European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse -. A for. Of stiff r a a. Cd pm amp Quot a _ oct w a iwo. J. A a 0 a ?support equipment and wheeled vehicles for an artillery unit Are directed onto ships at the English port of brix Harn on june 1,1944england was an armed Campt tvs f Art v 1q44 3,5millionsodiers�1 1 la Ixl Uja 1 j. Were poised for invasion army by Nancy l. Torn or . Bureau Weymouth England roughly 3.5 million soldiers More than 1.7 million of them americans were camped across England by Early 1944 in preparation for the a Day invasion of nazi occupied Europe. More than 600,000 . Troops embarked from the Weymouth and Portland harbours alone and their presence caused the area to become known As a Little America a said Andy Hoskins research coordinator for the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. Countless service members were boarded with local families whole buildings and in a few cases entire towns were taken Over by visiting forces. Thousands of soldiers lived in tents makeshift villages in forests and other concealed areas. A the population around Weymouth and Portland went up about three times its Normal size a Hoskins said. A Portland Harbor was literally taken Over by the . Navy. Most of the infantry left from Weymouth meanwhile supreme Allied commander Gen. Dwight d. Eisenhower was camped out near Portsmouth in a 3.5-ton trailer on the grounds of the British military base has Dryad where planning for the Normandy invasion dubbed operation overlord was going on inside the \ Southwick House. It was Here that Eisenhower postponed the intended june 4 embarkation because of an unexpected storm and then issued the final attack order at about Dawn the following Day with a simple a wok lets go a setting june 6, 1944, As a Day. S a Day approached strategic towns on and near England a coasts were declared out of Bounds to unauthorized personnel As were thousands of Inland areas that harboured troops ammunition dumps and War vehicle holding areas. Civilian movement became subject control As roads became clogged with military traffic. Even authorized travel was. Difficult because All Road signs in the country had been removed said Mary Shipman a resident of Chickerell near Weymouth who was one of More than 60,000 English world War ii brides of american soldiers. C c i everything was making for the coast a i l said Rodney Alcock who was a Young by Ivy no in Surrey during the War and now is curator of the Brewers Quay a historic shopping Village and museum in Weymouth. Road accidents were common Back then and he recalled one american being brought into his House to be bandaged by his Mother before continuing toward the coast. In addition to Road traffic More than 20,000 special trains brought troops from the midlands to the South coast where a series of 24 embarkation Points with marshalling areas had been prepared. Waiting at these Embar
