Saturday, 5 November 2011

Knutsford Cheshire....................... General Patten and Steven Spielberg


General George.S.Patten.
 The U.S. Third Army and Knutsford... six weeks before D Day 1944.
Peover Hall was built in 1585.

In 1944 General.S. Patten and the U.S. Third Army were based in Knutsford in the lead up to D Day.
General Patten delivered a speech to his staff at Peover before delivering another to his troops in Knutsford.
The speech he made in Knutsford almost cost him his career. 
"The Knutsford Incident"
While researching this post I found this link documenting what went on and transcripts of the event.
Peover Hall was General Pattons headquarters leading up to the D Day invasion.
It really is 426 years old.
I had a lovely wander around and have more images to share... it's a big estate even today.
The Church at Peover Hall was locked... I attended a wedding here in the early 1980's.
The Stars and Stripes hangs proudly above the alter.
I kept coming across these signs... I have a blog to share and a story to tell.
"Fortune favours the bold"  or am I just nosey.
In the 1970 film "Patten" (was it really that long ago/) starring George.C.Scott the scene of his speech to the troops was actually filmed in Knutsford outside the old Town Hall.

Knutsford has some wonderful old buildings and a lot of history.
The tower was built to commemorate the vistorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell who grew up in Knutsford the building houses the Belle Epoque restaurant.
The Belle Epoque was used for a scene in the 1981 TV series Brideshead Revisted.
It was designed by Richard Harding Watt who also built some wonderful houses in the town.
A film director you have probably heard of (joke) used the wonderful architecture of Legh Road
 close to the town centre to depict the colonial buildings of Shanghai in the 1987 film.
 Empire of the Sun.
Steven Spielberg's Knutsford appears in... Part Two.
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10 comments:

  1. Bob Bushell5 November 2011 at 20:50

    The stars and stripes, that would be the lesson for today, lol.

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  2. TexWisGirl5 November 2011 at 20:56

    the stars and stripes hanging in a church in England. how interesting...

    hope your son & DIL enjoy their trip to the US! San Fran sounds like a wonderful visit. Vegas is a place everyone should experience at least once, but since i've been there quite a few times, i have no hankering to go back. :)

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  3. Chatty Crone6 November 2011 at 01:47

    I like the Stars and Stripes are there - lol.

    You live in such an interesting and beautiful area.

    I think something I think about when I think about England compared to the US - you have such a longer history then we do.

    So interesting.

    sandie

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  4. ADRIAN6 November 2011 at 05:25

    Another town I've driven through a hundred times and never stopped to look at.........thanks for this post. I'll endeavour to rectify matters.

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  5. holdingmoments6 November 2011 at 05:33

    Fascinating information Andrew.
    Some fine buildings there. I especially like that Town Hall.

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  6. The Herald6 November 2011 at 07:27

    Andrew, your 'patch' seems to be steeped in so much history, thanks for sharing it with us, your posts always make interesting reading...[;o)

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  7. grammie g6 November 2011 at 14:02

    HI Andrew...a very interesting post of a conection of the two countries history I was not aware of ...thanks for being nosy..lol..I think these places should be accesable, of course with open visit times!!
    ♥
    Grace

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  8. Unknown6 November 2011 at 17:16

    Great pieces of architecture!

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  9. Unknown6 November 2011 at 22:30

    What a great tour Andrew!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  10. Pantherka6 November 2011 at 22:59

    Interesting information ... thanks!

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