A PEMBROKESHIRE exhibition to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day features a camera which is believed to have captured an iconic image of the landings.

The historic photo – described by the US press as ‘the greatest picture of the war’ – was taken on June 6 1944 on Sword Beach, Normandy, by war photographer, Sergeant Jimmy Mapham.

The Zeiss Ikon camera, standard issue for British Army photographers of the day, was bought at a car boot sale in Carmarthen by Seimon Pugh-Jones of Laugharne’s 1940s exhibition of the time, the Tin Shed Experience.

It has now been loaned to Tenby Museum and Art Gallery as part of its current exhibition, This Great and Noble Undertaking: the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.

Curator Mark Lewis, who researched and wrote the exhibition, admitted he had “quite a moment” when he held the camera for the first time.

He said: “Obviously I’ve handled all sorts of things with historical connections, but never anything that has had such a realistic story behind it.”

Amongst the other highlights of the exhibition is a poignant eight-minute film featuring 94-year-old veteran Ted Owens from Pembroke Dock.

It was shot by Mark’s brother, freelance tv producer Greg Lewis, when he joined Ted when he made a recent return to the now-peaceful shores of Normandy to lay a poppy in remembrance of lost friends.

The display also features the GIs who were stationed in Tenby, with the 28th (Keystone) Division, Pennsylvania National Guard, being the first ones to arrive in 1943.

Operation Jantzen - the D-Day ‘rehearsal’ which took place on the beaches of Wiseman’s Bridge and Saundersfoot; the importance of the D-Day weather, memories, did-you-know snippets and images also come under the exhibition spotlight.

There are also some wonderful original artefacts and mannequins from the collection of The History Shed Experience, as the Tin Shed Experience is now known.

Said Mark: “Tenby and Pembrokeshire played their parts in this historic event, and this exhibition tries to balance the personal with the more broader historical story.

“I am hugely grateful to Seimon Pugh-Jones of the History Shed Experience, my brother Greg for making the film and allowing us to show it, and of course, to Ted.”

The exhibition runs until the end of December 2019 and the museum is currently open daily between 10am and 5pm (last admission 4.30pm).