Whilst going through the War Diary for 36th Independent Infantry Brigade I came across an account of an officer and three 'Other Ranks' killed on 13th February 1941 in a minefield on Tenby South Beach. The minefield was adjacent to Penally Ranges. One other was wounded (CSM R Paramour 6283799). They were with the 5 Buffs (Royal East Kent Regt) - one of three Battalions in the Brigade. They were killed by beach mines apparently after taking a short cut from the firing point of the range. They were: 2Lt Sydney Dennis MELLING (124505) - buried Exeter Pte Ernest John Alfred WOOD (6289442 - buried Sheerness Pte Robert TIMPSON (6289175) - Timson on CWGC - buried Queenborough Kent Pte Gomer JAMES (6288893) - buried Glyncomwg (Cymmer) Cem'y Glamorgan Then on 28th June 1941 a civilian was killed in a minefield on the same beach! Interested in finding out more about the defences of Tenby - there seems to be nothing remaining
There was another minefield casualty at Tenby - Corporal James Lancaster of 16 Bomb Disposal Company Royal Engineers trod on a mine laid in 1940 at minefield No.50-51 at Tenby on 7 April 1943. (Unfortunately I do not have a map of minefield numbers in the area.) There were a number of other Royal Engineers BD personnel killed on minefields in Wales, (4 at Sully, 3 at Newgale, 2 at Aberavon, 1 at Newport, 1 at RAF Llanwrog, 1 at Pembry, 3 at minefield location not yet known to me), but the other one closest to Tenby was a few miles to the east at Marros Sands, where L/Sgt Albert Hemingway, also of 16 BD Coy, was killed on a minefield, (No57), on 15 March 1943. That minefield's location gets a mentioned on the net - 'Payetts Well and Hammers End farms are now abandoned, and their former fields reverting to scrub. Later, more anti-social land-use includes the sowing of mines near Payetts Well against the threat of sea-borne invasion during the Second World War.' See - Archaeology in Wales - Ymddiriedolaeth Archaeolegol Dyfed - Dyfed Archaeological Trust See also Tenby’s war-time defences
A letter to the Tenby Observer which mentions the unfortunate civilian casualty: Tenby’s war-time defences Tim
Thanks Tim and Chris. I like the description of 'anti-social land use' in the archaeological summary for sowing minefields on the coast at time of great threat. I would have thought not defending the coast and waving the Nazis in was more 'anti-social'!
Looked at the aerial photos for Tenby taken in 1946 at the RCAHMW in Aberystwyth but nothing of the defences, apart from the battery at St Catherine's Fort is showing. Pretty frustrating.