If you’re unable to make it to one of my Tours in Carrickfergus, but would like to hear the story of this Town during the Second World War, I can always come to you!
I have created a 1-hour presentation that covers most of the content of my walking tour – without the walking!
The presentation can be in a venue convenient to you – subject to suitable audio-visual facilities, and being within reasonable travelling distance of Carrickfergus.
I can bring along many contemporary items, used on my walking tour, to create a display.
Feel free to get in touch with me to get the ball rolling.
During 2022, I plan to share a few posts on my Facebook Page about what was happening in Northern Ireland 80 years ago, specifically in relation to the arrival of the US military.
#OTD1942
By way of background:
Plans had been developed as early as April 1941 for the United States of America to send troops to the UK, should the USA enter the Second World War.
In June of that year, 350 civilian workers from G.A. Fuller-Merritt Chapman Corporation (an American firm) arrived in Northern Ireland to begin building naval bases at Londonderry (Base No.1) for the refueling and repair of destroyers and submarines, and Lough Erne for PBY Catalina flying boats.
in July, members of the Special Observer Group made a first visit to Northern Ireland, looking at existing infrastructure and making recommendations about potential sites for US military sites. The Group submitted its first report in September, recommending that a depot be established at Langford Lodge to carry out maintenance repairs for American aircraft.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and the subsequent declaration of war on the USA by Germany a few days later, brought America into the war.
On 17 Dec, Major General James E. Chaney submitted a report on his review of the situation following American entry into the war, and specifically referenced a plan to send 33,421 American troops to Northern Ireland.
This cohort of troops will be designated by the codename MAGNET Force.
The friendly “invasion” of Northern Ireland is imminent!
Follow the Tour’s Facebook Page for regular updates on the 80th anniversary of key events.
Image: Washington County Free Library Photo WCRH018. Part of the General Russell P Hartle Collection. American troops from 34th Infantry Division en route to Northern Ireland on board the British troop ship HMTS Strathaid. Photo taken in February 1942. Copyright United States Signal Corps.
Looking for something different to give to a loved one or friend at Christmas?
I’m offering Gift Vouchers for Private Guided Walking Tours of Carrickfergus, which can be used during 2021.
My Second World War themed Guided Walking Tour is the only one of its type in Northern Ireland. It looks at how one small town in Northern Ireland adapted to wartime conditions.
BACK IN TIME
We all have ancestors who experienced the impact of the Second World War on their lives. My Tour takes you back to that historic period through the eyes of those folk who lived, worked or were stationed in Carrickfergus between 1939 and 1945.
On the Tour you will discover how factories changed production to meet the needs of the War Effort; local people lived with rationing, air raid precautions and the blackout; overseas troops based themselves in and around the town in preparation for entering battlefields on North African and European soil; buildings were re-purposed to become military prisons, stores and accommodation; and how some of the remnants of that time are hidden in plain sight!
GIFT VOUCHER
If you know someone who might enjoy coming on a Private Guided Walking Tour, why not get them a Gift Voucher?
Priced at just £7, it can be used to book a Tour during 2021.
If the Voucher holder wants to bring along additional guests, they can be added at the time of booking for just £7 per person (usually £8).
The Voucher holder can contact me anytime during 2021 to arrange a suitable day and time for their Private Tour.
ORDERING A VOUCHER
To order a Gift Voucher, drop me an email at leadthewaytourcarrickfergus@gmail.com with your name and postal address, and I’ll reply with payment details.
UK postage & packaging is included in the price.
Order your Voucher by 17 December 2020, to allow sufficient time for postal delivery.
If you live in a BT38 postcode area I can deliver a Voucher personally right up to 23 December 2020 and accept cash on delivery.
If you have any queries about the Voucher or the Tour, please get in touch using the email address above.
As well as reading a small mountain of books and innumerable pages on the internet while researching content for the tour, I have come across quite a few interesting and useful videos on YouTube.
The Channel has only 1 video specific to the Tour, at the minute, but if you visit the associated playlist there’s a lot there of interest. Please feel free to subscribe to the Channel to view any more videos I add to it.
If I had to recommend a particular video on the playlist to start you off, it would be A Letter from Ulster (1942).
Enjoy the nostalgia.
Always looking for more…..
If you come across any more videos that you think could be added to that playlist, please contact me with the details.
With the Tour now in mini-hibernation for the winter (though willing to be woken up on request), I am continuing with research on events in Carrickfergus during the Second World War.
As well as using published material in books, magazines, websites and newspapers of the time, I would like to hear personal stories from those who lived in the town during this period.
Sadly, many of those citizens are no longer with us. However, I am sure many of their personal stories have been handed down the generations.
If you, or people you know, have any recollections of what it was like to live and/or work in Carrickfergus during the Second World War, please get in touch with me.
For example, from my own family I have discovered that:
my dad studied at the Tech on High Street, before getting a job helping with horse-drawn bread deliveries;
my grandmother used to watch the American soldiers parading down Lancasterian Street from her first floor landing window (she used to live in what is now a charity shop opposite the Fire Station);
my grandfather got a suspended prison sentence for his part in the theft of petrol from the Army store at Kinnegar barracks, where he was working (not the sort of story I hoped to find!);
my father-in-law was in the local Home Guard; and
my mother-in-law worked in Barn Mills (I recently found a photo of her there, taken in 1943)
Perhaps this request for stories is a good excuse for the younger generations to sit down and chat with their elders about this period in time.
Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, please get in touch to let me know if you have anything you think may be of interest – stories, photos, memorabilia etc.
I can arrange to meet up, if necessary, to record these stories or take copies/photos of any useful items. Or if you are happy to email me the stuff, that’s great.
I will follow up any offers of information over the winter months. I may not do this immediately after you email me, so don’t worry if you don’t hear back from me straight away.
