Post by KG on Mar 24, 2012 13:09:56 GMT
Barry Wartime Weekend
Barry at War Group, in partnership with Barry Tourist Railway and the Vale of Glamorgan Council is holding a ‘Barry Wartime Weekend’ living history and commemorative event in Barry, on June 15-17 2012. The event will commemorate the 70th anniversary of US troops coming to the town as part of the build up for the liberation of Europe.
The Wartime Weekend, at the Barry Tourist Railway in June, will seek to recreate on a far larger scale what life was like in Barry during the wartime years. With the help of a fleet of American trucks from the era and living historians, a part of Barry Docks back in 1944 will be re-created.
Barry`s war heritage spans to modern times, with the docks being used during the Middle East conflicts of the late 50s and early 60s.
It is believed that during WW1 the first American troops to land in Britain, embarked at Barry, and during WW2 the port became an important staging post for US Forces in preparation for the D-Day landings in Normandy
Wartime entertainments and music will be provided, and a wartime housewife will be showing everyone how to ‘make do and mend’; a theme so important when most of Britain’s goods had to be imported by the Merchant Navy through submarine infested waters.
LINK: www.barryatwar.info
Barry at War Group are one of the many groups that support the Vale Heritage Centre Coalition’s drive to have a museum established in Barry.
Memories of wartime Barry
A ‘Snapshots of Barry during the Second World War’ exhibition also runs until March 27 2012, and both events are free. You can find out more about this event and Barry’s wartime history at the group’s website:
LINK: www.barryatwar.info
K.