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Memories of when the Yanks came to Truro

Below are a few of my memories of when the US Army arrived in Truro in the late autumn of 1943 and were camped under canvas tents in various places in and around Truro.

Treliske Golf Links Truro 鈥� Camped under canvas tents were white and black American soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 531st Engineer Shore Regiment and Light Mechanised and Transport Unit 鈥� who wore the arm flash 鈥楬ell on Wheels鈥�. These were a support unit of the 29th Division.

Lower Penair Farm, St Clement, Truro 鈥� Camped under canvas tents were the Light Mechanised Unit of the 531st who were responsible for storing and maintaining hundreds of armoured vehicles, lorries, jeeps and motorcycles and keeping them in readiness for D Day. The hundreds of vehicles were stored in fields under camouflage.

Pencalenick Estate Camp, Truro 鈥� Camped under canvas tents was the 29th Divisions 1st Special Brigade 鈥� the core unit of the 1st ESB HQ and HQ Company.

Boscawen Park Camp, Truro 鈥� Camped here were the 531st Engineer Shore Regiment and 1st Special Brigade. The 531st were responsible for the production at Boscawen Park of concrete barges and their loading of high explosive cargoes, camouflaging and deployment along the Truro River and River Fal.

Amphibious craft towed the camouflaged barges in lines and secured them under the overhanging trees along the river edge and in numerous creeks. The loading of ammunition and highly explosive items were loaded into hundreds and hundreds of concrete barges, some with 鈥楤angalore Torpedoes鈥�. The 1st Special Brigade were a specialized beach-landing unit, they were camped in various locations from Boscawen Park down to Turnaware Bar and The Roseland. The local Home Guard River patrols helped maintain security alongside both the British Navy鈥檚 MTB Boats and American amphibious patrols. Military manned road blocks were commonplace on many country roads and ID cards had to be shown and questions answered if one hoped too reach their destination.

At Carvedras Camp, Hendra Truro was a small mechanical engineering section of the 531st Engineer Shore Regiment. They commandeered the old Hendra meat store and turned it into a repair and maintenance shop for US Army vehicles in use within the area. Even though the local kids lost the natural play area at Carvedras and their much loved 鈥楬umpy Bumpy Path鈥� with its clumps of delicious blackberries when in season, they gained in many other ways when the Yanks came. The dozen mechanics camped here were also responsible for the running of the massive electric generator that heated up water taken from the River Kenwyn from where water was sucked up through a pipe. Following infantry manoeuvres along the Cornwall and Devon coasts and countryside, trucks would arrive with orderlies who were responsible for the changing of battle fatigues when convoys of the troops arrived for showering. The mechanised unit wore arm flashes depicting a vehicle leaping through a ring of fire with the words 鈥楬ell on Wheels鈥�. The US Army (veterans) had previously seen action in Sicily and was part of the 15,000strong 1st ESB Unit who were waiting orders to take part in the D Day landings.

The 1st Battalion of the 531st was stationed at Bodmin. The 2nd Battalion of the 531st was stationed at St Austell. Some US Army camps were shrouded in secrecy and apart from a few local inhabitants, police and Home Guard, little was known about their locations. Some camps were made 鈥楽trictly Out Of Bounds To All Unauthorized Personnel鈥�. The planners of these encampments made great use of the isolated country areas with their natural cover of woodlands, trees and hedgerows. The great fear of the military was spies and their gaining knowledge of the enormous preparations taking place around the whole area. The Americans set out to form good relationships with local inhabitants, which resulted in the practice of goodwill on both sides. Everyone was asked to be extra vigilant and to report immediately to the authorities sightings of any strangers coming among them and informing the police of any suspicious behavior. Even tramps and hawkers were reported suspicious and were quickly arrested and locked up by the Police before being interrogated by army intelligence officers.

The Treliske Camp soldiers were the 3rd Battalion of the 531st Engineer Shore regiment 鈥� part of the 29th Division. They were the core support unit of the 1st ESB who landed on Omaha Beach.

