The exact itinerary hasn't yet been finalised but will shortly be included here.
During the trip members are welcome to join us on convoys and to attend ceremonies or to chose their own excursions.
Several battlefield tours are planned under the leadership of knowledgeable IMPS board members. These include Villiers Bocage - the British Breakout and The Corridor of Death - the final route of the Germans in the Falaise pocket.

But for your interest, Nigel Hay recalls his personal tour in 2004.....

After all the months of planning and disseminating the grains of truth from the rumour mill, suddenly its here – Normandy + 60 has finally arrived……. Even the traditional Normandy rain has gone AWOL……

MONDAY 31ST MAY

A public holiday in France, so it seems like a quiet time to go to Port on Bessin and Ouistreham to put up direction signs for the MVT and IMPS camping sites. I’m just scrambling up a bank to fix the last one, when out of the dawn mist comes a British registered Dodge WC52, spearheading the friendly invasion of perhaps 7,000 historic military vehicles that will clog up Normandy for the next week.
Assuming this will be a day when most of France will be off the roads, I take a drive along the Omaha – Sword Beach coastal road, which by 10am is already bursting with cars and camper vans that seem unable to travel faster then a Scammell towing a 50 ton load.
Sad news arrives of the death of a Dutch Dodge driver, killed near Rouen en route to the beaches.

TUESDAY 1st JUNE

Its mid morning and we await the IMPS convoy arrival with its Gendarmerie escort.
Its all running a bit late but there are plenty of classic military vehicles passing on the main road – the usual WW2 collectors vehicles being outnumbered by the endless convoys of French Army Renault TRM’s, with every conceivable body (many in a lower state of readiness than those available in the UK to collectors) Peugeot 4x4’s (the French version of the Mercedes “G” Wagon. On the main road, it appears the French army have joined in the spirit of the event by adding their bewildering direction signs to our rather more artistic signs. Large groups of bored looking French servicemen cruise around on motorbikes. Normandy is now offering a 24 hour a day airshow with the entire French Airforce protecting the airspace. With great precision the 200 plus vehicle convoy arrives and the first MV event kicks off in the campsite.

WEDNESDAY 2nd JUNE

We head to Arromanches “Beltring Sur Mer” – it takes an hour to drive the 15km from Port en Bessin, but it gives the traveler the opportunity to see a large proportion of Europe’s camper vans who are by now more co-ordinated in their attempts to bring Normandy to a standstill. By now there are also vast convoys of historic military vehicles, intent on getting to all those places before the much talked about June 6th Closedown when all movement of our beloved military vehicles is banned. One of CMV’s readers on a Harley WLA has a nasty spill and is invited to watch the entire event on TV from the comfort of his bed in Bayeaux hospital. A Bedford MW has flipped over on the motorway but the crew are not badly injured. By now it is apparent that if Morocco wants to invade France, now would be a good time as apart from Normandy, all France is otherwise undefended.

THURSDAY 3rd JUNE

It’s a pre dawn start to meet the IMPS for breakfast. 35 vehicles join us for a tour of the 3 Normandy Victoria Cross winners. We are accompanied by Veteran, ex RTR tanker, Harry Bragg, who gives us a fascinating insight into tank fighting in Normandy. He describes the moment when he survived a direct hit in his Comet, but his comrades were killed. It’s a long but interesting trip, from King Beach, via the Orne valley to deep into the Bocage (or hedgerow) country. Harry lays a wreath on our behalf at the memorial to Sidney Bates VC. Over 150 miles on minor roads before we get back to Pegasus Bridge, a couple of unexpected off highway sections of the route have brought smiles to everyone’s faces. It’s the first convoy I can recall without a breakdown or a fuel stop!

FRIDAY 4th JUNE
The rumours about security are getting more paranoid, so we head to the Militaria fair at the unbelievably overcrowded Ste Mere Eglise. Its bustling and humid inside so we drift outside to cool off and look at some (expensive) BSA Parabikes in absolutely original condition and some military Harleys in varying stages of authenticity for sale. Back to the main square and the town is becoming a bit of a circus. Every now and then someone attempts to prove a point by driving a GMC or a Ward La France thorough the thousands of pedestrians, large numbers of whom have been around the souvenir shops and now look like Milletts Mercenaries. In true Gallic fashion, the good folks of the first town to be liberated have erected a giant stage and rehearsals for a singing spectacular are taking place. “Nil Points” are awarded by our discerning group of music critics. One of our party does a live BBC Radio Kent interview via mobile phone and explains why the military vehicle collectors are here, he also praises the Spielberg effect for raising public awareness with band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan. It gives our hobby a positive sound byte.
Fighting our way back to the car park, we stop to admire the display of German vehicles by a French group and the “Greatest Generation” exhibition and its dioramas which are faultless in their attention to detail.

