Bayeux (UK: /baɪˈjɜː, beɪ-/, US: /ˈbeɪjuː, ˈbaɪ-/ B(A)Y-yoo; French pronunciation: [bajø] ⓘ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.

Bayeux is located 7 kilometres (4 miles) from the coast of the English Channel and 30 km (19 mi) north-west of Caen.

[3] In the Late Empire it took the name of the Celtic tribe who lived here: the Bodiocassi, Latinized in Bajocassi, Bajocasses, and this word explains the place-names Bayeux and Bessin.

Any settlement was more likely confined to scattered Druid huts along the banks of the Aure and Drome rivers or on Mount Phaunus where they worshipped.

[5] The town is mentioned by Ptolemy, writing in the reign of Antoninus Pius, under the name Noemagus Biducassium (for *Noviomagus Badiocassium 'New market of the Badiocassi') and remained so until the time of the Roman Empire.

Two baths, under the Church of St. Lawrence and the post office in rue Laitière, and a sculpted head of the goddess Minerva have been found, attesting to the adoption of Roman culture.

The 12th-century poet Benoît de Saint-Maure, in his verse history of the dukes of Normandy, remarked on the "Danish" commonly spoken at Bayeux in the 10th century.

When King Henry I of England defeated his brother Robert Curthose for the rule of Normandy, the city was burned to set an example to the rest of the duchy.

The capture of Bayeux heralded a return to prosperity as new families replaced those decimated by war, and they built some 60 mansions scattered throughout the city, with stone supplanting wood.

During the Second World War, Bayeux was the first city of the Battle of Normandy to be liberated on 7 June by British troops of 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division with only light resistance.

The buildings in Bayeux were virtually untouched during the Battle of Normandy, the German forces being fully involved in defending Caen from the Allies.

Bayeux nevertheless became an important hub for the allies - military vehicles found difficulty moving through the narrow medieval streets.

In late June the Royal Engineers and Pioneer Corps built a road around the town, the 'Bayeux Bypass' – to facilitate the flow of traffic.

Royal British Legion National, every 5 June at 1530 hrs, attends the 3rd Division Cean Memorial Service and beating retreat ceremony.