The Evacuation of the South Hams – A talk by Gail Ham

Venue: Kingswear Village Hall – 7:30pm Monday 14th September

Gail is Chair of the Dartmouth History Research Group, a leading researcher on Dartmouth and Kingswear history, and co‑author of When War Came to the Dart.

The evacuation of Slapton Sands in 1943 was one of the most dramatic civilian displacements in Britain during WWII. It happened because the Allies needed a realistic training ground for the Utah Beach landings — and Slapton’s long shingle beach and inland lagoon (Slapton Ley) made it almost a perfect match.

In November 1943, the British government informed Devon County Council that a huge area of the South Hams — 30,000 acres, including Slapton, Torcross, Strete, Blackawton, East Allington, and surrounding farms — would be completely evacuated. Around 3,000 residents were forced to leave their homes with six weeks’ notice.

Gail will tell us how these events unfolded , how they impacted the residents and how they are commemorated to the present day.

The poster advertising the event is HERE>

The venue for the talk is Kingswear Village Hall and it starts at 7:30. Admission id £5 payable at the door and refreshments (tea and biscuits – included in the admission fee) will be available after the talk.