I’m supporting SASWT as they bring HOPE to young people in Southport, Formby and the surrounding areas. Today young people face many challenges; schools do a fantastic job of support, although they are overstretched.
SASWT go into schools and bring HOPE to children through presenting assemblies covering various topics such as Bullying, Getting On and Falling Out, and Achieving Goals. They offer three yearly presentations to the primary schools about Christmas and Easter and one for Year 6 children moving into high school.
The SASWT create a safe time and place in local secondary schools to explore the significant issues of life and faith. This is weekly through being a presence at lunchtimes, through the ‘Safe Space’ lunchtime drop-ins, with games, discussion, a ‘Three Minute Thought’ and online engagement.
Bringing HOPE to future generations is so important. I’m grateful that my Dad’s generation did just this. On D-Day in 1944, he landed with the 5th Batallion Kings (Liverpool Regiment) on Sword Beach in Normandy; during 1945, he became part of T-Force, and in May 1945, he celebrated VE Day in Denmark. Even today, the Danes mark the end of WW2 by placing candles in their windows, symbolising the light returning to their nation after years of darkness. So on the 21st of April, I’ll set out to cycle his journey from D-Day to VE Day, covering 871 miles from Sword Beach to Kolding in Denmark, 78 years after he did. In my small way of supporting SASWT, I’m seeking to bring HOPE to the next generation. In anticipation, thank you for your support as we bring HOPE to future generations.
Patrick’s fundraiser for The Southport and Area Schools Worker Trust
SOUTHPORT & AREA SCHOOLS WORKER TRUST IS A LOCAL CHARITY WHICH HAS SERVED CHILDREN, TEENAGERS AND THEIR SCHOOLS FOR OVER TWO DECADES WITH AN EVER-GROWING VISION TO PROVIDE SAFE SPACES TO EXPLORE THE BIG ISSUES OF LIFE AND FAITH.
We partner with schools, youth clubs, churches and other organisations to make a lasting difference in the lives of local young people – unleashing purpose, building resilience and bringing hope for the future.
CQMS Howell Evans
I set off from Ainsdale with excitement and trepidation this morning. Excitement that all the planning had come together, and a trip originally planned for 2020 (the 75th Anniversary of VE Day), but cancelled because of Covid, was now ready to start.
Trepidation though because all the bravado of speaking about the trip was easy, doing it will be totally different.
My Dad had signed up in April 1939, months ahead of war being declared but he could, unfortunately, see the direction of travel. Up until D-Day he had not left the UK and had spent most of his time near Fort William where soldiers were trained for combat.
I imagine he didn’t have much excitement as he set off for Europe, certainly he’d have had trepidation and I would think fear of what lay ahead. He would also have had a tremendous sense of service and duty, being of an age and at a time when he could make a difference for people, not only in that moment but for years ahead.
As I travelled to Wigan to catch the train onward to London I was joined by my cycling companion at Burscough. We cycled across London from Euston to Waterloo to arrive in Portsmouth in time for dinner, after which we went to the ferry terminal for the overnight crossing to Caen. Boarding was laboriously slow taking 90 minutes in the rain with a chilling breeze. We met 4 other cyclists, which is always exciting. A lady was going onward to the south of France to cycle the Canal Du Midi; she wanted some spring sunshine. One man was getting the later ferry to Cherbourg and would cycle round the coast to Saint Malo in a day, returning the following evening. Two young men had given up their jobs predicting an economic downturn and were getting the train to Southern Portugal. From there they would take the summer to cycle through Europe to the Finish boarder with Russia at its most northerly point. Makes our trip look pretty pedestrian.
The ferry crossing was calm and easy, unlike that for the folk in 1944. Most had been on their vessels since the 4th June, but because of adverse weather conditions D-Day was cancelled and reinstated for the 6th June. Even this date was not ideal for sailing and many men were desperately sea sick. Cancelling any longer would have put Operation Overlord on hold because the tide conditions and the moonlight for landing in darkness would not come around again for months
D-Day minus 1 – Thursday, 20 April 2023 – Travel to Caen
Dawn on D-Day on Sword Beach
Dawn on D-Day on Sword Beach
Poste de Secours d’Hermanville sur Me
Looking inland from Sword Beach at Poste de Secours d’Hermanville sur Mer.
