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The Mulberry Harbours, 1944


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The name “Mulberry” does not have a particularly Gallic ring to it, yet the French coastline is where Mulberry Harbours are to be found. Indeed, “Mulberry” sounds rather English, which makes sense – for this was the name given to the temporary docks set up by the British Navy in 1943, to facilitate the unloading of cargo at the Normandy landing beaches. They were transported across the Channel in sections after D-Day, and assembled along the coast of Omaha Beach and Gold Beach. Large oceangoing ships needed sufficient depth below their keel, as well as dockside cranes to unload the supplies they carried, and Mulberry Harbours were used until such time as France’s main ports could be restored and brought back into service. Over 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tons of equipment were unloaded using Mulberry harbours.

 

On this Mulberry harbour, the English soldiers were jubilant. The man nicknamed Bulldog had just visited the infrastructure that had been pre-assembled by their countrymen and women back home. He was a special guest, a man of honour and of principle, and the man who would defy and topple Adolph Hitler in the months to come. He was a man with close ties to the Royal Air Force, and who had obtained the agreement of the US Congress to supply the UK with equipment. Everyone knew and praised him; his name was Winston Churchill.

 

The soldiers removed their helmets and caps in a gesture of respect. There were many cheers and hollers. In his long grey coat, Winston Churchill walked among the soldiers with a cigar clenched between his teeth. He raised his hand often to make the V for victory sign. Operation Overlord had been carefully planned. The conditions had not been ideal for a landing in Normandy, but now six weeks had passed since the British and American troops had smashed through the German lines on D-Day. Many Norman villages had been liberated. Winston Churchill’s name was spoken constantly in every household along the coast. Churchill, the undefeated lion. Churchill, who could face down Hitler and bring him to heel. The former soldier saluted his men; he shook their hands and clapped them on the shoulder. His troops idolised him. Winston Churchill kept his men close. Once again he raised his fingers in the V sign, and they cheered, their courage stoked to a hot flame.

 

Alan Alfredo Geday

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