RETURN TO NORMANDY:
80th ANNIveRSARY of D-DAY
June 1-8, 2024
Normandy, france
To commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada will deploy a 65-member contingent to Normandy, France from June 1-8, 2024. As the only Toronto-based Infantry unit to have participated in the D-Day Landings, the QOR was part of the first wave of the assault on Juno Beach, Sector Nan White—a one kilometre piece of beach centred on the town of Bernières-sur-Mer.
The unit suffered the most casualties of any Canadian regiment, with 143 Riflemen killed, wounded, or captured—including 61 who made the supreme sacrifice. The QOR then advanced 12 kilometres inland to the town of Anisy, the furthest of any Canadian unit on that day. The commemorative trip will follow in their footsteps, with ceremonies in Anisy, Anguerny, Bény-sur-Mer, Giberville (Caen), and Le Mesnil-Patry, culminating in a morning ceremony at Canada House and Mess Dinner on June 6th.
This will be a privately funded trip with no government funding. As a result, the unit will be conducting a fundraising campaign in order to deploy its members to Normandy. The estimated cost per member is $3000 CDN, and we are kindly requesting support from the extended Regimental Family.
Update—July 2024
To commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, the 1860 Club conducted a year-long fundraising campaign to support the serving unit's privately-funded pilgrimage of 70-plus members to Normandy, France from June 1-8, 2024.
This included events in the villages of Bernières-sur-Mer, Anguerny, and Anisy—which were liberated on June 6th, 1944—as well as commemorative events in Giberville and Le Mesnil-Patry.
The pilgrimage culminated on the morning of June 6th with a ceremony at Canada House (located in Bernières-sur-Mer) and a Mess Dinner beside Juno Beach.
We would like to thank our numerous sponsors who supported our soldiers in the name of one of our 61 fallen Riflemen on D-Day. In particular, we would like to recognize former HLCol Lionel Goffart and Mr. David Cynamon for their exceptionally generous donations.
The support from La Maison des Canadiens and the leadership of the communities were outstanding, and enabled this event to be a fitting tribute to our D-Day Fallen and veterans.
As we turn our focus onto the 80th Anniversary of VE-Day 80, we look forward to working with our Association to ensure another successful fundraising campaign, starting with the 17th Annual QOR of C Golf Tournament at Cardinal Golf Club on September 6th, 2024.
OUR SPONSORS
The 1860 Club would like to express our most gratitude to the sponsors who made this trip possible.
Elaine Adair
Howard Adams
David Allan
James Atcheson
Anne Bailey
William Ball
Azeez Baruwa
Francis Bleeker
Katie Bonar
Alain-Daniel Bourdages
|Avrom Brown
Trevon Buchan
Jeremy Cain
Scott Cameron
Graham Campbell
Jason Campbell
Ezra Chang
Andrew Chrzan
Michell Cournoyer
Susan Cowan
Nadine Cross
David Cynamon
Sudipta Dasgupta
Myron Demkiw
Chris Desjardins
James Donaldson
Paul Etherington
Thomas Fabry
Rob Fisher
Brandon Frankfort
Samuel Frum
Breedon Grauer
Lionel Goffart
Vincenzo Guzzo
Alexandra Gwyer
Lauren Hanley
Dennis Hau
Bradley Hayes
John Hayes
Stephen Heard
Malcolm Hedgcock
Daniel Hendrickson
Pete Housley
Brian Housley
Barry Hunter
Joyce Jagt
Robert Jennings
Raymond Joseph
Derrick Jumper
Robert Kansun
Michael Kelly
Darren Kiervin
Jeffrey Kimel
Michael Kogan
Sandra Kopschinsky
Ben-Jaemin Lee
Andrew Lionis
Michael Macintyre
Tavinder Malhotra
Lucas Manuel
Kristina Mark
Eric Matthews
Ashif Mawji
Henry McCabe
Michele McCarthy
Jamie McClure
David McComb
Elliot Medoff
Lane Merrifield
Joseph Messina
Kornelia Milborne
Ryan Millar
Manjit Minhas
Cheryl Mitchell
David Mitchell
Cameron Mitchell
Glen Moore
John Near
Bob & Vera Near
Alexis Near
Adam Ochshorn
Jessica Olesiak
Jason Pantalone
Michael Pearl
Marco Petta
Matthew Picken
Daniel Pleckaitis
Loren Rafeson
Jason Ribeiro
Mark Ross
Eric Schneider
Anthony Schultz
Hamreet Sekhon
Marko Sijakovic
Jeremy Silver
Steven Simons
David Singer
Neil Smith
Killian Smith
Graham Smith
Andre Sochaniwsky
Mary Soye
John Stephens
Daniel Stewart
Tristan Strathy
Lynn Tomkins
Francois Tremblay
David Martin Vine
Shamez Virani
Erin Watson
Tom Wheeler
Ian Wilson
Luke Wilson
Ian Wilson
Jonathan Wolfe
Byron Wowchuk
Matt Young
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
All events are subject to change.
June 1st
14:30 Pegasus Bridge Museum
16:30 Le Mesnil Crossroads and 1 Can Para Memorial
19:00 Bernières-sur-Mer and Canada House (Dinner)
June 2nd
10:00 Juno Beach Centre
13:00 Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery
17:00 Dinner in Anisy
June 3rd
10:00 Carpiquiet (Airport)
12:00 Commemoration in Giberville (Dinner in Giberville)
June 4th
11:00 Commemoration in Le Mesnil-Patry
14:00 Commemoration (Rue Bill Ross) in Anguerny (Dinner in Anguerny)
June 5th
10:00 Historical walk from Bernières-sur-Mer to Anisy
16:00 Parade in Anisy (Dinner in Anisy)
June 6th
8:00 Commemoration at Canada House
11:00 Ceremony at JBC (TBC)
18:00 Mess Dinner
21:00 Lantern Ceremony
June 7th
11:00 Ceremony in Caen (Battlefields Foundation)