Sword Beach
The plaque on the edge of Sword Beach to my Dad’s Battalion – you’ll notice by my left hand my Dad’s battalion cap badge that I am travelling with. “Difficulties be damned” is the translation of Nec Aspera Terrent, I think I’ll adopt this as my motto for the next two weeks!
Day 1 – Friday, 21 April 2023 – Sword Beach to Port Jerome (59.0 Miles – 382 Meters)
Pegasus Bridge
My first night of D-Day on this bike ride was in great comfort unlike that of my Dad on the evening if the 6th June 1944. You can read about it in this newspaper cutting from the Liverpool Echo…he was fortunate to make it to the 7th June!
Pegasus Bridge Cafe
This is the cafe on the east side of the bridge, the first place to be liberated as gliders landed with British troops on the west side of the bridge just before midnight on the 5th of June.
Plaque above the cafe door. The cafe was our breakfast stop.
The route takes us both through on and off road, this is a former rail line. The day is warm and dry.
Lovely French towns to pass through, with squares for a place to catch our breath.
Towards the end of the day a small ferry takes us across the River Seine, with the hotel located a couple of miles on in Port Jerome south of Le Harve.
Day 2 – Saturday, 22 April 2023 – Port Jerome to Le Treport (62.4 miles – 603 meters)
Le Tréport is the location for our second nights. Two days gone which is good. Today was the highest level of ascent of the journey with four significant climbs over about 65 miles. Going up the hills you really notice the weight of the luggage on the bike. We moved on from Sword Beach upon arrival. For my Dad and his Company, they stayed on Sword Beach for a few months, securing it as a safe passage and effectively a warehouse for replenishing the needs of the army further down the line. I remember him saying the locals treated them as Lords, especially plying them with fresh food that they hadn’t seen back home in years.
Day 2 was forecast to rain in the morning although quite early into the day the cloud broke and we had blue skies all the way.
Every village has memorials to those killed in action in the two world wars.
The tree is estimated to be 1200 years old.
Some treehouse! French cyclists exploring it.
Notice the tree in the left hand corner.
Day 3 – Sun, 23 Apr 2023 – Le Treport to Le Fruges (56.2 miles – 544 meter assent)
Forecast this morning was for rain although it pretty much held off for the morning. If you look at yesterday’s photo looking out from our overnight stay town of Le Tréport towards the white cliffs, then todays early morning photo looks the opposite way. The photo doesn’t do the climb justice!
This morning I shot a very short video message referencing today’s lectionary reading of the Road to Emmaus, which is when two disciples met the risen Jesus along the road but fail to recognise him immediately (Luke Ch 24). Within a minute of finishing the video Richard (left) stopped and chattered and then travelled together for a short while. He is from Australia and was travelling to Amsterdam before sailing on to London for the Kings coronation. We all spoke of our fathers experience in WW2, with Stephen and Simon (right, my fellow traveler) sharing their fathers RAF history. It was great to meet a fellow long distance cyclist and share stories and experiences together. We realise how indebted we are to them and all of that generation for the courage and fortitude they displayed.
Given very few places are open in France on a Sunday afternoon, we’d brought lunch from the boulangerie in the morning and ate it overlooking this idyllic village scene. If you look closely you will see that most of the cars in the distance are Jaguars, there must have been about forty of them, all French, for a rally of the French Jaguar owners club. The last ninety minutes of the day were in very heavy rain so we were delighted to get to our apartment at Monteville near Fruges. Day 3 of 13 cycling days completed. Tomorrow we March (ok cycle) to Dunkirk).
Clipping
My first night of D-Day on this bike ride was in great comfort unlike that of my Dad on the evening if the 6th June 1944. You can read about it in this newspaper cutting from the Liverpool Echo…he was fortunate to make it to the 7th June!
Day 4 – Monday, 24 Apr 2023 – Le Fruges to Dunkirk (45.0 miles – 215 meters assent)
Today’s trip was planned with a level of ease in mind given the amount of climbs the first three days. The first half of the day was undulating as the picture below shows…
…although from this juncture onwards we could see the flatlands that lay ahead n the distance.
