How Commonwealth War Graves engaged with young people for D-Day 80

Commonwealth War Graves Senior Communications Officer Lucie Balin reveals how we engaged young people in France to remember D-Day’s 80th anniversary.

Reaching young people to commemorate D-Day 80

Image: The pupils of Cintheaux visiting Bretteville-sur-Laize War Cemetery with Lucie Balin (courtesy of Lucie Balin)

The end of this week marks for me the end of all the work carried out as part of the preparation of D-DAY 80.

It's not the last ceremonies organised at Ranville or Brouay War Cemeteries, but rather the last educational activities and the last classes I met in Villy-Bocage or Douvres la Délivrande these past few days that mark the end of this highly emotional period.

Several months of intensive work to make sure that young people don't overlook the commemorations, but the opposite, that they understand the significance of this major anniversary and above all the history of their region and the men and women who fought close to their home to liberate Normandy, and then France.

When we started to contact our main stakeholders, we weren't expecting so much enthusiasm. However, one thing was certain, there was a real need to understand the history of our sites and the individuals we commemorate, and we did everything we could to meet their needs.

Over the last few months, with the help and support of Commonwealth War Graves Guide Rémi Gossart –  without whom I would never have been able to carry out this work – we have provided talks in classroom, guided tours of cemeteries, shared resources produced by the global Outreach team (and in particular Simon Bendry), worked on the For Evermore platform, used the Memory Anchor application, and researched personal stories and poems. 

We engaged with around 1,000 pupils, worked with some 40 classes from CP (6 yo) to Lycée level (17 yo), and collaborated with some 30 schools across Normandy. These figures are impressive, but they don't really reflect the quality and level of engagement we've managed to generate.

Image: ‘La Voix des Alliés’ Newspaper Replica (courtesy of Lucie Balin)

At Douvres la Délivrande, I remember the newspaper replicas produced by the pupils, ‘La Voix des Alliés’ (The Voice of The Allies), a special edition of a newspaper published during the war, whose articles were the fruit of a reflection on peace, freedom and remembrance.

At St Désir near Lisieux, I remember the exhibition put up by CM1 and CM2 pupils (9 to 10 yo), inspired by the personal stories of some of the men buried in the local CWGC cemetery, for whom the names of our casualties still ring out. With emotion, I remember hearing in the classroom as I pointed to some portraits, ‘He (Wing Commander Cosme Gomm) was born in Brazil!’ ‘And he (Rifleman James Dover) fought in the First World War!’ 

At Cintheaux, I remember being taken into the classroom with my eyes closed, with the promise of a surprise from the pupils.

As I stood in the centre of the room, I heard the pupils' voices echo one by one as they uttered Jacques Prévert's lines “La mère fait du tricot, Le fils fait la guerre” ("The mother knits, the son wages war”), a poem that would be recited at the ceremony in Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War cemetery a few weeks later.

I remember their stunned eyes when they read Private Gérard Doré's age on his headstone while visiting the cemetery. Only 16. "But he didn't have time to live, that boy! Or "He was my brother's age!”

Image: One of the exhibition panels produced by the pupils of St Désir, near Lisieux (courtesy of Lucie Balin)

At Cintheaux, I remember being taken into the classroom with my eyes closed, with the promise of a surprise from the pupils.

As I stood in the centre of the room, I heard the pupils' voices echo one by one as they uttered Jacques Prévert's lines “La mère fait du tricot, Le fils fait la guerre” ("The mother knits, the son wages war”), a poem that would be recited at the ceremony in Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War cemetery a few weeks later.

I remember their stunned eyes when they read Private Gérard Doré's age on his headstone while visiting the cemetery. Only 16. "But he didn't have time to live, that boy! Or "He was my brother's age!”

I also remember the reactions of the CE2 pupils (8 yo) at Villy-Bocage school, one of whose classmates was a Ukrainian refugee, asking in their innocent voices "But why are we still fighting wars today?", "Why would someone invade a country, what for?" or again "But WHO invented war, Madam?"

I remember the thanks given in English to the veterans by the children of Bayeux and the smiles on their faces; I remember every poppy placed on the graves at Brouay War Cemetery by the young people of the village. 

Reflections from the D-Day 80 Commemorations

Image: Commonwealth War Graves Guide Rémi Gossart with the pupils of Cintheaux visiting Bretteville-sur-Laize War Cemetery (courtesy of Lucie Balin)

If you took part in the vigils and ceremonies, you must have witnessed the same engagement as I did, and must certainly keep the same memories as I do. 

You must have felt the determination of the young people not to forget, heard the meaning of each word spoken during the reading of the texts at the ceremonies, and felt the weight of each candle placed on each of the graves of our cemeteries. 

These are just a few examples of what Rémi and I experienced, but combined with the vigils and ceremonies organized last week and the unimaginable encounters with the last survivors of DDAY, they make of this anniversary an unforgettable and unique experience. 

The end of this week marks for me the end of all the work carried out as part of the preparation of D-DAY 80, but above all, it marks the start of a new era. 

Because Rémi and I are returning to Beaurains with the promise from the teachers that they will invite us back again next year, and the following years, and that this is just the beginning of a fantastic collaboration with young people. 

The next generation joined in, shook our hands, and continues carrying the flame.

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