80th Anniversary of D-day
Llandudno Respects – Longest Yarn & More
A month-long Llandudno tribute, October 2–27, 2024, to the War Effort behind the D-Day Landings of 1944. Llandudno goes back to the 40s and celebrates the skills of knitters and crafters to bring history to life.
Rydym yn edrych ymlaen at fersiwn Gymraeg hyfryd o’r wefan hon cyn gynted â phosibl. Mae’n rhaid i ni gael y fersiwn Saesneg wedi’i sgleinio yn ddigon i fod yn deilwng
About
Why?
Every community under Allied control, including those in today’s Commonwealth countries, formerly under British Empire rule, played a vital part in focusing resources onto the Normandy beaches. Pushing back against the Nazi forces ultimately hastened the end of WW2 in Europe and won the peace. These are our stories to share while they are still within living memory.
What Will We See?
A modern-day 3D equivalent of the Bayeux Tapestry, depicting D-Day in 80 panels on tour throughout the UK and the USA in 2024-25. A full-sized knitted Churchill Avre Tank, a Gown of Poppies, and stunning D-Day Themed (Post Box) Toppers depicting the overlooked stories of D-Day. Our town-wide Poppy Trail will lead you between these and other WW2 points of interest.
Llandudno and North Wales are privileged to play our part in bringing history to life in the 80th year since the D-Day Landings in 1944.
Free access to all exhibits on the Poppy Trail. Donations welcome to support local causes and Veterans Charities.
What Else?
The project is supported by many local organisations including the Home Front Museum and Amgueddfa Llandudno Museum, both with fascinating objects and stories to share. Entry charges are applicable in these venues only.
Where?
Holy Trinity Church, Trinity Square, Llandudno LL30 2PY
Opening Times
Longest Yarn Exhibit Opening Hours
- 10am – 5pm Tues – Sat;
- 1pm – 5pm Sundays;
- 1 x Late Night Tues 15th Oct 10am til 8pm
Last entry 1 hour before advertised closing time
We are all Volunteers staffing the exhibit, so asking for understanding & support for our volunteers to go home to their families happy & in good time..
Ripon Knitted Tank
- 30 Sept – 31 October
FREE to view The Victoria Shopping Centre, Llandudno according to their opening hours
Criccieth Creadigol – Creative Criccieth Gown of Poppies
FREE to view at Clares Department Store
Credit: Angela Williams
What’s on?
The Knitted Tank
Supporting the Longest Yarn is the Knitted Full Size Tank. Recognising that innovative tech was needed to defeat the Nazi machine, Winston Churchill tasked the engineers with building bunker busting tanks & artillery. The Ripon Community Poppy Crafters have built a full size (24 feet x 9 feet x 7 feet) knitted tank. This to be positioned, with considerable effort in the Victoria Shopping Centre Mostyn Street. Thank You, Ripon.
D Day Toppers
Post Box Toppers have been the original inspiration behind most of these large scale D Day 80 projects, & some wonderful & moving smaller examples were presented on Facebook around 6 June 2024. #DDay80
We have hunted them down & gathered some 30 plus stunning examples from around the UK. We are working out the best venue to showcase their beauty & the incredible, often personal D Day stories behind them.
Gown of Poppies
In the beautiful 1920s shop window of Clare’s Department Store, Mostyn Street Llandudno will be the Criccieth Gown on Poppies: a gown commemorating lives lost to wars from the Creative Criccieth – Criccieth Creadigol Crafting Collective. This is a treasure of Wales, rarely seen outside its native Criccieth & we are privileged to have the support of this group in staging this whole event. Diolch o’r galon.
The Poppy Trail
The Poppy Trail will take you on a paper or QR code journey around Llandudno town centre, on the flat, exploring our crafted installations & key places where Llandudno & North Wales were instrumental in the WWII effort. Paper maps will be available hopefully for free @ locations tbc.
Events
Our D Day Exhibits have inspired us to run a series of events throughout October (we must be mad!), to support local causes, who in turn support our projects. Most of these will ask a small charge for tickets, and details of how to book will follow here soon.
And There’s More!
To complement our own handcrafted tributes, concerts, dances, and Mulberry Harbour guest speakers, we are proud to be working with with Amgueddfa Llandudno Museum, who have a fascinating programme of walks around Llandudno and talks complementing our event, running throughout August, September, and October in support.
3 Oct – Launch Event Holy Trinity Church
5 Oct – Llandudno Schoolchildren’s Sponsored ‘Evacuee Walk’ from the Church to the tank via the Prom, to support local veterans charities as Chair of Conwy County Borough Council Cllr Sue Shotter’s charity event of choice.
8 Oct, 7.15pm – Swing Band Concert
BOOK HERE:
15 October, 2pm onwards – Afternoon Tea Dance, Trinity Centre, Trinity Avenue Llandudno (not same venue as Holy Trinity Church) LL30 2TQ
16 October, Rydal Penrhos Wind Orchestra Concert with a ’40s theme, Trinity Centre, Trinity Ave. (The Trinity Centre is about 1/2 a mile away from Trinity Church)
19 October, Casablanca (1942) Free Movie Screening at the Trinity Community Centre. Hot drinks and food avaliable, with free snacks for anyone in 1940s dress. Doors 1:45PM, Film starts at 2PM
Reserve your place by emailing: lcpws18@outlook.com
22 October, 7:30pm onwards – Mulberry Harbour Talk from Historian Richard Lewis who is travelling from Ireland to be with us. – Holy Trinity Church
BOOK HERE: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/llandudnorespects/t-dvqlojo
24 Oct – Conwy Orchestra Concert of WW2 inspired movie & TV themes: Dambusters, 633 Squadron, Band of Brothers, Schindlers List for example
At the heart of our event is
The Longest Yarn is a unique 80-metre depiction of the events surrounding D-Day 1944, created entirely from woollen figures. It is currently on tour! This handcrafted exhibit narrates the challenges overcome to liberate Normandy and the global efforts of the Allies, bringing communities like ours together for this historic achievement on June 6th. It serves as a reminder of the relative peace enjoyed today in the UK and most of Europe, a peace secured at the steepest cost by the Greatest Generation.
