The forgotten role of Mount Edgcumbe House in D-Day

Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park played a crucial and often forgotten role in the history of D-Day. Eighty years on, there are still traces of the time when American troops were stationed in this little corner of the South West.

American troops began arriving in this corner of Cornwall in May 1943. Part of the US 110th Field Artillery Battalion – itself packed into the US 29th Infantry Division – were stationed at Anthony House.

They underwent training on Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor in preparation for their departure to Normandy. As part of this, the troops made the now familiar concrete roads throughout the park.

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They also built ramps at Barn Pool and two refueling piers nearby, along with associated fuel tanks. The three round bases for the fuel tanks can still be seen just east of the house and Earl’s Garden.

About 8,900 US personnel and their equipment were billeted on a spur of land between Whitsand Bay and Plymouth Sound ahead of the D-Day landings, according to Plymouth City Council.

In May 1944, the 29th Division Command Post moved to Tregantle Fort to set up camp. The headquarters of the US 115th RCT joined the headquarters at Tregantle Fort, which had been used as an Army gas school since 1942.

By the end of May 1944, senior officers knew that the Normandy invasions were planned for 5 June. In preparation for increased traffic ahead of D-Day, a house in Millbrook was demolished to help widen the road. A stone arch at the entrance to the park was dismantled and then rebuilt after the war.

Beach clues about the departure of the troops on D-Day

As Plymouth City Council notes: “On June 6, troops stationed at Mount Edgcumbe Country Park left Barn Pool Beach for Omaha Beach. There are several artifacts that can be found on the beaches at low tide: mooring rings, armored power cable, and the remains of the cable that held the anti-submarine net that reached Drake’s Island.

“On the beach next to the amphitheatre, there is a concrete ‘chocolate bar’. This was put in place to allow vehicles to cross the beach. The mat didn’t have to be solid, it had to flex with the movement of the sand. Having served their purpose in the war, many of the blocks found new uses in Millbrook.”

Stuart Morrissey, a final year BA and Material Practices student at Plymouth University of the Arts, has created ‘The Blue and Grey’, a sculpture and memorial bench dedicated to the 29th Infantry Division, which will be given a permanent home in the Mt. Edgcumbe. House and country park. He will be handing over the sculpture to the house after D-Day on June 6.

Although Mount Edgcumbe House is in Cornwall, Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council share responsibility for the strategic management and control of its country park.