Second D-Day video released by Llandrindod Wells Town Council

The videos were filmed in June of this year, coinciding with the D Day milestone.

D Day took place on June 6, 1944, when the largest seaborne invasion in history was launched, marking the beginning of the liberation of France and western Europe from the Nazis.

The first video was released on November 11 to coincide with Remembrance Day and the second was released early in December. 

The first video featured stories from many Llandrindod residents, who gathered with Llandrindod Well Mayor Councillor Marcia Morgan to recall their memories of D Day and the war.

The second video shows individual interviews with each of the residents giving more details of their war-time experiences and memories.

“In June 2024 the town council was privileged to invite members of our community to join us for a morning where they shared their memories of World War II and D Day, in commemoration of D Day 80,” the town council said.

“It was wonderful to be part of this special day to record their precious memories of that important time in history.

“Thanks to all participants and those who assisted on the day. We are so grateful for the time you gave to be part of this lasting memory.”

Among those to feature in the video are Eric West, Dorothy (Dot) Richards, Derek Law, Michael King, Dennis King, Doug Kerley, Mike Bayliss and Reverend Geraint Hughes.

“My memories of the war are leaving London, or being taken from London, on the day that war was declared, and being put on the train by my mother to go back to west Wales,” said Rev Hughes, who was a vicar in Llandrindod for 20 years.

“It took us two days because the troop trains were rushing everywhere, there were blackouts and air raid sirens. It was chaos and probably traumatised my life.”

Rev Hughes, who has lived in Radnorshire for 50 years, was around five-years-old when war broke out, and would have been nine or 10 on D Day itself.

He is a keen local historian and also speaks in the video of what life in the spa town was like during war time.

“Llandrindod was incredibly militarised during the war,” he said.

 “Multiple buildings were commandeered as accommodation for soldiers and there were huge amounts of soldiers who came here for training.

“One of my treasures I’ve discovered is an old diary from Eva Coates who lived in town. It’s a diary from 1912-40.

“In the early part of the war she talks of huge numbers of soldiers coming to town and transforming it overnight. All the hotels were occupied by them.

“She mentions the evacuees coming and watching them come off the station.

“All these little girls and boys carrying their respirators and gas masks. For me it’s a window into Llandrindod during this war period.”

Doug Kerley remembered living with his grandparents in Salisbury during the war. He said he was about 13 and D-Day came along. He said a couple of days before it the army came along near the house where he lived and they put a lot of tents up and he could count them from his bedroom window and there were just over 100. He found out later that each tent housed 16 people.

He said he spoke to some of the soldiers even though he was a boy and they could not say what they were there for. He said on the morning of D-Day when he looked out in the morning, all of the tents had gone and when he went to school, there were soldiers everywhere and you could not move for military.

A few years later he joined the army himself, he was conscripted, he said he never got on well there. He was in the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers because he wanted to learn a trade. He signed on for three more years to learn to become a vehicle mechanic.

But he said he was transferred to the Royal West Kent’s and there was trouble in the Far East, in Malaya particularly and he went there for three years.

To watch the full videos, visit the Llandrindod Town Council Facebook page