As we glided down the hill we came across our first commonwealth war cemetery at Cimetière de Longuenesse
Walking around a cemetery such as this acts as a reminder that regardless of nationality or faith, war does not discriminate.
The sight below shows that for a little while at least we will be riding on the flat although canal paths in this part of France water pretty woeful.
The sight below shows that for a little while at least we will be riding on the flat although canal paths in this part of France water pretty woeful.
Our finishing point today is Dunkirk.
In July 2022 this point in dunkirk was the start for stage 4 of the Tour de France to Calais.
Much of my Dads regiment had remained around Sword Beach and Normandy for some months after D-Day to ensure supplies came through to the front line with ease. Many of the men from the Kings Regiment were redeployed to other battalions to replace those who had died or suffering from injury. What remained of the 5th Battalion of the Kings Liverpool Regiment had moved north and found themselves outside Antwerp. In March 1945 they were redeployed to Dunkirk to maintain the security at the perimeter line around the town. Dunkirk continued to remained in German hands although it was cut off from the rest of the territory that Germany held. The perimeter line was to ensure there wasn’t a breakout of German forces. It must have been extremely difficult for the local civilians during this time.
Around Dunkirk there are many memorials to the two world wars. These photos are of a memorial to the civilians of Dunkirk.
Day 5 -Tuesday, 25 Apr 2023 – Dunkirk to Ghent (71.8 miles – 53 meters assent)
Today the mileage increases as the ascent decreases. To begin the day we followed a former railway line close to the coast. After a short while we went past Zuydcoote Military Cemetery; most of the graves were from WW1, a reminder that we we’re approaching Belgium on whose soil much of that war was fought.
Around twenty miles in we crossed the Belgium border at the small town of Adinkerke. It is good to have a lot of the climbing in France behind us although it will return in the last couple of days.
The King Albert I Memorial at Nieuwpoort, Belgium was impressive in its stature, although we chose not to climb to the viewing balcony at the top.
You can read about the memorial below.
I wonder if the “pond”below is in fact a bomb crater. In the distance you can see gun emplacements that to me look as if they are from WWII.
We arrive in Bruges for lunch. The wind had been out foe most of the morning but having turned more eastward the wind was now our friend.
The canal side cycle tracks in Belgium are fantastic and heavily used by people going about there business from village to village. Electric bikes we’re constantly overtaking us…it’s the future for sure!
This is a sculpture made from a Canadian Sherman Tank at Oostkamp (you can read about it here https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/7627/Peace-Memorial-Moerbrugge.htm) in memory of Canadian soldiers.
The days end) and tomorrow for the only rest day), is the city of Ghent. In medieval times its population was very large standing at 60,000 (by comparison the population of Amsterdam was only 1,000).
Day 6 – Wed, 26 Apr 2023 – Rest Day
Day 7 – Thu, 27 Apr 2023 – Ghent to Lommel (78.7 miles 133 meters)
Following our rest day we left behind the beautiful city of Ghent. Our day was to be pretty flat following the sides of railway lines, canals and rivers. Rain did not materialise although we were significantly hampered by a head wind all day. This slowed us down considerably and so proved to be our longest day on the bike so far.
Upon arriving in Antwerp we needed to cross to the south side of the River Scheldt to the south. There is a remarkable absence of bridges, although those bike friendly Belgium’s have thought of everything…a tunnel.
Blink and you would miss the entrance to the lift shaft that takes you to an under water cycle track – the Kennedy Tunnel.
Lunch was most welcomed in Antwerp, overlooking this square.
The afternoon was spent hugging various canals before arriving early evening in Lommel, just on the before we cross the boarder of Holland tomorrow.
Day 8 – Fri, 28 Apr 2023 – Lommel to Xanten (72.5miles 113meters)
After yesterdays gruelling ride against the wind, today the wind was behind us and we made a great start. Within an hour we had crossed the boarder into Holland. With time on our hands we stopped for morning coffee in Weert.
Most of the day was cycling canal, river or roadside. The cycle paths continue to be excellent and even roadside one are dedicated paths with rights of way for cyclists at junctions; we had to get use to this as we were not confident cars would stop, but they do. There was one patch through some woods which provided some different scenery.
