First Wave 44

21/08/2026

FW44 D Day Marshalling Camp display at West of England Steam Engine Rally.

25/07/2026

Firstwave 44 WW2 US Living History Group will be in the West Of England Show Military Village, come & meet us at our 1944 D Day Marshalling Camp Display.

22/07/2026

The 'Now' photo of Billets of Company L of 3rd Battalion 175th Infantry Regt. 4 Morrab Road ( Green House ) Penzance Cornwall, again no known wartime photo of Company L at Morrab Road exist or do they ? If there are any family members of 29ers who would of been stationed in the West of England before the Invasion of Normandy do you have old photo albums with photos we just might be able to identify the locations. Some places change names like Opies Hotel which were billets for Company K, we need to do a bit more research on that one or if you can help find where Opies Hotel was located in Penzance please let us know.

21/07/2026

The Billets of 3rd Battalion HQ Company, 175th Infantry Regt. 5 Trewartha Terrace Penzance Cornwall. Again only a 'Now ' photo as no wartime photo has been located in any 29th Division archive files.

20/07/2026

Next Location! We can only give you a 'Now' photo as we don't know of any wartime photo in existence of 'Torre Vene' the 3rd Battalion HQ in Penzance Spring 1944 , more locations to follow !

20/07/2026

Now & Then. Spring of 1944 Platoon of Co. I 175th Infantry Regt. out side Mount Street billets, Penzance Cornwall. After returning from the ATC in North Devon on 10th October 1943 Company I went to Lands End before moving to Mount Street & Albert Terrace, Feb. 21st 1944.

02/07/2026

With Brest 44 – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

17/06/2026

We remember Harold A. Pursey, Company K. 175th Infantry Regt. 29th Division. K.I.A. 18th June 1944 at Hill 108 Near St. Lo, Normandy France, 82 years on from when Harold lost his life in the Normandy Bocage.
Harold was born on 16th March 1922, the son of Austin & Jennie Pursey of Cortland County, New York. His father, Austin had emigrated to America from Somerset, England. Harold enlisted in the U.S. Army on the 4th February 1941 in Syracuse, New York. Company K 175th Infantry Regt. service Number 12023661. The 175th Infantry Regt. was deployed to Cornwall in September 1943 which the 3rd Battalion were stationed in Penzance as part of the vast build up of American forces preparing for the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe.
While P.F.C. Harold A. Pursey was stationed in Penzance he met a young Cornish women named Alice Blewett their relationship blossomed and looked forward to a future together once the war was over. Company K went into Marshalling Camp 'E14' near Redruth on 16th May and embarked on an LST at Trebah Hard, near Falmouth Cornwall bound for Omaha Beach. Alice was pregnant when Harold embarked for Normandy.
Harold landed on Omaha Beach on the 7th June and pushed inland, on the 18th June 1944, aged 22 he was killed in action in fierce fighting at Hill 108 while the 175th Infantry Regt. was heading towards St. Lo. Harold was first buried in Normandy, then a few years later his family arranged for his body to be repatriated and laid to rest at Glenwood Cemetery in Homer, Cortland County, New York. Harold's grandson Chris Blewett attends Trebah Military Remembrance Service each year to honour his Grandfather who he never met.

16/06/2026

06/06/2026