The Swansea Branch Chronicle 1
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Spring 2013 Issue No 1 Free to members £1 to non-members Waterloo Street junction Swansea at War Historical Association, Swansea Branch Promoting History in South West Wales From the Editor Welcome to our first edition of Chronicle. Message from the President Swansea Branch of the HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION is one of the liveliest in the country. This vitality owes much to a true ‘association’ with the National Waterfront Museum and its congenial meeting facilities– and, soon, a new lecture theatre. The friendly gossip before lectures and discussion afterwards seem The Journal not only to be read by you, but, written uninhibited; they encourage by you. We will concentrate on different periods of togetherness, which this newsletter history and for every edition we will be asking you, will also surely do. the members of the Historical Association, not just the academics, to send in contributions. Next edition… Success comes from the audience: ‘Medieval times’. a broad range of people simply interested in history, and the range Margaret McCloy of expert talks, from classical times to the contemporary world, with no agenda other than to entertain, inform and educate. Shakespeare wrote ‘There is a history in all men’s lives’. From the Chairman Moreover, the revival of Swansea’s branch has been an entirely The Swansea Branch, founded in 1926, has had its voluntary enterprise of enthusiastic ups and downs, a down happening in the 90s when historians, individuals, some the Branch virtually ceased to exist. However, it professional, some not, but all was revived in 2009, inspired by the interest in local committed – through a hard-working and family history evident in the activity of local committee ? to bringing their own history societies, and in the annual book fair held in enthusiasm and sense of history to Swansea Museum. The Branch has also benefitted the enjoyment of a wider audience. from the support and encouragement by the National Swansea’s branch of the Historical Waterfront Museum. Access to the Museum’s facilities Association is already making a has been a key element in the Branch’s success. mark on the cultural landscape and While we have a full programme for the immediate deserves our wholehearted support. future, we are very much open to suggestions for future events, visits, lectures and collaborations. The launching of Chronicle is an attempt to record our Professor Ralph Griffiths achievements, set out our ambitions and open the door to new ideas. Dr John Law 2 Last Year’s Events The monthly talks began in January with four lectures on ’The History of Time’. On 7 January, following the Branch’s annual general meeting, the Executive Secretary gave a talk appropriately entitled ‘Happy New Year. The Changing Date of New Year’s Day ’. Later in the month John Ashley gave a talk on ‘The Great Meridian Conference’ whilst Dr Adam Mosley’s talk was entitled ‘Day-time, Night-time, Mari- time’. January’s talks were completed with a presentation by Dr Nicholas Riall, who gave a fascinating lecture on the dating of ‘The Red Lady of Paviland’, which attracted and audience of about 120 people. There were talks for St Valentine’s Day, and an audience with two renowned authors speaking on ‘Authenticity in Historical Fiction’. Professor Bernard Knight and Susanna Gregory kept a large audience enthralled, and were equally impressed by the quality and variety of questions from the floor. Later, there was a Presidential Lecture by Professor Jackie Eales, who spoke of “The Monstrous Regiment of Women” in Tudor and Stuart Britain’. Other talks were on Wales’s patron saint, Saint David, by Dr Lucinda Matthews-Jones on ‘Upstairs, Downstairs at Toynbee Hall, East London, 1880– 1914’ and by Dr Rhianydd Biebrach who spoke to the Branch on 21 April on ‘The Estates of Neath Abbey’. This talk reflected her research of this subject as part of Swansea University’ investigation of the history of Neath Abbey, a project that is supported by the Branch. But, there was still time in May for an excursion to … Hereford and Berrington Hall! On a hot July day, the Branch was present at Cadw’s Festival of Heritage, Arts and Crafts at Laugharne Castle, where the branch arranged a fascinating demonstration by David Coley on ‘The Arms and Armour of the Medieval Knight’. At our own castle, in