We arrived in the Dutch town of Venlo for lunch.
By March 1945 my Dad’s Battalion had been absorbed into T-Force. There had been a realisation that as the war would draw to a close, the Germans had made many technical advances. There was the treat that these would be lost, destroyed, looted or captured by the Russian forces advancing from the east. There was also a fear that the scientists could be killed. T-Force was the brainchild of Ian Fleming of James Bond fame. Their aim was to secure facilities, and immediately transfer the key scientific personnel to the UK or US. Many would be in London within 24 hours of being liberated, along with key documents and equipment. All such people were processed through the “T-Force Investigators Transit Camp” in the Dutch town of Venlo. The camp was manned entirely by the 5th Kings Reinforcement Holding Unit and could hold up to 100 scientists passing through at any one time. My Dad will certainly have been in Venlo at some point, although he was part of T-Force that swept into Germany and onto Denmark. You can read more about T-Force at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Force.
Day 8 – Fri, 28 Apr 2023 – Lommel to Xanten (72.5miles 113meters)
After yesterdays gruelling ride against the wind, today the wind was behind us and we made a great start. Within an hour we had crossed the boarder into Holland. With time on our hands we stopped for morning coffee in Weert.
Most of the day was cycling canal, river or roadside. The cycle paths continue to be excellent and even roadside one are dedicated paths with rights of way for cyclists at junctions; we had to get use to this as we were not confident cars would stop, but they do. There was one patch through some woods which provided some different scenery.
We arrived in the Dutch town of Venlo for lunch.
By March 1945 my Dad’s Battalion had been absorbed into T-Force. There had been a realisation that as the war would draw to a close, the Germans had made many technical advances. There was the treat that these would be lost, destroyed, looted or captured by the Russian forces advancing from the east. There was also a fear that the scientists could be killed. T-Force was the brainchild of Ian Fleming of James Bond fame. Their aim was to secure facilities, and immediately transfer the key scientific personnel to the UK or US. Many would be in London within 24 hours of being liberated, along with key documents and equipment. All such people were processed through the “T-Force Investigators Transit Camp” in the Dutch town of Venlo. The camp was manned entirely by the 5th Kings Reinforcement Holding Unit and could hold up to 100 scientists passing through at any one time. My Dad will certainly have been in Venlo at some point, although he was part of T-Force that swept into Germany and onto Denmark. You can read more about T-Force at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Force.
Day 9 – Sat, 29 Apr 2023 – Xanten to Nordwalde (65.3miles 217 meters)
This morning was a bit of a later start because we had to get the bike/pedestrian ferry across the River Rhine and it did not start until 10am; on this basis the mileage for today was reduced to 65.
Most of the cycling today was roadside…
…although we had some relief from this such as this former railway track.
We passed through a view towns all with similar squares, this is Coesfeld.
You may have seen on some of the material regarding the bike ride I wrote about helping to bring HOPE to future generations through the SASWT or as the likes of my Dad did towards the end of the war. As an aside my Dad’s name was Howell Wynne Hope Evans…what’s in a name!
Saturday was quite a tough cycle as again we were against a headwind from the east. I probably felt the lowest so far during this bike ride. In the middle of the day I had to give myself a good talking to. Your support is invaluable at such moments whether it be your amazing generosity in supporting the SASWT, and/or your prayer support and encouragement – please keep praying 
. God bless.
Day 9 – Sunday 30th April – Nordwalde to Sulingen (79.2 miles – 298 metres ascent)
We arrived in the city of Osnabrück around 12.30 and through most of the city followed the football fans going to the match (just for the record Osnabrück beat Zwickau 4-3 with a penalty in the 95th minute).
B Company (my fathers Company), of the 5th Battalion of the Kings Regiment had a number of facilities in Osnabrück as their target. T-Force were meant to sit just behind the assault units and enter cities immediately after the commandos had dealt with any resistance. By this stage of the war communication and instructions were pretty rapid and ever changing. As on a number of occasions T-Force reached Osnabrück before the assault units although they were unaware of this until the commandos arrived! So on 8th April T-Force had taken control of the Gestspo HQ in Osnabrück. As an industrial town, the city was home to research facilities producing equipment for submarines and aircraft. Much of the equipment and researches were sent west back down the line.
