Wa-Hop-Chop

Wa-Hop-Chop was from Hawaii, one of carls good friends. Notice the shoulder badge for US 'Service Forces'.

Friends together.

Carl is at the back with the tie on! This is taken at the top end of the camp at the OR's accomotation. In the background can be seen the railings surrounding the cess pit workings of the nearby Ty-Mawr house. The railings are still there today and I took my Jeep to this exact position last week. One of the accomodation barracks and one of the shower blocks remain, but under thick vegitation. The whole area is now overgrown.

Cycle Japes !

Fooloing around near the boiler and power house. Notice the power lines and the fire water tank.
Pfc. Harry S. Hershall riding the bike with Bill Lacer on top and Mac hanging off the front.

Cycle ride on a sunny Day.

Get the shades out. These Nurses prepare for a ride in the country.

Mac on his bike...

Carl MacDaniel riding on the canal between Govilon and Gilwern.

More Cycles..

Three Nurses out for a ride, on the lane heading West from the camp towards Gilwern Lower Common.

Cycles..

One of the Nurses near the ward buildings.
Easy for getting around. Bicycles were used a lot more than they are today. I dont know if these would have been British bikes or if the Yanks brought their own.

Haircut ?

And they had a barber shop! Notice the bicycle racks.

Education.

They had a library in one of the Nissen huts.

A warm day !

What looks like a nice day in 1944. From the accommodation area, loking towards Dyffryn-Bach Farm and the Blorenge mountain.

Warm ?

With only a pot belly stove at each end you can bet there may not have been as much heat as was needed during the winter of 1944 !

Nissen Huts

A lot of the accommodation on the site was provided by the simple 'Nissen' hut. Usually sleeping up to 20 men, it was invented by Colonel Peter Nissen in 1916 as a shelter structure during the first world war, a design that endured for many years, well into the 1960's. The huts shown here are in the Northern area of the camp for the enlisted men.
Left - T5 35725125 William Lacer Jr., from Elberfield, Indiana.
Middle - T4 32139281 Anthony J. O'Connor (Speedy!), from Rochester, New York.
Right - Sgt. 38113195 Oscar Lozano, from Brownsville, Texas.

Tents also.

Even 130 solid buildings were not enough to accommodate the 279th. Many tents were also used in spaces between the buildings. I dont know what exactly they were used for, probably stores. In the middle of the camp was a large open water tank for fire fighting purposes.

On the left, T/5 Ted Buergler and Pfc Harry Herschall (guy with hat unknown)

Looking South.

This is looking from the small parade ground up to the camp entrance. Where you can see a Jeep just coming onto the site is where the guard hut is. The building on the right is the Camp Office and the building on the left is the Admissions and Dispersals Office.

Carl F. McDaniel.

'Mac' has been a guiding light in my research of the 279th at Gilwern and without his memories and photos I would have very little knowledge of what happened there. He is alive and well at 86 years of age and resides in Williamsport, PA. His best friend durning these times was William Lacer who is also alive and well. They keep in touch often. Mac on the left, Bill on the right.
More about them later !!

Commanding Officer.

The commancing officer of the 279th Station Hospital was Colonel Raymond R. Decker from Lewisburg, PA. He was also a surgeon.

Halt !

This is the Guard Hut at the main gate.

The Yanks are Coming.

A picture of a parade in front of the motor pool building (right). Raising the Stars and Stripes! This building still remains. On the far centre you can see some new Dodge Ambulances on the vehicle yard. The building on the left is the main administration office. This is now a training centre for heavy goods vehicles.

A Big Site

With over 130 buildings housing up to 1200 patients in 44 ward buildings, and accommodation for 450 personnel, this was at the time the largest hospital of its kind in Wales.

The Start 1942

Where there were once the open fields of Aberbaiden Farm on the outskirts of Gilwern village, in late 1942 the Ministry of Works set about building a 1200 bed hospital. This was ready for occupation in early 1943.