A NEW MEMORIAL TO THE AMERICAN FORCES AT NEWTON VILLAGE HALL, MUMBLES

Monday, October 01, 2012

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A new memorial to the memory of those thousands of American soldiers who lived and trained in Newton, Caswell and neighbouring districts during the Second World War, is to be located in front of Newton Village Hall, Newton.

It will be dedicated at 2.30pm on Friday 2nd November 2012, with a service in Saint Peter's Church, Newton, Swansea, conducted by The Right Reverend John Davies, Bishop of Swansea and Brecon and will be followed by a ceremony at the memorial, led by Combined Ex-services Standard Bearers, members of various ex-service associations, with local Normandy Veterans making a significant contribution.

Swansea and Gower played an important part in the preparations for
D-Day in 1944, which included the housing and training of thousands of American GIs who practiced landing operations on the beaches Gower. This was the prelude to Operation Overlord, the battle for Normandy, which launched the Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe.

Oystermouth Historical Association has recorded this unique American
Military presence in the area, recalled by many local villagers who
remember the GIs utilising the former Saint Peter's Church Hall as their dining room, with accommodation in a tented area behind.
Additionally, Oystermouth Historical Association has been contacted by relatives of American GIs who have shared accounts of their wartime service in the locality.

The memorial will be a lasting reminder to those young men who made such an impact on the local community. We should never forget that many of them were never to return to the country of their birth.

An appeal has been launched at Newton Village Hall to cover the cost of manufacture and future maintenance of the American Forces Memorial.