On D Day 15,000 beach assault troops would be under the command of the 1st ESB. It was the 1st ESB who carried out several beach and cliff invasion exercise around various coastal areas of Cornwall and Devon. This included the ill fated Exercise Tiger which took place off Slapton Sands in Devon on 28 April 1944 and resulted in the loss of 639 lives after being attacked by German U Boats. A further 100 soldiers were also reported killed by friendly fire from British warships the previous day, 27 April 1944. At the time the two disastrous incidents were covered up and little was known about the catastrophic outcome until 50 years after the war had ended.

Often we witnessed convoys leaving the camp with US soldiers dressed in battle order. We also saw them return after darkness, during the winter of 1943/44, looking disheveled, covered in mud and somewhat exhausted. After manoeuvres had taken place, convoy lorries filled with troops would disembark at Carvedras and line up before a 鈥榮howering marquee鈥�. After a quick shower they were issued a change of underwear and fresh battle fatigues supplied from the backs of lorries by store men. Carvedras Camp was close to the bank of the River Kenwyn and consisted of tented sleeping accommodation for no more than a dozen soldiers. Six of these soldiers, plus a Master Sergeant nicknamed 鈥楥urly鈥�, worked repairing jeeps and motorbikes in Hendra鈥檚 old meat store opposite the Fire Station. In the camp a large electric generator supplied the power for lighting and heating of the river water, which was drawn up through a large pipe directly from the River Kenwyn. Once the large generator鈥檚 water tank had been filled and made steaming hot, the shower facility inside the marquee was ready for the troops returning from manoeuvres.

Two soldiers at the camp cooked, cleaned, maintained the generator and its adjoining showers, fetched supplies from Treliske Camp, cut hair 鈥� crew-cuts mainly 鈥� which also included us kids. In their spare time they would play music and sing country songs of home while sitting around the campfire beneath the stars. It struck me then, they always appeared to sing songs about 鈥楰entucky country gals and harvest moons鈥�. Curly, who was a Texan played the guitar and would often sing 鈥楧eep in the Heart of Texas鈥� and 鈥楴ight and Day鈥�. Aldo played the mouth organ a lot, while a Corporal called Dixie played a clarinet he鈥檇 purchased in Moons Musical Shop in River Street. All three had previously been fighting in Italy with the 29th and still retained their suntan from the Italian sun. These troops wore a 鈥楬ell on Wheels鈥� shoulder flash. Curly gave me one of these flashes and some stripes which my sister sewed onto an old jacket on mine. The arm flash for the 531st Engineer Special Brigade Amphibian was blue in colour and depicted an eagle, gun and anchor. The US troops that came from Italy appeared to have so much money that they did not know what to do with it and took to gambling with cards.

More US convoys carrying supplies and troops arrived in December and brought with them amphibious craft on low loader vehicles. One such vehicle, instead of going up River Street to Truro, branched off left, went across Victoria Square and up Kenwyn Street before attempting to turn into Little Castle Street. The tiny narrow streets were never constructed for such huge vehicles and although the driver might have been very skilled, it was inevitable his vehicle would become jammed tight on the corner with no way back or forward. Crowds of Christmas shoppers gathered to watch the spectacle at the largest mobile crane ever seen in Truro, first lifted the amphibious craft over the rooftops of the houses and shops and down onto another low loader parked in Francis Street. Many people applauded the Americans and gave the driver some typical Cornish humour. Only after the last vehicle had moved on did the crowd disperse. 鈥楤etter then the pictures at the Plaza鈥� they reckoned.

In February 1944 the 531st was bolstered with the arrival of fresh troops bought over directly from the States. Although military trained these young Americans had not experienced any type of warfare conditions and were considered 鈥榞reen鈥� by the more experienced Italian (Sicily) veterans. Most of these young troops were infantry belonging to the 29th Division and were either still in their teens or early twenties.

