French and British Commandos BENOUVILLE ( calvados , FRANCE ) D.Day anniversary years 70's.

Did someone could recognise some faces.

photo kaken in years 70's, in BENOUVILLE ( pegasus Bridge ) during D.Day anniversary.

Hello Stephane,

The lady in the photograph is Madame Millie Keiffer, the widow of Commandant Phillipe Kieffer. She was English by birth, and on all of my D-Day anniversary trips she was prominent and clearly worshipped by the French Commandos present.

Standing behind her and immediately to the right - looking at the photograph - is Major Donald Gilchrist.

Best wishes,

John

Hello again Stephane,

I have looked once more at the photo.

I believe that the Commando standing third from Major Gilchrist's right could be Jock Bright. He settled in Ouistreham, and married a local girl.

I am pretty sure that the Frenchman standing third from Major Gilchrist's left is Bernard Saulnier, the owner of the farm in Amfreville where so many wonderful anniversary dinners have been held.

He was fourteen-year old boy in 1944. There was hard fighting around the farm and the story was that his late father left a sum of money in his Will to enable Bernard to provide those dinners -originally just for former Commando soldiers.

This is a guess, but could the Commando standing immediately on Major Gilchrist's left be Henry Brown? He could be wearing the insignia of the MBE.

Best wishes,

John

That is Henry Brown who got an MBE then an OBE. I have posted the photo in the gallery where it can be viewed easier:

http://gallery.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/Commando+Gatherings+pre+CVA/Normandy/d+day+anniversary+c1970s.jpg.html