County's war role explored (From Western Telegraph)

S4C's Lleisiau’r Ail Ryfel Byd explores Pembrokeshire's role in Second World War

12:00pm Saturday 13th October 2012 in County News

In the latest programme in the S4C epic series about Welsh people’s experiences during the Second World War, Welsh soldiers and civilians talk about their experiences during 1943.

Lleisiau’r Ail Ryfel Byd on S4C airs tomorrow (Sunday, October 14th) at 9pm will feature archive film of south Pembrokeshire during a decisive year in the Allies’ battle against Nazi Germany in Europe.

During July and August of that year, Pembrokeshire was used for military preparations for the 1944 Normandy Landings.

Exercise Jantzen was part of a wider operation, Operation Cockade, which was put in place to make the Germans think that the attack on north-west France was imminent.

An area stretching from Laugharne to Saundersfoot was sealed off as hundreds of trucks, landing craft and soldiers swarmed beaches such as Tenby and Wiseman’s Bridge, breaking out into the nearby countryside in the following days and weeks.

It is said that Churchill, Monty and even Eisenhower himself came to Pembrokeshire to oversee events.

The programme also includes a rare Welsh-language radio interview with the historian and journalist Wynford Vaughan Thomas who talks about being trained by the Ministry of War to work as a frontline correspondent.