Ivy House History

From our gites and bed & breakfast accommodation at Utah Beach Normandy, Utah Beach is 5 minutes walk.

On D-Day, June 6th 1944, some of the first troops to land on the beach behind Ivy House were from the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. This beach is better known as Utah Beach. These soldiers liberated the village of La Madeleine and La Grande Dune before moving inland towards Sainte Marie du Mont to link up with Paratroopers of the U.S. 101st Airborne. Part of the 101st Airborne were Easy Company; depicted in the television series Band of Brothers.

The patch that was worn on the left arm of their Uniforms was inherited from the original 4th Infantry Division of World War I; the insignia is composed of four green ivy leaves attached at the stems and opening at the four corners of a square on a brown background. The word "i-vy", as pronounced, are the characters used in the Roman Numeral "IV". The 4th Infantry then became known as the “Ivy Division” or the “Ivy League”; their motto was “Steadfast and Loyal”.

Our own Gites, formerly the stables, were partially re-built in the 1950’s after suffering damage in the Naval bombardment of June 6th 1944. The house, together with the neighbouring farm, were utilised by German soldiers of 3rd Company 919 Grenadier Regiment as accomodation for the troops who were manning the bunkers of the Atlantic Wall.

Leading up to the invasion in 1944, the Germans were busy preparing defences for the expected invasion and as a result, the hapless French civilians were prohibited from moving within 1500 metres of the beach.

Our house and converted stable block witnessed the allied D-Day landings in 1944. All these years later, they nestle peacefully in beautiful gardens, surrounded by fantastic countryside views. Ivy House is just 500 meters from the historic D-Day Utah Beach Normandy.