SATURDAY 5th JUNE

At Courselles Sur Mer (Juno Beach) we join a group of friends for a day afloat in a DUKW.

The six DUKWS take part in a wreath laying ceremony about 50 yards off Juno Beach - this is a very emotional event and actually justifies our historic military vehicles being here this week.
After a lunch stop we head off up the coast intending to get to Arromanches when someone suggests we inspect a German bunker on the beach so we head ashore and spend a few minutes admiring the Organisation Todt Showhouse.

One of the old salts suggests that the only lady on board should have a go at skippering and “just drive it into the sea”. Unfortunately as she lets the clutch out and pulls away, our DUKW
bogs down in the mud down to its hull. Much to the amusement of everyone on board. Its then that all the natural leaders emerge – all with convincing opinions as to how we should extricate the DUKW. We try to winch it out by attaching the cable to the bunker. By now a crowd is gathering and are amused as large piece of Tuetonic concrete parts company from the bunker. Despite fears of heavy fines from the Third Reich Heritage Department, a further futile attempt breaks the DUKW winch prop shaft and the 6 helicopters of the rather bored French Airforce take a more serious look at us with our own dedicated flyover at about 35 feet.
As high tide is some 9 hours away we don’t really want to wait and float it off. So we start calling everyone we can think of with a big vehicle – to no avail.
A jeep arrives, this one turns out to be as rare as the proverbial, as it has data plates in Chinese – turns out it was made for the Chinese Military Assistance Programme in 1942. Thankfully the jeep owner knows a man in his group who is running around with an M4 High Speed tractor. He calls him up and our rescue vehicle, accompanied by an M1A1 Ward La France set out down the beach from Arromanches. Eventually after a 12 km trip along the sands, our rescue vehicles arrive and on the second attempt we are free again. Spirits lifted we return down the beach to find a way back onto the highway.
After the now mandatory daily large dinner in a nearby restaurant, at dark we depart Courselles only to stop a mile out of town to watch the entire Normandy coastal skyline illuminated by an incredible choreographed and synchronized fire work display to herald the dawn of D Day + 60.

SUNDAY JUNE 6th

The big day at last!
Based on all the available intelligence, it seems Utah Beach is outside the Controlled Zone so as dawn breaks we head north to spend time on the less bloody of the American beaches. However overnight the security level has been upgraded and all routes even by farm tracks are blocked by the omni present Gendarmes and military. So its back to nearby Ste Mere Eglise to watch the service in the presence of 101st and 82nd Airborne veterans who parade magnificently despite the intense heat.
At lunch we are joined by two elderly paratroopers, one of whom proudly shows us the card he gives to air hostesses every time he travels – it reads “I may look old, but I am a paratrooper. If you are threatened or this plane is attacked, please come and get me –I will deal with it…..”

We fight our way out of Ste Mere Eglise to return to the house to watch the ceremonies on television – and we are glad we did…… it’s the only way to get to see it all.

MONDAY JUNE 7th

Many of the million plus visitors to Normandy are now trying to get out of the area and its traffic chaos. The security forces are also on the way home and local traders are struggling to carry their vast takings to the bank.
In Vire, veterans of Omaha beach arrive in the town for a staggering eight hour spectacle culminating in a Son et Lumiere in front of one of the few buildings that survived the war. As they get off the coach, they all admire the magnificent floral jeep on our local roundabout. Invited historic military vehicles from the UK, with a full complement of 29th division re-enactors add realism to the events in intense heat – attracting a truck load of local girls dressed as can –can dancers.
A 93 year old Texan tells me it’s the furthest he has ever been into France – he was wounded just after getting out of the water on Omaha beach and spent 2 days on a stretcher before being evacuated. It is his first time back – he is exhausted as they all are but its something he had to do. I tell him that our generation has the freedom to choose to live here in Normandy or elsewhere in Europe if we wish and that’s thanks to him and his comrades.
He thanks me for that and tells me it was all worthwhile then……..