The MOD’s DDay70 page has not gone live yet but I have managed to get hold of the MOD form required to apply for accreditation needed to attend ceremonies in Normandy on 6th June.
If you are travelling with a tour operator you will still have to complete this form but it may be worth checking with the company to see if they are doing anything on your behalf: but do not assume they are. If in doubt fill in the form and send it off.
Many have asked what the cost is for accreditation: please note there is no cost involved.
If you have any queries regarding this then contact the MOD direct.
The form states:
Please return your completed forms to the MOD Ceremonial, Events and Commemorations Team by post or by e-mail as soon as possible but no later than 30 April 2014.
D-Day 70, CECT, Lvl 6 Zone C,
MOD Main Building,
Whitehall,
LONDON SW1A 2HB.
The form is here:
D-DAY70-ACCREDITATION AND EVENT TICKET APPLICATION FORM
D-Day 70: 1944-2014 
I can open the file, but am unable to edit it or save it as it says the file is corrupt. Any advice please?
I have just tried opening this on three different PCs including a Mac with no problems.
It is a Microsoft Word document and may not be compatible with other word-processing software?
Thank you so much for this. I completed it in Word and it will be in the post tomorrow. You are providing an invaluable service. I have passed your website to my friend in Normandy who has had difficulty finding out any details.
Hello, I am the Town Councilor in Arromanches who is organizing the NVA Brit parade and all the Brit based Events here in Arromanches.
I am inpretty much daily contact with MOD, the Embassies (I’m also part of the organizing team for the Dutch Parade 500 strong with a few royals and PM’s sprinkled in amongst them as well).
I am really enjoying getting emails and unofficial website links daily, that tell me what the arrangements are here in Arromanches and what bits of paper people will need to get into the village, because none of these aspects are yet clarified.
Having spoken to the Dept Mil Attaché in Paris who is “lead” for the Arromanches Commemorations just 5 minutes (04/04/14) ago, and having met and talked regularly over the last 6 months with the Paris Mil Attaché and other members of his staff…it was interesting to find that the Embassy “Lead” had no knowledge of any of this “Accreditation” procedure, or “exclusion Zones”.
Similarly, the Regional and Local Police Reps in the Dutch Parade planning meeting here Wednesday were also unaware of any confirmed or clarified arrangements.
I Note that this form has been “obtained” in advance of the MOD site going live.
Having sat in MOD HQ HorseGuards and had a cup of tea with the Under Secretary of State for Defense in this House of Lords Office discussing the event planning, both within the last 3 weeks, I have to say I am somewhat surprised.
Sure thing is that the several thousand local French people who will flood into Arromanches for the events to meet the Veterans and certainly to watch the Fireworks on both the 5th and 6th….they will certainly not be filling out any forms !
The INTERNATIONAL EVENT with 19 heads of state is a very restricted event, but as of 04/04/14, being responsible for the British Event organisation for the Mayor and Mairie of Arromanches, I am unaware of any special requirements being necessary to visit our little Village.
This may change, but I wouldn’t panic about things just yet.
Thank you for your input but the fact that you do not know about it does not mean it will be not happen. The information posted here comes direct from MOD and I have emails from MOD thanking me for putting it online until their site goes live. The fact that the cut off date is just a few weeks away then I am sure you will agree that this information needs to be out there ASAP which is why I started this blog and the dday70 site some time ago.
As I understand it from MOD your events in Arromanches are public and do not require passes to attend but accreditation is necessary for anyone wishing to enter the area in which Arromanches is located in their own vehicle or on a coach. No accreditation and they will not get past check points.
I am presuming that the French are making their own arrangements for their nationals but I do understand they will require passes too.
The real failure here is that the Normandy area has not got its act together and made clear information available as to what is happening, what is required to attend it and what visitors need to do in advance of coming. It’s less than 70 days to 6th June and the official Normandy site has little more on it than when it first went live.
