American GIs in WWII stationed at The Moor

Recently the Cusop History Group Facebook page received a question about whether we had any information about the American GIs who were based at The Moor Estate (The Moor), Hardwicke during WWII. Whilst we have no formal documentation, we do have some reminiscences that were captured a few years ago when Hay Theatre Company were running their Reminiscence project. These memories were pieced together by Janine Sharp to produce a play called “Reflections on A Train Journey Home”, where members of the Hay Senior Youth Theatre played the parts of the oldies when they were teenagers.

The first reminiscence from Joyce Smith is of the Americans coming to Hay cinema where she worked "Mr Madigan who ran the cinema was Irish and he had a stammer, but we called it impediment. He said wwwwould you two girls like a jjjjob. You’ve only got to come to the cinema every night and you can stay and watch the film. He was going to pay us half a crown. When the soldiers were in Hay, Betty and I had a torch and a piece of wire with a piece of wood on the bottom and they tore the ticket in half and they stuck the half ticket on the wire which took the serial number of when it started. When we looked, we had a couple of bus tickets on ours!! It was a job, but to us it was a bit of fun. We couldn’t be bothered to get the torch and stick the tickets on so he told us to be more careful and we had to spend one night in the cashier box. He gave us 3 shillings. Everything ran smoothly. The Americans came in ‘Hiya, how much is it?’, 2 and thruppenies, ‘Ok kiddo’, throw money in, ‘Keep the change’. ‘Righto babe’. Betty and I would be in the top seats watching the same films. We had more fun there than anywhere."

Mary Penoyre Morgan’s family owned The Moor, and in her popular talk to Cusop History Group in 2018 she said that " My great grandfather, Reverend Slade Baker Stallard-Penoyre, inherited The Moor at age 83. He found it all too much to have servants and maids and he rented out the house from 1885 and in World War II the US army used the house. I remember being taken there in 1951 and seeing the huge walls covered in drawings of women (clothed). The family couldn’t really ask for compensation for this graffiti as it would have been too unpatriotic.

My father, Slade Baker Stallard-Penoyre, born in 1899, was the first heir not to become a vicar. He was an engineer who read at Oxford and was not sure what to do with the house. He rented it out as a nursing home, school and golf club. The property was not wanted after the war and the days of women working in domestic service was over. So, it was put on the housing market but it didn't sell and all he got was £1000 for the stone! “

Liz Aherne's memories – “I remember the party after the war near the clock tower and there were bonfires. There were lots of GIs in Hay. Dad was the medical officer for the camp which was on the road to Clifford, just past where the Co-op is now, by the Stone lodge just before the Golf Club.

There were lots of buildings there and stables which had been requisitioned by the Americans for their troops. They were always buzzing around in their Jeeps. I remember people shouting on the streets ‘Have you got any nylons?’ and the GIs would hand out sweets. There was a sentry on attention which was quite exciting as a child.”

If you have any knowledge or memories of the American GIs in Hay or at The Moor then please let us know.

To see more about The Moor and the Penoyre Family see their new website https://www.penoyre.uk/the-moor