Enniskillen Model Primary School are currently bringing history to life as they commemorate the 75th anniversary of a number of significant historical dates.

The children are initially focusing their attention on Celtic Park, Enniskillen, adjacent to their school, where on May 18, 1944 - 75 years ago - General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces, inspected and addressed US soldiers from the 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. General Patton had visited the camp a few months earlier in February 1944 and provided a positive report to General Eisenhower regarding the level of training which he had observed.

General Eisenhower inspected the 28th Infantry Regiment’s Headquarters at Celtic Park, where the soldiers were undertaking basic manoeuvres in preparation for the Normandy Landings. After visiting Celtic Park, General Eisenhower then visited Castle Coole before leaving for Portora Playing Fields, renamed Eisenhower Playing Fields in his honour, at which over 2,000 US soldiers had gathered to be inspected and addressed by him.

Roger Edmondson, a former pupil of the Model, recently visited the primary school and gave a short presentation about his father Jimmy Edmondson, who was one of the US soldiers stationed at Celtic Park.

The children, who enjoyed replicating the exact scene of General Eisenhower’s address to the US soldiers gathered in Lower Celtic Park 75 years ago, were interested to learn that Roger’s father was one of the assembled GIs addressed by the General, during which he confidently stated in his speech ‘I inspected your camp and your training. You are made to work hard and train diligently. For this work and this training there will come a day on the battlefield that will find you happy and proud of what you were required to do and what was exacted of you in your training’. Several weeks later, Roger’s father, accompanied by thousands of GIs, left Enniskillen for Normandy. Roger proudly showed the children the medals for gallantry that his father was awarded for bravery on the battlefield.

On the same day as Roger’s visit, the children enjoyed a presentation by Mike Gilmore from the Wartime Living History Association who brought along an extensive range of WW2 equipment, which the US soldiers would have been issued with during their training at Celtic Park in preparation for the Normandy Landings.

Enniskillen Model Primary will be hosting a special commemorative event to mark the 75th Anniversary of D-Day on Thursday, June 6.