VE Day commemoration

The Beech Hill was a base for the US Marines in World War II and the hotel has maintained strong links with the Marine Corps ever since.

Lt General Berndt spent 36 years with the Marines, serving in many of the world's war zones, including Vietnam and Bosnia. He brought with him various articles donated by the United States Marine Corps museum in Carolina for display in the Beech Hill's permanent Marines exhibition, including different Marines uniforms.

Following the commemoration ceremony last Wednesday, details were announced of a new computerised archive containing previously unavailable information regarding the US military in wartime Northern Ireland. Of particular interest to historians and scholars it is be called 'Base One Europe'.

More than 500 Marines were based at the Beech Hill camp. They were housed in scores of Quonset huts, similar to Nissan huts, that were spread throughout the 32 acre estate. Many of the Marines married local girls and their descendants now come to look around the site of their fathers' wartime camp.

Accompanying General Berndt last week was a group of descendants of the Marines who served in Londonderry, and during the evening ceremony, which included a wreath laying ceremony and act of reflection, each of the guests were presented with the Paddy Hone award - presented annually since 1997 to people who have furthered the connection between Londonderry and the US via the Beech Hill – US Navy Marine Corps Friendship Association.

Due to the Association's efforts, a huge amount of information including documents, maps, photographs, film and sound recordings, has been conditionally declassified and may become part of the Beech Hill archive. They include reports on famous visitors to Base One Europe including King George V1, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bob Hope and Al Johnson.

Owner of the Beech Hill, Patsy O'Kane, said that in spite of the obvious historical significance of the Marines' activities in Londonderry during World War II, there has been very little evidence available in Northern Ireland of the contribution the men who were based here made to the War and the integration of the military presence into the Londonderry community.

Mrs O'Kane said she believed the unique military archive would result in many more people visiting Londonderry and would greatly benefit the City's tourism industry.

The archive will provide a digitised document facility as well as sounds and images, and will be a unique experience for visitors to Northern Ireland.

Base One Europe was the name of the Navy base in the City and was set up on February 5, 1942, and was the first WWII US Navy establishment on the European side of the Atlantic.

It was the biggest naval institution in Europe during the war and according to US Navy veteran groups, it was so effective that it shortened the war by two years, saving millions of lives.

Much more work has to be done on both sides of the Atlantic before the Beech Hill archive can be set up. No date has been set for the completion of the task which will take a considerable amount of funding, but Mrs O'Kane said when finished it would be "a compelling and engaging heritage story".

Speaking on radio last week, Lt General Berndt spoke about the importance of the Londonderry link with the Marines in terms of recalling and reflecting on the freedoms people had due to the Victory in Europe.

"The significance of that day and not just for those people who live here in Europe and experienced the surrender of the high German command in a real way, but everybody throughout the world, I think we all recognise the value and importance of that to the way we live today; the families that we have, the educational opportunities, the freedoms that we have and in many cases throughout the world, the things that we don't have. So, it is an opportunity to reflect, and I think that's what is important."

The Lt General, who served in Vietnam, went on to reveal that his mother had served in the Navy during WWII and his father had served in the US Army.

"He was in the Pacific, but he was there for four-and-a-half years before the War was over and he was able to come home. My mother worked in Washington. As it turned out she worked for a Marine Colonel in an administrative billet, but they are both veterans of WWII. I learned very very little about the war from them, and I think one of the reasons was that my father, who I know has many stories to tell, elected not to tell them for a variety of personal reasons and I understood that and never pressed him on that but at the same time I'm sad that I didn't because many of those great warriors who sacrificed their lives of course, are in our memories, but many of those that survived are still around, but they are passing very frequently."