The involvement of Wales in D-Day began well before the events of June 1944. In August 1943, more than 100,000 men and landing craft were involved in a full scale invasion rehearsal at Wiseman’s Bridge and Saundersfoot, in Pembrokeshire. That part of the Pembrokeshire coast was thought most closely to resemble the conditions at Normandy beaches. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill and General Eisenhower both attended. This was a link between Normandy and Wales, which began with Exercise Jantzen and endures to this day.
The involvement of Wales in D-Day began well before the events of June 1944. In August 1943, more than 100,000 men and landing craft were involved in a full scale invasion rehearsal at Wiseman’s Bridge and Saundersfoot, in Pembrokeshire. That part of the Pembrokeshire coast was thought most closely to resemble the conditions at Normandy beaches. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill and General Eisenhower both attended. This was a link between Normandy and Wales, which began with Exercise Jantzen and endures to this day.