Swansea’s N.F.S. with Patton and the 21st Army Group
Swansea’s N.F.S. with Patton and the 21st Army Group Swansea Firemen in the European Campaign General George S. Patton South Wales Evening Post In June 1945, the South Wales Evening Post highlighted the remarkable wartime service of several Swansea members of the National Fire Service , men whose duties carried them far beyond the familiar rhythms of home and into the vast, shifting front lines of the European campaign. Their work, undertaken alongside General George S. Patton’s U.S. Third Army , revealed a lesser‑known but deeply significant chapter in the story of Swansea’s contribution to victory. For the first three months of their deployment, the Swansea company served directly with the American forces before later being transferred back to the British 21st Army Group , reflecting the fluid and cooperative nature of Allied operations in the final stages of the war. Fireman Ernest J. Francis Overseas Foremost among them was Ernest J. Francis , of Column 4 , D Company, N.F.S., who ...