“Sometimes reality is too complex. Stories give it form.”
― Jean-Luc Godard
Accessible to all ages, The Longest Yarn is a particularly effective way to introduce children and young people to our history, while also reminding older generations of family stories that are fading with time.
Sharing Stories Matters:
“There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.”
― Jimi Neil Smith
Get Involved
This is an entirely voluntary effort, and we need more volunteers to:
- Help attach poppies to string netting for our tribute areas around the town. Starting this week – time is tight!
- Staff the exhibits and evening events, engaging with visitors during October. Sessions are a maximum of 3 hours. Thorough and fun training will be provided online and in person in August and early September.
- Support our wonderful FOMS volunteers by helping to spruce up Llandudno and enhance the experience for everyone.
- Share our links and information flyers widely on social media.
- Help record stories from the wartime generation as part of our social history project, preserving them for future generations on the online archive ‘People’s Collection Wales’ and similar archives in the other nations. Full training is provided, expenses are paid, and it’s a great addition to your CV!
Love it! How Do I Get Started?
- Contact Gini, Pat, or Claire at mail@friendsofmostynstreet.co.uk
Facebook: Friends of Mostyn Street - Let us know what you’d like to do.
- Be patient while we organise short introduction and training sessions.
- Come along and join in this unique experience.
FAQs
Why Llandudno?
Llandudno, like thousands of communities, is proud of its contributions to the war effort. Conwy Morfa beach was the secret site for developing the first Mulberry Harbours, a crucial technology that supported the successful Allied advance. As Naval Chief of Staff Commodore John Hallett-Hughes remarked, “If we can’t capture a harbour, we must take one with us.”
Our region’s Great Orme and Little Orme limestone outcrops hosted over 15,000 troops at the Coastal Artillery Training School. Additionally, there were two Communication Research Establishments dedicated to Air Defence Research and Telecommunication Research—critical technologies for D-Day and beyond.
Llandudno also housed American troops awaiting deployment, and we cared for over 10,000 evacuee workers from His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs department and the Ministry of Food in Colwyn Bay. These efforts ensured that taxes were collected to sustain the war effort and that rations were distributed fairly.
In 2024, Llandudno is home to the Home Front Museum, which illustrates the conditions faced by everyone during the war. We also host Blind Veterans UK, providing a residential center for visually impaired veterans to rehabilitate and holiday.
We welcome over 3.5 million visitors annually, with the infrastructure and a warm Welsh welcome ready and waiting.
Amgueddfa Llandudno Museum supports our event with active schools and community programs, enriching our collective memory and understanding of this pivotal period.
I want to come, what do I need to know?
All venues are fully accessible to wheelchair users & those with mobility challenges. All materials on site will be bilingual Welsh & English. There are many hotels, guest houses & self catering establishments available to book. You can find information here as a starting point: Visit Conwy
Many places around Llandudno are dog friendly & we have a huge variety of eateries & leisure activities to extend your stay & appeal to everyone. October often provides a warm, sunny autumn break here so there may be time to sample the Great Orme attractions, or delve into Snowdonia.
Who is behind this Event / Project?
Friends of Mostyn Street (FOMS) is a newly formed Community Action Group, established in March 2023, dedicated to caring for and uplifting the Victorian seaside resort of Llandudno. Recognising the threat of coastal resort decline, we work together to ensure that Llandudno’s prosperity and future are secured through inspiring and innovative partnerships with local, regional, national, and even multinational businesses.
We are a weekly ‘boots on the ground’ group, meeting every Wednesday at 5:30 PM to clean, weed, sweep, and paint railings. This time is chosen to provide business owners with a better opportunity to join us.
Supporters:
For this specific project, we have been generously funded and supported by the Creu Conwy Llandudno Town Team with UKSPF funding. Llandudno Town Council has also granted us funds to ensure that The Longest Yarn Exhibit is heated, lit, and interpreted, allowing everyone to benefit from this unique opportunity.
Also supported by:
- Project Historian Adrian Hughes from Home Front Museum ensuring local efforts towards D Day are accurately represented.
- Amgueddfa Llandudno Museum programme of talks & walks on D Day link to Museum events / prices to be supplied.
FOMS Business Partners Include:
- Clare’s Department Store
- Mostyn Estates Limited
- Natwest Bank
- HSBC Bank
- Nationwide Building Society
- Jewsons
- Home Cooking Llandudno
- Dudley & George Llandudno
- Home Front Museum
- Happitat – Crest Cooperative
- Livetech
- Llandudno Hospitality Association
- Glan y Mor Hotel
- Dunoon Hotel
- St David’s Hospice, Llandudno
- Amgueddfa Llandudno Museum
- Rock Shop
- Great Orme Tramway
- Llandudno Pier
- Great Orme Mines Limited
- Ski Llandudno
- Go North Wales Tourism
We also receive ongoing and helpful support from Conwy County Borough Council’s Events Team, Business & Tourism, Tourist Information Centre, and Tourism Ambassador Programme.
Book Accommodation
We always encourage visitors to book direct with our excellent local accommodation providers. You can discover more about the area and places to stay by clicking the following links.
Llandudno Hospitality Association https://www.llandudnoha.co.uk/
Visit Conwy https://www.visitconwy.org.uk