Again – another reason why I have this site and DDay70.co.uk : really a member of the public such as myself should not have to be doing this.
Has Arromanches put full details of all events online? If so, can I have a link please.
Sir,
Thank you for your response.
I am sure you are doing a great job of trying to keep people informed.
However, with respect to ARRROMANCHES specific requrements you have published, your webpage https://dday70.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/latest-news-on-d-day70/ clearly states that the Arromanches Event requires tickets to enter, which is incorrect.
As a result I have received hundreds of emails and calls in the last few days, requesting non-existent tickets for the Arromanches Event.
I too am a member of the public, but also an unpaid elected Mairie d’Arromanches Councilor entrusted by the people of Arromanches to “look after their boys on the 6th”.
My 18 hr 7/7 days working to pull 5 days of events together, and which started back in August last year, are already not enough to get everything done. Replying to hundreds of un-necessary emails takes effort away from the primary task.
The last thing any of us wants is to prevent or put Veterans off getting to where THEY want to be. They had enough of that in 1944.
Please can you contact me direct at mairiearromanches@wanadoo.fr to keep in touch.
Thank you for your reply. I will drop you an email.
But the information you question re Arromanches comes direct from the MOD.
Your final statement is unhelpful, totally incorrect and is offensive to the people of Arromanches , I hope through ignorance of the facts rather than some form of malice. The 2009 event was organised by the NVA NOT Arromanches, and the chap who organised it is no longer associated with the NVA because of it. Arromanches cooperated 100% with the MOD and tried to cooperate with the NVA representative, and indeed put in all measures requested. The NVA representative refused seating for the veterans although seating was made available at Arromanches expense, and the same NVA representative failed to provide a plan to re-unite veterans with their tour buses at the end of the ceremony and refused to cooperate or share information with either MOD or Arromanches all through the planning and execution. The same representative refused provision of a Military Band to accompany the veterans and decided to use his own pre-recorded CD’s and DVD’s which failed to work. The Veterans parade was delayed by the late arrival of a PM which was not in the control of the Arromanches Authorities. Provision of Umbrellas and waterproof ponchos which would have negated the effect of the sudden downpour during the ceremony was vetoed by the NVA representative. The many inhabitants of Arromanches who collected up bedraggled veterans to warm them, dry them out and give them tea while waiting to get back to their coaches did everything possible to look after the veterans..Your remarks are ill-informed extremely offensive and antagonistic, and I trust that you will withdraw them.
Your memory of events and mine are very different. But as this site is about providing information and not about creating arguments I will remove this debate.
All I would say if the town of Arromanches has information that contradicts what MOD are stating then they need to publish this online ASAP and speak to MOD to inform them.
I have downloaded and filled out this form for the 4 members of my family but I cannot find an email address to send them to. Am I just missing it or is it not here? Thank you.
The email address is on the form.
I spoke to the Ceremonial Events and Commemorations Team yesterday and was told that they will only be dealing with accreditations for D Day (WW2) Veterans. The form is not an application for a vehicle pass for re enactors/visitors to access the the exclusion zone.
It seems the whole process is going through change and there will be more information on the MOD DDay70 site which goes live tomorrow I believe.
Thanks Paul – your assistance in getting the form out into the community is much appreciated by the IMPS and MVT vehicle participants and many more besides, plus all our Milweb readers.
See you on the beach!
Paul and other contributors
Thank you for all the comments and information – it is very much appreciated. The one thing that we all have in common is our shared interest in making the 70th a milestone to remember and treasure. However, I am very confused having just filled in the MOD form along with my brother and friend). My father was a veteran but died in 1972 and never went back to the beaches where he lost friends on Sword beach on D-day. We want to go back in his memory and theirs but are frustrated about the lack of information and not knowing what the process is for us and if we will get a travel pass . We are staying on a holiday park at Houlgate just to the east of Cabourg so don’t know if this is in the congestion zone and/or if we will need a vehicle pass.
