If you’re looking for a different kind of getaway this June, one that combines ‘Honour’ and ‘Play’, your love of history along with a passion for golf, Robb Lucy has the answer with Beaches and Bunkers.
Beaches and Bunkers is a trip of a lifetime created in honour of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. It’s for the sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters who want to understand the experiences of those soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy, then fought through France, Belgium and Holland. It’s a tour to learn about and honour that history, while having a little fun by playing four different golf courses along the way.
This trip takes place June 21 – July 1, 2015. It’s for individuals, couples, foursomes, family, and friends. It is an opportunity for every Canadian to honour Canada’s past… and play the game we love.
Lucy came up with the idea for the tour thanks to his father Bob who was among the soldiers that landed on the beaches as a gunner in 1944. A scratch golfer, Bob carried with him a lucky 3-iron, hitting rocks, twigs and lumps of dirt to ease the stress of war during his tour.
For the 50th anniversary of D-Day, Lucy and his father went back and followed the footsteps Bob had walked during his original tour. It inspired Bob to turn his stories into a book, Ubique-A Gunner’s Story. He passed away five years ago, and after attending a service on November 11, the younger Lucy wondered what they could add to make the trip more fun, and unique. That’s when golf entered the picture.
“I’m pleased to see so many of us at our local cenotaphs each November 11, but saddened so few really understand what happened 70 years ago,” says Lucy, a passionate golfer himself. “I hope this tour will be an admonition for people not to let the stories of their parents and grandparents disappear. These experiences forged their tools for life. And it is with those tools they raised us.”
The tour is open to singles, couples and foursomes and will visit key locations of the ’39 – ’45 war, as well as Vimy, as the group travels from Paris to Dieppe, Normandy, Belgium and finally to Holland and Amsterdam. Golf will begin at the Omaha Beach Club in Normandy, overlooking the beaches, with two more courses a few days later, ending at The International, designed by Ryder Cup Captain, Ian Woosnam. Non-golfers will spend the time with tour’s guide, learning even more to pass on to the golfers when they meet at dinner!
Guiding the tour is Canadian military historian Terry Copp. Copp is a long-serving professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and the founder of the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies. He is the leading scholar of Canada’s military role in World War II and is known as a charismatic teacher.
Lucy connected with Copp before the trip with his father 20 years ago. He knew he would be the perfect guide for this tour. “I knew we needed the best guy and Terry is it. We talked a few times and Terry said ‘he’d love to’. I’m delighted he’s on-board.”
For those interested, more information about the trip is available at www.beachesandbunkers.ca.
