History of Ivy House

At Ivy House we are within easy reach of the many historic sites and places of interest that can be found in the Manche. For those that are interested in the history of the Second World War, St Mere Eglise, with its famous church, a symbol of liberation - which preserves the memory of American Parachutist John Steele who landed on the bell-tower – and its Airborne Museum, is a short distance away. Plus, the additional landing beaches of June 1944, the military cemeteries, monuments/places of remembrance and the many museums, are all accessible within reasonable driving distance.

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) was utilised by German soldiers of 3rd Company 919 Grenadier Regt, when it provided accomodation for the troops - who were manning the bunkers of the ‘Atlantic Wall’. The hapless French civilians were prohibited from moving within 1500 metres of the beach in 1944, as the Germans were preparing defences and minefields against the expected invasion.

We are located at the top right of this map, as indicated

The troops came ashore and passed Ivy house

Why “Ivy House”?

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, these soldiers liberated the village of La Madeleine and La Grande Dune before moving inland towards Ste Marie du Mont to link up with Paratroopers of the U.S. 101st Airborne.
The patch they wore on the left arm of their Uniform was inherited from the original 4th 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, suggests 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”