FOWEY AT WAR 1939 - 1945

About

The exhibition tells the story of our small Cornish harbour during the momentous years of the Second World War through a remarkable collection of previously unpublished photographs and material researched in the National Archives of both the UK and the USA.

The exhibition charts the transformation of the peaceful harbour into one guarded by submarine booms, beach defences, motor gunboats and cliff-top gun emplacements manned by soldiers and sailors from many allied nations.  It is also the story of London evacuees, the Land Army, Home Guard, Air-Sea Rescue and Civil Defence personnel, and of the lives of Fowey people coping with rationing and air-raids.  We also learn of the lighter side of town life which the war could not suppress, such as dances in the Drill Hall or children playing on the ‘dragons’ teeth’ (tank-traps) on the Town Quay.  Peaceful scenes of harvesting at Lawhyre will show that the rhythm of life of Fowey and district went on in defiance of war.   The arrival of the American forces (1943-4) marked another exciting stage in the town’s wartime history, and the exhibition presents archive material showing American servicemen in their camps and about the streets of Fowey.   It also features photographs of landing craft exercises on nearby beaches, their departure for the D-Day landings and of the casualties returned to Fowey.  These are the main themes of the exhibition but there is much more to interest local people and visitors alike.

Please support this joint venture by the Fowey History Group in association with the Fowey Museum Trust, and learn more about this important chapter in our town’s history.