An incident with hair shampoo at Carvedras Camp resulted in the river being contaminated, which killed all the fish downstream. There is rather a funny side to this story however, for down where the footbridge crosses the waterfall in the leats, there was created such a density of twenty high foot bubbles that everyone refused to walk that way. On some evenings after manoeuvres a wind would blow masses of bubbles over the whole of waterfall Gardens. One local Hendra man, who often got himself drunk on a Saturday evening, became submerged among the bubbles as he made his way home. The poor fellow tried but failed to find his way through the dense bubbles. Eventually he was heard yelling for help and after a good hosing down was rescued by the fire brigade.

Curly, the Master sergeant used to allow us to sit around the Carvedras camp fire and used to constantly heat up beans or stew in a pot and give us generous helpings in billy cans. The Carvedras Army Store ration Day was always on a Thursday. We kids always looked forward to the coming of Thursdays because to us it was the day for treats of chewing gum, chocolate, candy, tinned fruit, tinned jelly (jam) and 200 cigarette cartons of 鈥楥amel鈥� or 鈥楲ucky Strike鈥�. The generosity of the Americans had many young kids smoking at this time, however it gave great pleasure all round to see the looks on their parents face when presented with a carton of Lucky Stripe or Camel. Fat Cuban cigars or large bars of unsweetened chocolate could be exchanged for a photograph of a sister or aunt with the promise to arrange a date. The two pictures I managed to obtain for any bartering were of my eldest sister Mary, who had been called up and was working as a welder on a Spitfire and Hurricane factory in Gloucester in1940.

Master Sergeant Curly made friends with my father Jack Paddy and together they were regulars at the Royal Standard Pub in Kenwyn Street every Sunday morning. Having had their fill of the Standard鈥檚 home brew, they would return to No. 3 Hendra Vean to enjoy mother鈥檚 Sunday roast lunch with apple pie and custard for afters. Later father would play the piano while they filled the room with Cuban cigar smoke. I don鈥檛 believe there was one single occasion on Sunday when that great big Texan did not shed tears for his wife and three children back home. He loved listening to my father鈥檚 playing of 鈥楤ells Across the meadow鈥� and to my mother Dora鈥檚 rendering of 鈥楾he White Cliffs of Dover鈥� and 鈥楾he Bells of St Mary鈥檚鈥�. He would often remark that 鈥淐ornwall was a beautiful enchanted place and it was terrible for the likes of outsiders like him to come here and conflict upon the scars of war鈥�. Nothing was ever heard of him after D Day. One girl who lived in Hendra had courted and become engaged to one of those camped at Carvedras. Being a prospective GI bride she was eventually informed after the war that he had unfortunately been killed at Omaha Beach. Her dreams of life together with her fianc茅 in the USA had drifted away with the sea and sands of Normandy.

Boscawen Park where the 1st Engineer Special brigade was camped was especially active every working day. The two large generators supplied the power for concrete mixing machines for the making of concrete barges. After the barges were tested, a whole string of them would be loaded with various cargoes including Bangalore torpedoes, ammunition and explosives and towed in lines down the Truro River and the Fal by amphibious vehicles. The loaded and sealed concrete barges were floated up and secured under the overhanging trees at high tide and camouflaged with netting. Eventually the whole muddy banks of the Fal and its creeks were lined with concrete barges. Both the inland and river areas were constantly guarded by US troops 鈥� Amphibious troops and the River Home Guard.

Whole shoals of kids used to go to Sunny Corner to swim or hire rowing boats from Sam Martin at Malpas for 2 shillings a day. We sulked for weeks when these activities ceased after the Yanks arrived and commandeered the whole of the tidal rivers shoreline.

During the winter months of 1943 the camps were awash with puddles and mud and to help the troops get about, duckboards were laid inside tents and around the camp linking tents and marquees.

The huge electric generators never ceased their incessant noise around the clock and one could hardly ever escape the smell of burning diesel oil even in the streets of Truro. The only previous experience of such a similar noise and smell was when the Anderton & Rowland and the Whiteleg鈥檚 fairs came into the Quay for Whitsun.

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