I hope in this section to make sense of various notes that I have on the influence of the World Wars on the estate.
World War I
There was at least 1 camp within the grounds of the estate during world war 1.
An open shooting range is mentioned in a Cambrian Daily Leader article from 24th July 1917. The two ranges mentioned were 25 and 50 yards long. An article earlier in July mentions a “triangular shooting match” at the “miniature range” which had been erected by Col. Trick. The match 12 a side with the three teams consisting of the officers, sergeants and those below. The sergeants winning by 2 points from the officers.
A September 18th 1917 article mentioned the “bayonet fighting course” at the camp in Singleton Park.
In 1915 the Park was used for sham fights with some 600-700 men from the local Volunteer Training Corps were assembled in the park. The article for the event congratulates the Mumbles and Hafod platoons for distinguishing themselves and states “when the enemy emerged from the woods, where they had been in hiding for some time, the attacking party rose to the occasion and fired upon them with bewildering rapidity, which practically wiped them out of existence”.
In 1916 newspapers mention a battle which the aim of was “to land at Blackpill Bay, capture the GWR line, and blow up Cockett Tunnel”. It goes on to mention the park being “so extensive, indeed, did it prove that several of the platoons did not see each during the afternoon”. With both sides showing “strategic skill” Major Perkins gave his verdict as a “draw”.
World War 2 and after
Singleton was home to Marshalling Area Camp X3 for the D-Day invasion and upwards of 1,600 personnel would have been based here. According to the website The D-Day Story the camp was home to the 5th Engineer Special Brigade, 12th Port of Embarkation and the 52nd Quartermaster Base Depot. The area around Swansea was the home of the US V Corp. As one local historian put it, “It is chilling to think that for many of those men, our Park was the last bit of green and safe space they ever saw” with V Corp being involved in the Omaha Beach landings on the 7th and 8th of June 1944. Many of the locals who had become accustomed to the presence of the Americans in and around Sketty, were surprised with the speed they vanished, seeming to be gone overnight.
Documents suggest that the US spent some $80,000 developing the site and released it on the 1st September 1944.
The area closest to the Mumbles Road in the above image remained post D-Day and seems to have been called “Singleton Park Camp” on later 1940s maps.
The buildings on the right are marked as tanks on the maps, and the buildings on the left are un-noted… but there were similar buildings elsewhere within the park, and also at Sketty Green