Roy
I think the MOD contacted you earlier in the week regarding your interpretation of some of the detail, didn’t they Paul ?
I am at a meeting with many of the local Mayors in the congestion Zone on Monday evening where the Prefecture is due to give a briefing on local arrangements around traffic, access, congestion zone and the requirements for passes etc, so I will pass on any detail that comes out of that.
Meeting with the local Gendarlmerie this afternoon at the Mairie regarding plans for some minor road closures to avoid bottle-necks forming, but nothing of note. I’m meeting up with the Embassy Naval Attaché who is lead on the Arromanches event on Wednesday to discuss various matters, including the Congestion zone. Tuesday, the Embassy Desk Officer, overall lead for the British events in Normandy called to say that following that day’s meeting at Caen Prefecture, the congestion zone requirements were being scaled down such that they would only now apply on the 6th itself, rather than over the full 4 day period mentioned in the original document, but I would wait for confirmation on the MOD site for confirmation.
With regards to Arromanches being listed as a ticket-only event, I am meeting with the Dutch Consul Thursday to discuss details of their parade on the morning of the 6th, but as of our last get together along with the Dutch Military Attaché last Wednesday, there was still no mention of their requiring ticket only access to Arromanches on the 6th for their morning parade. At the Mairie Press conference on Tuesday, it was stated that there were no entry ticket requirements for the Arromanches Parade. The Embassy lead confirmed that the requirement for accreditation had been instigated by the French Minister for Veterans affairs. So, apart from the likelyhood of massive crowds heading towards Arromanches, it is very much open for business on the 6th and all over the weekend, in particular with a fairly good airshow going on Saturday 7th with BBMF , rescue helicpters and the Patrouille de France doing a full display during the afternoon.
No, the MOD did not contact me regarding my “interpretation of some of the detail” as everything recently posted on the site has come word-for-word directly from the MOD.
What they have done is make a major change in their role in providing accreditation and will now only do this for veterans and their families. This information has now been added to the site.
Anyone else has to now apply to the “French authorities” direct although MOD cannot say who this is.
They still maintain there will be a ticketed event at Arromanches and that to get to Arromanches on the 6th any vehicles will require accreditation. If that is different to what you have locally then I suggest you contact MOD to discuss.
hi Roy, I am also staying in Houlgate and only found out today by a streak of luck about the accreditation, and so far what I have read no body really has a clue what to do or how to do it, what a very complicated system for such an important event, if you have any further info I would be grateful, if I cant register in time can I still get to the beaches etc ,whats the point in going if you cant get to anything because the system is too difficult to register!!!!
Roy,
My understanding of how the security requirements will work is that it will be pretty similar to dday65. You will need to to apply for a pass to get through the outer cordon (being in Houlgate – I stayed in Houlgate for 65 and was outside the cordon – this cordon now appears to only be in place for the 6th now), VVIP events appear to still require a pass, but the NVA parade in Arromanches is run by the local Mayor in consultation with the Surrey NVA (as every year except the mess of dday65), and this as always in unrestricted once you inside the outer cordon as described above.
hello ,all , adrian good day to you and to you paul. I have to say firstly that I have met adrian and stayed at his property back in 2010, and can only say from my experience that he is an honourable and honest man who tries his best to help anyone attending arromanches get the best from their stay . Just as i am sure paul you do the same with your knowledge and passsion for ww1 and ww2 . we share that passion and i will be attending the celebrations, as to the pass situation, i have contacted the MOD, and have been told that a decision on passes for all non veterens will be down to the french authorities and definately not the MOD . I was told that information regarding what we will have to do is to be put hopefully by today if not next week. i do find it a shame that there isnt one unified site explaining all the events , timings etc , but most importantly this is a time for remembrance and reflection and the veterens are the most important people for me at this time .
Absolutely, but you will appreciate I can only put in place what information becomes available and it does not help anyone when the organisation providing that information and setting out the ground rules decides to change its approach part way in.
