approach to Creully from the West. The castle with its two towers can be seen on the left of the photo. Situated on high ground and with the benefit of easily accessible towers, it's easy to see why the BBC
This second photo shows the front entrance to the castle. Flags of the Allied Nations fly from every available pole.
This is the view along the castle rampart to the entrance of the room used by BBC engineers as a studio. A route trodden by the many war correspondents and
Two views of the 'BBC room'. The equipment on the table
is a US Army field transmitter / receiver. The walls of the studio are lined
with historic documents and photographs detailing the work of the many correspondents
who broadcast from this site during the BBC's occupation.
Sixty years on and Rageh Omaar, who has reported later wars for the BBC, gets to grips with the Midget disc recorder in the dunes near Arromanches.
It's thanks to the generosity of many retired BBC colleagues who've donated items to my collection over the years that made it possible to play a tiny part in the BBC's D-Day commemorations. My grateful thanks to them. - Chris Owen.