Saint Valery en Caux is a bustling, and beautiful port town on the Normandy coast between Fecamp and Dieppe.
In June 1940 it was the location of a last stand by the British 51st Highland Division and French army elements as German forces swept west across northern France.
Just days after the ‘Miracle of Dunkirk’ evacuations, the British Navy prepared a flotilla of ships, merchant vessels, and small craft in a bid to evacuate around 10,000 soldiers dug in and fighting against an overwhelming force surrounding the port. Sadly, the Germans had learned their lesson at Dunkirk and were relentless in attack.
Hampered by thick fog and heavy rain, several rescue attempts at the port area proved to be unsuccessful, and at 8am on June 12 French commanders ordered a surrender, followed just before 10am the same day by the surrendering of the 51st.
A Division renowned for their bravery and ability in combat, thousands of soldiers were captured and spent the rest of the war – which lasted another five years - in captivity.
On the afternoon of June 6, 1944, elements of a restrengthened 51st were part of the D-Day landings on Sword Beach and were followed in the next few days by the rest of the Division.
The 51st were also involved in the battles and breakout of Normandy. In August 1944 Field Marshal Montgomery requested to the Canadian commander of the area that the 51st should have the honour of recapturing Saint Valery, which they did on September 1.
In 1950, a memorial to the 51st Highland Division was unveiled at Saint Valery and it stands proudly on the eastern cliffs overlooking the port.
It’s on top of these cliffs where you can also find the remains of several large bunker sites, Va06, Va07, and Va08 built by the occupying Germans following the capture of Saint Valery.
Although not all the bunkers are still in existence and some are no longer accessible there are many which can be visited, and there are some rare types and a few fascinating remains too.
Va06 was once a German Army batterie featuring 15.5cm guns in open emplacements but few of the original constructions can still be seen. One structure – either part of the open emplacement or a destroyed shelter - is little more than a large concrete block jutting out of the ground while markings in the soil and vegetation variations in the same area outline several buried shelters.
These all stand around 300 metes inland of the current cliff line. The edge of the cliff is where you can find a heavily overgrown and precariously positioned R636 bunker.
Only safely visible via a drone, it features the classic observation post dome-shaped ‘nose’ and an emplacement on the top for a rangefinder to pinpoint targets for the guns behind.
If you’re brave enough, the inside is accessible, but we don’t recommend it as the bunker overhangs the soft chalk cliffs and will eventually fall to the beach around 60 metres below.
You can read more about the 51st Highland Division on their fascinating official website - https://51hd.co.uk/