A British Sherman tank drives through the ruins of the town of Flers, France; 17 August 1944.
Like other towns near the D-Day landing, Flers was one of the targets of strategic bombing of Normandy on 6 and 7 June 1944, aimed at reducing the advance of German reinforcements. 80% of the town was destroyed. What remained of the town was liberated on 16 August by the British 11th Armoured Division. 

Wave to bystanders

Squadron Leader Peter Stevens MC (born Georg Franz HEIN in Hanover) was the only German Jew known to have flown RAF bombers against his homeland.  Sent to safety in London by his widowed mother in Jan 1934, he committed identity theft (taking the name of a dead high school classmate) and enlisted in the RAF on 3 Sept 1939.  Trained as a bomber pilot, he joined 144 Squadron on 1 April 1941.  He flew 22 combat missions before his Hampden bomber was hit by flak over Berlin, and he force-landed (out of fuel) near Amsterdam on 8 Sept 1941.  Captured 12 hours later, he spent 3 years and 8 months as a POW in his own country, without any protection whatsoever under the Geneva Convention.  One of the most ardent POW escapers of the war, he made 9 escape attempts, and was Head of Contacts (Scrounging) for the "X" Organization in Stalag Luft 3's East Compound.  Mentioned today in over 20 books, including his biography, 'Escape, Evasion and Revenge'. 

Squadron Leader Peter Stevens MC

A Sherman tank of the British 29th Armoured Brigade, 11th Armoured Division; France, 11 July 1944. 