Trebah Gardens: An Unlikely Part Of D-Day's Success?

Now a natural paradise tucked away in southwestern Cornwall, Trebah Gardens looked much different 75 years ago.

The secluded Cornish location is where hundreds of American troops boarded their ships for the Normandy landings. 

"After Pearl Harbour, the Americans declared war on both Germany and Japan, and they needed a base to attack Europe," says writer and historian Roddy De Normann.

The British Government largely supported the American intervention in Europe and gave many British bases over to American administration.

"Ultimately, the Americans went onto what is known as the Western Taskforce, which was the western side of Normandy," he added.

"Trebah was a natural beach for the Americans to load up on their ships and attack Normandy."

Cornwall is often seen as an idyllic destination and it could be hard to picture it as a key location for the British and Allied intervention during the Second World War.

Trebah Gardens is now open to the public and each year thousands of people come to visit the location.

The role of Trebah in Operation Neptune is something the management are keen not to forget.

"It is unexpected for visitors coming to Trebah. It is something we enjoy talking about," said Guy Watson.

"It is a huge part of our history that is unusual for a Cornish great estate."

Just a mile down the road is the village of Mawnan Smith, where the American troops first arrived with little warning.

Truck after truck, seeing the convoys approach Trebah was an incredible sight in the Cornish village.

“We were not told anything," said Sylvia King, a resident of Mawan Smith who was just a child when D-Day happened.

"The troops just went through one night and everybody had to keep off the roads," she said.

"We were not even allowed to go on the road from the school. Our parents had to collect us, walk over the field and take us home. Nobody knew what it was all about."

"Suddenly, it was just quiet. I could not believe what had happened. They just disappeared one night.”

To this day, Ms King remembers how troops near the beach prevented locals from approaching the shore in preparation for D-Day.

"I don’t like celebrating down at the beach, because I think of those men… it is quite shivering to think about it."

It is thanks to those men who sacrificed their lives on D-Day, leaving from multiple locations on the southern British coast - including Trebah - that freedom was restored in mainland Europe.

For more on D-Day 75, click here.