After lunch we headed on and our day took a turn for the worse. My travelling companions chain got wedged between the rear gear cassette and the wheel spokes. Two spokes close to each other immediately snapped. It took the loosening of another spoke to eventually release the chain. The wheel was slightly warped. Simon is very good technically; to get his bike road worthy took an hour, and we still had 40 miles to complete. We were unsure if his wheel would hold out and whether other spokes would be damage and would break. We quickly rerouted our journey to ensure we were on road cycle paths and not on any dirt tracks. Gently we rode the 40 miles arriving at our destination at 6.30…a very long day. I was in time to watch the remainder of the football via FaceTime via my sons phone back in Ainsdale…the wonders of modern technology! The wheel will need repairing, although tomorrow is a bank holiday which in Germany means everything is pretty much shut, very different from the UK. So our plan is to continue our journey tomorrow as planned, although rerouted to avoid tracks and keeping to the good roadside cycle paths. On Tuesday morning we will travel through Hamburg where there are plenty of cycle shops, and get the wheel mended although this may take a couple of hours. We therefore have a contingency route that will still enable us to reach our destination of Kolding on Thursday. As the Kingsmen would say “difficulty be damned”. Worse case scenario is that the wheel totally buckles before arriving in Hamburg. Watch this space.
Below is a picture from todays final destination of Sulingen.
Day 11 – Mon, 1 May 2023 – Sulingen to Buchholz (71.2 miles – 194 ascent)
We made really good time today, one of the best cycling days we’ve had given that the wind was at last behind us. Simon “two spokes short of a back wheel” became “three spokes short…”. To be honest it is amazing he has managed to ride his bike 110 miles since the mechanical mishap. So tomorrow morning we are going to be camped outside the local bike shop for when it opens at 10am. The plan is to get a new wheel, or if that isn’t possible to have the wheel repaired.
By my reckoning we have now completed 662 miles with 209 to go. Still some tough miles ahead.
On this day in 2009, in his 95th year, my Dad died peacefully. May he rest in peace.
Day 12 – Tue, 2 May 2023 – Buchholz to Ahrensbok (71.7 miles 318 meters)
Today started quite leisurely with an hour for breakfast at a good cafe before the bike shop opened at 10 in Buchholz. The workshop must have had 30 plus bikes waiting to be assembled as well as other repairs. The only mechanic said it’s a month and a half wait for repairs etc but because we were touring he’d sort Simon’s bike out first. Thirty minutes later the bike was ready with what looked like half of the spokes having been replaced. By the time we were sorted it was in reality a 11am start.
Travelling over the motorway we saw a lot of congestion.
We had congestion of our own as we cycled through Hamburg. The city has a population of 1.85 million, Manchester by comparison is just over 550,000. We came across our second pedestrian and cycle tunnelof our trip, the St. Pauli-Elbtunnel, built in 1911.
There were however some quieter parts of the journey through Hamburg such as this park .
Upon exiting the tunnel we came across this interestingly shaped church in the round, with the Heinrich Hertz Tower, communications tower in the background.
Day 13 – Wed, 3 May 2023 – Lubeck to Flensberg (73.1 miles 373 meters)
We then made a wrong turn which was to cost us dearly. It’s the first time we got the navigation wrong and we realised too late that it would add another 13 miles to our day, making it the longest ride of the tour. Their was nothing we could do but cycle on…”difficulty be damned” as the Kingsmen would say.
Talking of which, on the 5th May 1944 the Kingsmen entered Kiel with some difficulty also. There were no road signs to guide them, and the roads were pitted with mortar craters. The cobbled streets shook the men in their trucks as we can testify. They passed hundreds of emaciated slave labourers weeping as they walked.
T-Force where the first allied forces in Kiel and had moved ahead of the assault commando’s in the confusion of the hour. They secured the city and most significantly the port where two of the Germans most lethal warships were stationed and fully loaded. After some initial resistance, by 2.30pm the Germans surrendered the city to T-Force.
