Travel guide François Gauthron, professional license Normandy guide, speaks English and French, offers visits and tours for groups or individuals: group guided tours or private guided tours of the Normandy landing beaches and the North West of France.
Guided tours he proposes: World War II landing beaches, excursions in the footsteps of the victorious Allied Armies, Mont St Michel, Bayeux, Route of the Impressionist painters.
More than WWII Tours
When you are a professional Guide, it includes that you can do more than one type of guiding, this is the reason why we have to pass exams and many years of studies. Even if I have two favourite periods, WWII and Medieval History, I can, as well, talk about more subjects. Many times, I had families including 3 or 4 generations and, fortunately, my large range of knowledges satisfied everyone. Again, this is the difference with foreign couriers who express the excuse of not undertaking non-WWII tours. This behaviour signs their poor background!
Family Stories
My Mother was 16 years old in 1944, she was living with family to Saonet about 15 miles inland behind Omaha Beach. She was liberated by the US Forces of the 29th DI...
I have an incredible story about the Liberation. In 1998, I was with a American Veteran and his family who landed on Omaha D-Day + 3; He had with him his notes with a lot of the villages names he and his unit went through. Of course, I checked with him those names and we started to foot back a part of his itinerary. When we arrived at Le Molay Littry, he said that he could remember a little village close-by where he and 5 other guys chased a small group of Germans. When they arrived in this village (unfortunately this one was missing of his list), the Germans had disappeared but the locals welcomed them... He could remember a man who opened his cellar and offered them cider and calvados. He said that the calvados was stored in big barrel. As soon he mentioned "calvados" in big barrel that rung me a bell. The only family having calvados in huge barrels in the vicinity was my grand-father who was the owner of a Calvados distillery. I took him right away to Saonet, and he felt he recognised the place. I called my mother and told her that I may have with me her 1944 Liberator. We spend the whole evening together and after he compared his souvenirs with my mother's ones, it seemed possible that she had been Liberated by this gentleman.
Such a small world!!!
I am a Member of NVA and British Legion since 1985.
FRANCOIS GAUTHRON
13 rue Montfiquet
F 14400 BAYEUX
Tel +33 (0)2 31 22 35 68
