Site of PoW and army camps, Tywyn
Overlooking the seafront here is Neptune Hall. Sometimes known as Minymor, it was a well-appointed boarding house in the 1860s. Regular visitors at that time included landowner and Conservative politician Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn and his wife.
A temporary camp was set up at Neptune Hall towards the end of the First World War, to accommodate German prisoners of war who worked on local farms. In August 1919, prisoner Alfred Slowig was hailed a hero for trying to save the life of a Birmingham girl who got into difficulty while bathing in the sea. Madelene Bailey, aged 13, and her older sister were swamped by a large wave. Alfred ran fully clothed into the water and successfully brought Madelene ashore. She died, despite resuscitation attempts by two local doctors. At her inquest, her father warmly thanked the German for attempting to save her life.
Another German prisoner died of pneumonia while labouring on drainage improvements near Tywyn.
A fierce winter storm in 1929 revealed an old milestone on the seashore near Neptune Hall. It had not been seen for 40 years and was evidence that in half a century the coast had eroded by more than 40 metres
During the Second World War the area around Neptune Hall was used by the Royal Army Service Corps as a training camp, specifically to train men in the use of amphibious vehicles that were used in the D-Day landings at Normandy in June 1944 – see the footnotes for details. The camp’s huts became a holiday camp after the war. The camp is in the upper right corner of the 1946 aerial photo, courtesy of the Welsh Government.
The Royal Marines also had many camps in this area including at Ynysmaengwyn, Tywyn, which was known as Camp Matapan. Troops used the favourable sea conditions to practise disembarking on the beaches from landing craft. Landing craft drivers were also trained here – see the footnotes for details.
In 1959 children playing on the beach near Neptune Hall unearthed 600 beer, whisky and champagne bottles containing a cocktail of petrol and oil – thought to be improvised devices made by troops at the nearby army camp in case a German force tried to invade. The boys (visitors Alan and John Bicknell, Alan Congrieve and Stephen Lawrence and local lad Tom Davies) found the bottles after a storm broke off a large slab of concrete c.150 metres from the gateway to the promenade. They stashed their flammable “treasure” under their parents’ caravans! Police and then the bomb squad were called.
In the sand dunes south of Neptune Hall are the remains of a rifle range. Known as Penllyn, it was developed for militias (volunteer soldiers) in Victorian times and continued to be utilised during both world wars.
With thanks to Adrian Hughes, of the Home Front Museum, Llandudno, the Welsh Government, to Alan Bicknell, and to Quentin Deakin, of Tywyn & District History Society, for the footnotes. Quentin is the author of ‘Wales in World War 2’, published by Y Lolfa, 2023.
Postcode: LL36 0DL View Location Map
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Footnotes: More about the WW2 amphibious craft
Tywyn was the main base in Wales for men to train on amphibious craft, writes Quentin Deakin. The craft most in demand was the relatively light and mobile DUKW which was soon nicknamed 'Duck', partly on account of its duck-like gait. On a road it appeared as large as a double decker bus, but when loaded appeared low in the water. 'Ducks' were first used for the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. Drawing on their experience there, a nucleus of experienced operators started training 11 amphibious companies for D-Day.
Tywyn promenade was used as a vehicle park. The craft were driven by sea south to Borth and Ynyslas and north to Tonfanau and Barmouth. Others went as far as Tenby. The training was lengthy for this highly skilled driving, which involved a difficult transition in the mode of operation on entering water. Overturning led to at least one fatality on the dunes between Tywyn and Aberdyfi.
After initial training at Tywyn, drivers took over vehicles dispersed in several bases around Britain, where crews undertook further training in handling at sea, loading and unloading.