The FIVA Utilitarian Commission attended celebrations of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. The passion for historic vehicles goes beyond the shiny fancy cars and motorcycles: it is a diamond with many facets, and the Utilitarian Commission encompasses several less known, but equally precious, aspects of it, from agricultural vehicles to heavy transport, with military vehicles playing an important role in the history of the last century.
On 6th June 1944, the Allied forces, USA, Great Britain and Canada, invaded occupied France via the shores of Normandy. Each of the Allies had their own beach sector called Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold and Sword. They landed that day with some 156,000 soldiers and over 20,000 vehicles. An operation that was pivotal for the liberation of Europe from Nazi control. Today, after 80 years, the D-Day celebrations are still an occasion for gathering and re-living that “longest day”, which has been so significant in human history. Thousands of people crowded this beautiful French region with historic vehicles from Sherman tanks to tiny Welbikes, representing the full range of transport. The majority of attendees wore accurate uniforms and accessories of that time, to remember their ancestors who fought that battle or simply to enjoy the atmosphere of a historic re-enactment. The cities and the beaches of Normandy were a time warp experience: overwhelmed by the number of historic vehicles and people wearing uniforms of the period, one had the impression of getting back to that crucial time and those heroic moments.
“Never was so much owed by so many to so few”, once said Winston Churchill, and the 80th anniversary of operation Overlord were a unique mix of feelings: memory of the past, love for freedom, gratefulness for those who defended it sacrificing their own lives, passion for history, pleasure and fun for the historic re-enactment weirdly melded with the sadness for the human cost. At the official D Day ceremony France’s President Macron welcomed around 25 other heads of state, including USA President Biden, King Charles, President Zelensky of Ukraine and German Chancellor Scholz.
The FIVA delegation was composed by Timo Vuortio from Sweden, Director of the FIVA Utilitarian Commission, Keith Gibbins from the UK, Director of the FIVA Motorcycle Commission and knowledgeable expert of WW II history, and the Secretary General Gian Mario Mollar, who joined at last minute to support the logistics.
Circulating in Normandy during these days was far from easy, given the presence of President Biden and other heads of state, yet the FIVA group managed to be nearly all over the place and make the most out of the occasion. They wore period uniforms (two British paras and a battledress) to match the spirit of the event and facilitate the exchange and comradery with the many historic military vehicle enthusiasts they met, coming from many countries. Instead of weapons, though, they carried leaflets promoting FIVA, together with a special FIVA pin to commemorate the D-Day, which will be also given to the FIVA delegates attending this year’s General Assembly in Vienna.
Based in Grand Camp Maisy, the group visited Omaha Beach and the famous Pointe du Hoc with its steep cliffs, which the U.S. Rangers managed to escalate and take with blood and sweat in an unforgettable heroic deed.
On this occasion, they managed to meet the Italian delegation composed by the ASI President of Motorcycle Events Ms. Elvira Dal Degan, her husband Osvaldo Faustini, and the historic motorcycling legend Benito Battilani, dressed as an American officer, who once chaired the FIVA motorcycle commission as well.
They brought along some true military rarities of the 1940’s: two motorcycles, an Indian 851 motorcycle with V cylinders and a Harley Davidson XA with a boxer bicylindrical engine, and a car MA model, which was prototype of the Willys.
Timo Vuortio’s personal and institutional network made possible to meet many collectors from the Nordic Countries.
Talking to the collectors and enthusiasts was a pleasant experience as usual: the passion for motor vehicles overwhelms national borders and the cultural differences and paradoxically transforms a war commemoration into a touching moment of peace, harmony and joyful sharing of ideas and emotions.
On the 8th June, a parade of 350 vehicles left Vierville-sur-Mer to reach Grandcamp Maisy, and this was the occasion to meet the FFVE delegation, represented by the Utilitarian Director and member of the board Philippe Beaussier and the Vice President for Communication Pascal Rousselle, who followed the parade on a Dodge “Beep”, which stands for “Big Jeep”. The French Federation efficiently represented the collectors of all kinds of historic vehicles, including the military ones, and therefore could not miss this important event. Listing all the vehicles seen during the parade would be a hard task: hundred of Jeeps of all sorts, Harley Davidson and BSA Motorcycles, Dodge trucks, amphibious landing craft, tanks, from the Sherman to the Tiger, and even some amazing aeroplanes, like the Spitfire with its distinctive design.
The FIVA representatives also managed to visit some museums, like the Overlord Museum in Colleville-sur-Mer, the Victory Tank Museum in Carentan-le-Marais and the Deadman’s Corner Museum, again in Carentan, where it is possible to experience a (luckily virtual and safe) parachute drop during the D-Day. These museums offer a wide range of items (weapons, helmets, militaria of various kinds), but also realistic reconstructions with maquettes of scenes and moments of Operation Overlord.
The FIVA delegation stretched Eastwards to visit Sword, one of the two beaches, together with Juno, where British contingents landed, and en-route, they stopped at the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery. “Their name liveth for evermore”, is cast on a stone at the entrance of the cemetery, which can be seen as an altar or a coffin, depending on the eyes and the faith of the person who walks across the threshold. Hundreds of burial stones stand there. They look all the same, but each bears different words and is the testimony of a different mourn: the tears of a mother, the cry of a spouse, the loneliness of an orphan. “Soyes braves au foyer comme nous l’avons été sur le champs de bataille“is the important lesson written on one of the gravestones. “Be as brave at home as we were on the battlefield “. Walking in that place is an experience that cannot easily be forgotten, and a must-do to understand the deep meaning of the D-Day commemoration.
“The visit of the D-Day Anniversary” concluded Timo Vuortio “is part of a wider strategy of the FIVA Utilitarian Commission, aimed at strengthening FIVA’s presence across the whole range of heritage transport”. The program started last year, with the First World Event for Utilitarian Vehicles at the spectacular IHF (Internationaal Historisch Festival) in Panningen NL, dedicated to agricultural vehicles and will continue next year in Germany, where we will attend an international event for historic public transport and buses. The collectors of “big and heavy” vehicles often face major efforts to keep their vehicles in working conditions, to locate storage and transport them to events. Often, they do it out of the spotlight. We want to clearly demonstrate that FIVA, as an international federation dedicated to historic vehicle preservation, is close to them and ensure they can keep their vehicles on the road”.
Text: Gian Mario Mollar
Pictures: Gian Mario Mollar, Timo Vuortio, Keith Gibbins.