Summer has ended, and while harvest is not yet passed, as the rain pours down outside it is perhaps time to reflect on a summer of commemoration and activity. The beginning of June saw the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day and it was a privilege to take part in those on the Roseland, at Trewoon and at Gorran Haven. July saw a road trip retracing the steps of American forces from Bodmin to an embarkation hard at Turnaware and recording the day for broadcast on an internet radio station. August saw a return visit to the West of England Steam Engine Rally at the Stithians Showground and September has started with a talk to the Falmouth & Penryn Old Cornwall Society.
Commemorations on the Roseland took place on Saturday 1st June – the day that embarkation started at the hards at Turnaware, Tolverne and Messack Point. A day of events was organised with a morning at Turnaware which ended with the unveiling of a new memorial down on the hard. This was followed by a pasty lunch in Philleigh Village Hall and then I was called on to give an hour’s presentation on the Americans in Cornwall and D-Day in the Roseland in the parish church next door. The church was full and the audience both attentive and enthralled. I had the privilege afterwards of meeting a 98 year old lady who as a teenager had stood in the front garden of her farmhouse at Trewithian and with her siblings had waved to the American troops going past. She said some troops were laughing, some were in tears. Lots of them, however, threw chocolate and candy to the children as they passed. “We children did rather well out of D-Day,” she smiled but added, “None of us knew what was to shortly befall those brave young men.”
The day finished with a short commemoration down at the hard at Tolverne with input from the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho KCVO OBE, reflection from Mrs Carlyon, an elderly lady from the family famous for providing Cornwall with its coroners over many decades who reminded us of the Christian faith of many of our military, political leaders and King George VI during those war years, memories from the son of Peter Newman whose family owned Smuggler’s Cottage during the war and until recently and from myself giving a 15 minute overview of the history of the hard and the stories of some of those who embarked at Tolverne. The moving highlight of the ceremony was when Cornish bugler Sam played the Last Post and Taps – the American equivalent.
It was also a privilege to lead the D-Day 80 Commemoration Service at Haven Church in Gorran Haven which saw the chapel full with young and old, and then to talk to a men’s group at Trewoon on the Americans in Cornwall on the Tuesday. I was interviewed briefly on BBC Radio Cornwall that Sunday. I was also present at The Mevagissey commemorations with the lighting of the D-Day Beacon on the harbour and you can find my video of that occasion on YouTube.
In August I had been invited back to the West of England Steam Engine Society Rally on the Stithians Showground. I was given half a marquee to display my vast exhibition of photos of Cornwall in World War Two and sell my books. The three days saw hundreds of people come through the exhibition, some stopping to chat and tell their family’s stories, ask questions or just comment on the importance of keeping the memory alive of the colossal effort and sacrifice the wartime generation made. As the event in the other half of the marquee finished on the Saturday I was able to rearrange the exhibition on the Sunday and fill the whole marquee. Andy Brazier again did a fantastic job as Section Organiser and it was a pleasure to be there for the show.
First Wave 44 – the re-enactment group that highlights the US 29th Infantry Division’s presence in Cornwall & Devon had a superb encampment enhanced by their vehicles and others from the Military Vehicles Trust which complemented the historical record on display in my exhibition. The weekend’s highlight for my son was being invited to ride in Adrian Snell’s US half truck when the military vehicles paraded around the show ring. I was not jealous at all!
Finally as September has started I have visited the small and elderly group that make up the Falmouth & Penryn Old Cornwall Society to give an illustrated talk on Falmouth during the war. We touched on numerous topics from defence preparations, Operation Aerial and the arrivals back in Falmouth after the fall of France, the bombing raids of 1940 in Falmouth, 1941 in Penryn, Operations Chariot and Torch leaving from Falmouth in 1942, the arrival of the Americans and the preparations for D-Day, the final bombing raid of May 30th 1944 where my research has shown that the usual death toll citied in the history books of 5 is inaccurate – in fact 17 died that night as a result of enemy action (more on this in a later blog), before ending with a brief look at the VE celebrations in 1945. The audience were appreciative, a few more books were sold.
So concludes a busy summer. Why do I share all this? Simply to highlight that as the wartime generation silently passes from amongst our midst, it is vital we keep their story alive, their memory honoured and the sacrifice they made so we could live in peace and freedom constantly remembered. As war wages again on the continent of Europe, we do well to note that freedom is not free and hence we should remember those who have paid the price, and continue to do so, for ours.
Till next time, all the best.
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