Today started well for what was going to be a 75 mile ride, although we knew the topography was going to be far more undulating and therefore challenging. After an 8.15am start we had breakfast lake side in Plön.
Our final ferry of the trip came with 10 miles to go of today’s mileage. We reached our destination at 6.45pm, a long (sore) day in the saddle.
You will notice in the near right hand side a grey boat with a German flag that to me looks like a compounded “yacht” of a Russian oligarch. How the spoils of war change!
God willing tomorrow will see us arrive at our final destination of Kolding in Denmark. My Dad arrived there on the 7th May, so we are a few days ahead of him. This is so on the 4th May we can see the celebration of lights, which is when the blackout blinds were taken down and to this day people place lights in their windows. The liberation of Denmark was agreed on the 4th May, although was not signed until the 5th May which is the official Liberation Day, and this year coincides with a Bank Holiday called the Great Prayer Day (an accumulation of various Saints Days and Festivals). It’s the last time this particular bank holiday will happen in Denmark as the government have scrapped it in order to increase national productivity, much to the disdain of the Danish who have been protesting about it.
Day 14 – Thu, 4 May 2023 – Flensberg to Kolding (60 miles 455 meters)
Just crossing the boarder… 50 miles to go!
At the finish line in Kolding…thank you for all your support. Can’t quite believe it! 
Our journeys end was the town square of Kolding where there was a display of WW2 military vehicles. The jeep I am sat in was an American one that landed on D-Day in Normandy. There was also a display of old photos as below, showing the reclaiming of the city. This one is from 5th May with the signing of the withdrawal agreement of the Germans.
In the evening there was a service at St Nicolai Church to mark the liberation.
After the service their was a procession to the Staldgården which had been the Gestapo headquarters in WW2 and is now the Museum of Kolding. There where speeches by the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and the Director and Inspector of the Museum. They keynote speech was from the Ambassador of Ukraine, Vydoinyk Mykhailo. Fortunately his speech was in English. It was very poignant. He spoke about history repeating itself in many senses, as well as the need for unity in supporting one another. He especially gave thanks for the hospital given to refugees from Ukraine in Denmark. He then spoke in Ukrainian to the Ukrainians gathered there, all women and young children who had fled the war and were living in Kolding. There must have been 30 of them. They hung onto his every word and embraced him at the end.
The evening ended with wreath laying at the memorial for the fallen in the freedom struggle 1940-45, at Fredericigade.
Day 15 – Fri, 5 May 2023 – Liberation Day & Great Prayer Day – Bank Holiday in Denmark
Today is a Bank Holiday in Denmark and, coincidentally, Liberation Day. To be honest the weather was terrible and I was absolutely shattered so we just caught the bus to Billund Airport to collect hire car (passing Kegoland en route…there wouldn’t be an airport here with out Lego!). We then relocated to the town by of Vejle, 15 miles from Kolding…and slept.On this day in 1945, the men of the 5th Kings, now in T-Force, entered and liberated Kiel as explained in my entry of the 3rd May.
Day 16 – Sat, 6 May 2023
Reinvigorated by yesterday’s rest, we travelled to the Danish capital Copenhagen.It felt like we were missing out on the coronation at home although watched the crowning on the phone whilst having lunch.
Mrs Evans arrived at 9pm this evening 
Day 17 – Sun, 7 May 2023
This morning we joined the congregation of Metodistkirken i Vejle – Sct. Pouls Kirke.
Their minister is Rev Anne Klitgaard Thompson who is from Denmark and trained at Cliff College in Derbyshire, which is where she and her husband Duncan met. The congregation gave us a warm welcome and we shared in a fabulous lunch which them after the service which members of the church had kindly prepared.
During the service I was invited to share about “hope” and about the journey of my father and the cycle ride.
It was really interesting to hear from some members of the congregation who were children during the Nazi occupation. In the days and weeks leading up to liberation there was a real fear that the Russians would be the first to reach the ports of Kiel and others up the Baltic coast through into Denmark, and that Denmark would become part of the Soviet block. So much so that many Danes had begun to learn Russian. It was therefore a double delight when the British and Allied forces arrived in Denmark.