The Second World War 1939 to 1945
Back to : Mumbles at War >
by Carol Powell (née Symmons)
'As I grew older I learned from my mother, more of her grief, the death of her favourite cousin, Flying Officer Trevor Bladen, aged 22, in 1944.'
Land Army photo from Sarah Monks
Land Army photo from Sarah Monks
by Sarah Monks
Margaret Eileen Stevens, NAAFI Photo: John Williams.
Miss Margaret Eileen Stevens, served in the NAAFI at -
Anti-Aircraft Guns on Mumbles Head >
Her son, John Williams, recalled that 'whenever we walked along the front close to the The George, she remembered that the steps alongside the right of the George were the steps she used to climb up to the NAAFI'.
Miss Margaret Eileen Stevens, served in the NAAFI at -
Anti-Aircraft Guns on Mumbles Head >
Her son, John Williams, recalled that 'whenever we walked along the front close to the The George, she remembered that the steps alongside the right of the George were the steps she used to climb up to the NAAFI'.
Fred Barrow and his wife Irene Corfield (but known as Renee)
are pictured on the occasion of their marriage
at Clyne Church 7th November 1942 .
are pictured on the occasion of their marriage
at Clyne Church 7th November 1942 .
Fred, who farmed at Mount Farm, Mayals during the war, is wearing his Home Guard uniform and Renee, her Land Army uniform. Fred moved to Llangennith in late 1950s.
His grandson, Phillip, is a living historian and is researching and presenting talks on THE GOWER HOME GUARD.
The gun emplacements on Mumbles Hill Local Nature Reserve still remain for walkers to explore using the maps below.
Mumbles Hill, the obvious location for an Anti-Aircraft battery for the protection of Swansea
Two 6-inch coastal guns were installed by August 1940, at the eastern end of Mumbles Hil.
Includes the Fort on Lighthouse Island as well as The Coastguard Lookout & Naval Signal Station at the Tutt
Blackpill, Swansea
Ashleigh Road, Blackpill
Memories and many new photos, from those who served in the Royal Artillery, Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and Home Guard, including the Z Battery Rocket site
By GI William Snead
'I was 20 years old on D Day and it was one day that I will never forget. I served in the 5th Engineer Service Brigade, transporting & resupplying the 29th Infantry Division'
Rocky Marciano, an American GI >
The boxer was billeted here
A poignant tree carving, dated 7th July 1944, where a GI has inscribed a heart/arrow to his sweetheart.
Newton Village Hall, Mumbles
Dedicated to the American Military who lived and trained in Mumbles, Caswell and surrounding areas
The memories of Muriel Schroter, who served in the ATS as 'Private Muriel Hawkins 205907'
Mrs Joan Jones recalls when:
In peacetime it was The Coastguard Station.
The Instant Army that came from Nowhere >
from May 1940 to 1944 by Grafton Maggs
Some members who are named and recalled by Grafton Maggs and Duncan Bishop
by Edna Davies (née Harris)
Including aerial photos of the foreshore
The Day a Barrage Balloon Landed in Horseshoe Field >
by Michael Llewellyn
by John Powell
Many of these, I innocently played around as a young boy and years later, enthusiastically investigated
The anti-tank blocks at West Cross Station, 1950s
(From The Clyne Valley Community Project)
Lists the sites of many of the bunkers in the area, including Blackpill
A story too painful to narrate by Gwynne Hodge
By Michael Llewellyn
by Joyce Ellis (née Maslin
October 1941, 'Unbeknown to me then, the last sight I was ever to have of my father was when he waved his hat out of the train window'
Geoff Phillips and Larry Owen describe the village of the time.
Hillary Mackenzie recalls 'My innocent childhood came to an abrupt halt.
John Pressdee said 'I had never seen a black man before'
by Len Emmanuel
While serving in the RAF near Florence, in 1945, Len always remembered the event when he met General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
By John Wright
Rationing, 'Digging For Victory & queuing almost became national pastime
- formerly Somerset House by Jan McKechnie
on YouTube
Including
Dr Helen Marshall, has used a Drone to film the site of the Guns
By John Wright
by John Wright
by Elsie Mapp
née Arnold
Whose husband William, ARMY AIR CORPS was a POW in Stalag 8C in Germany, near the Russian border!
By Kate Jones
Mumbles United Comforts Fund,
sent up to 1200 letters a month and aid to those who were serving in the Forces
Do you know anyone in this photo?
A larger version of this photo is now available with many of the the names at:
I joined the Red Cross, we met behind Boots in the British Legion by Betty Sivertsen
and
Reviewed by Carol Powell
by Mary Newey (née Nicholson)
My Mother’s maiden name was Libby and I was nine when war broke out. Our house had a basement, which was reinforced with railway sleepers to provide an air-raid shelter.
The war time memories by Eric Thomas
... and we would sing merrily all the way home in the buses. Sadly the war came and life changed for ever.
... standing behind them with your face sticking through the hole in the heads. The War was coming to an end but sweets were still on ration and Dai would go ...
By Tom Ace
I remember two occasions especially. On 7 February 1940, I was roused out of . . .
... standing behind them with your face sticking through the hole in the heads. The War was coming to an end but sweets were still on ration and Dai would go ...
A kaleidoscope of fragmented recollectionsby Larry Owen
The Sussex manned the guns at the lighthouse and Mumbles Head, and when they went off, one knew there was a war on
Information Boards on the site of the Gun Battery
More- The GUNS OF MUMBLES HEAD >
A collection on all the defence sites
The New Information Boards are on the site of Coastal Gun Battery (A)
THE GUNS OF MUMBLES HEAD
Self Guided Walk
By 'Swansea Ramblers'
This trail includes many photos and maps
1914 - 1918
Our sister site -Mumbles War Memorials
NEW BOOK
Details: OXWICH TO OMAHA American GIs in South Wales >
by Phil Howells
Published on Amazon to coincide with the 76th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings, the biggest amphibious operation in history