If you read the latest news accreditation will be needed to net the congestion zone on D-Day and anyone inside will also need it to move around in a vehicle but that is now the responsibility of as yet an un-named French department.
With less than two months to 6th June that is somewhat crazy to say the least!
totally agree with you paul, i have found it completely frustrating! as of today (and im a legion member and ex RAF) I have had an email from both the MoD and the legion regarding accreditation but this still only applies to veterens, their carers and direct family. the MoD gave ma a link to the normandy website , and on this you can send in your details and events you want to go to but it doesnt say you will get access or anything about passes for the area. i think it is quite a ridiculous situation. as of tomorrow i will be contacting my local MP a certain Norman Baker and try and see if he can help in any way?? i will post my results!! you would have thought that they would have devised a pass and a form last year and if necessary we could have applied through the french embassy, its not rocket science, lol!! as i saw on a post somewhere an old veteren commented “we didnt need no passes back in 44!! “
Dear Paul
Thank you for your considerable advice listed on this website. I filled out my forms and sent them to the MOD who have passed them on to the French authorities……I have been living in France for eight years now and know how they work, so don’t I hold out too much hope!!!! I’m off to my local mairie to find out if he knows anything about the car passes.
Hello, Is this accredation form only for citizen of the U.K.? I am a U.S. citizen but the address and email are direction to london. Is there a different form for U.S. citizens? Thank you for any direction!
I believe you need to contact the US Embassy in Paris for assistance.
Am I too late to get a pass, as I have only just seen the requirement
We have received confirmation of the receipt of our application (on 3 April) but are still awaiting the passes etc. They should have been with us by now – we travel to France early next week!
I believe many have been posted out but the Bank Holiday in the UK will not have helped. The whole thing is very last minute and incredibly frustrating.
I agree. Phoned the MOD Tuesday (though their form said we should contact them on the Monday 26 if we’d not had anything – they weren’t there of course). I was told the British Legion started sending packs out last Friday and as we were early applicants we should get ours by Wednesday (today). We’re still waiting. What about the late applicants, I wonder?
I had an acknowledgement on 10th April with the required reference no. Nothing in post today (29th May). Getting really anxious as I have laid out a lot of hard earned pension to pay for my family accommodation.
Pete
It is my understanding that the packs are in the post. If you are especially concerned I would contact MOD.
The MOD told me not to bother them again till Friday. Nothing in post today so I phoned the British Legion instead. After being passed around a bit I got a very helpful lady who found things out and said the packs started being sent out yesterday, Royal Mail special delivery. If we get nothing tomorrow I have a contact to ring in the British Legion immediately. I will ring the MOD too – they said they could send a duplicate pack to our French address if necessary.
But all this agro and worry would be unnecessary if they’d got their act together in time. It’s not as if the event is a surprise!
Hooray, passes and info arrived today! Limited to two tickets to Bayeux Cathedral because so many vets are attending. Good info pack – just very last minute.
My surname beings with a W Alan. I remember how that always meant being at the end of everything in years gone by. Is it just that it is our initial letter has put us to the back of the queue?
Pete W
On the original email they said it would be on a first come first served basis. The MOD Lt said the same to me on Tuesday. We turned our forms round in a day, as my wife is hoping to join my father (the vet, of course) and me at the vents for that reason. Will it have helped, I wonder?
Our post comes about 2pm. Will be hovering at the door and will post if they have arrived or not.
I personally am attending the Canadian event as they were the ones with whom I landed.
They have issued my family with invitations but it had to be done through the French authorities.
We will be taken by coach from Caen to Courseulles which should be easier than trying to park at the venue.
Arromanches last time was a logistical nightmare as parking etc. is so difficult unless you go to the places out of town.
Arrived special delivery on Saturday. All is forgiven despite a couple of errors in the pack.
Juno Beach – here I come 70 years later !!! (and a bit slower moving).