September, the Branch provided tour guides for an open weekend event. It was so successful that Swansea City and County Council has invited the Branch to provide the same service in 2013 and to write a booklet on the history of the castle. Amongst the many interesting talks last year, was one about Cuban Slaves and Swansea Copper given by Professor Chris Evans of the University of Glamorgan. For a change, the Branch presented a double- bill celebrating the bi-centenary of Charles Dickens’s birth. The morning’s speaker was actor and poet Peter Read, who spoke on ‘The Frenzied and Creative Life of Charles Dickens’, and in the afternoon, Dr Andrew Mangham spoke on ‘Suicide, Forensic Medicine and The Pickwick Papers’. It was not just talks; the branch had stalls at various fairs including those of Glamorgan Family History Society’s Fair, and The Royal Institution of South Wales Local History Book Fair. The Branch’s annual ‘Local History . Live!’ event at the Waterfront Museum brought many local groups together under the HA umbrella to meet the public and each other. Thanks must be given to all those members who helped make these such a success. In the summer, the Branch provided Committee members to help the local branch of the Classical Association present its very successful ‘Latin in the Park’ project, held on Saturday afternoons in Singleton Park. October saw the Branch involved in various universities’ Fresher’s Fairs. Our officers manned the Branch’s tables at Trinity St Davids Lampeter and Carmarthen, and Swansea University. In December 2012, the Branch presented another double bill, this time in celebration of Christmas. The morning talk was given by Dr John Law, who spoke on ‘Christmas in the Italian Renaissance’; and in the afternoon, Llew Smith (former MP for Blaenau Gwent) spoke on ‘The History of Protest through the Medium of Christmas Cards’. All in all, 2012 proved to be a very successful year for the Branch. Colin James, Executive Secretary 3 Swansea at War- a Chronology 1939 Black out imposed, no chinks of light, no see through curtains, no car head lights. War declared. SW Evening Post announces; all cinemas, theatres and football pitches to be closed. All schools to remain closed at least for the next week. Places of worship to be open. Petrol rationing begins.Guy Fawkes Night cancelled.No Christmas lights. 1940 Ration cards for dogs‘Careless talk costs lives’. May Queues of men wanting to be enrolled on Swansea list of volunteers. All sign posts and street names in Swansea removed. June First air raid attack on Swansea. High explosive bombs dropped. All failed to explode. July Plane drops four high explosive bombs on Kings Dock at 10.20 a.m. 12 dockyard workers killed, 26 injured. July Three battalions of Home Guard formed in Swansea. August Copies of Hitler’s speech dropped over Fairwood Common. Midnight raid, 20 dead, 15 injured. Battle of Britain begins. Twenty high explosive bombs fall in sea near Mumbles Head. September First blitz on Swansea. Raid lasts seven hours. Over 250 HX bombs and 1000 incendiary bombs. Fire at Llandarcy Oil Refinery; 6 tanks crude oil lost. William Jenkins bravery rewarded with the first George Medal of the war. Stepney Street, Cwmbwla, bombed, 33 deaths, 115 injured. 1941 Jan Raid on Swansea 8pm-12.05am. Freezing conditions. 55 dead, 97 casualties. February ‘The Three Nights Blitz’, over 13 hours of intensive bombing. Town Centre destroyed. 1 rest centres set up and 22 water tanks brought in. Mayor gives £50,000 to help families. 6,500 people without homes, 15 schools destroyed, food shops have gas and water cut off. St Mary’s Church destroyed. March King George Vl and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth visit Swansea. April Winston Churchill and his wife visit the ruined streets of Swansea. June Clothes rationing begins. August Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison, visits Swansea. 1942 Bombing continues. 1943 Huge Army camps built in Singleton Park to billet infantry. Swansea under attack again, 850 houses and hospital damaged. 34 killed, 110 casualties, 1944 11,000 troops arrive in Swansea, 800 ships in bay. D Day 6th June. Home Guard parades in Swansea before ‘standing down’. Christmas Day treats; half a pound of sweets. 1945 Germany surrenders. Great day of celebration in Swansea, bonfires and street parties. Taken from The WW2 Diary, submitted by Mr Royston Kneath. 4 “Spam Fritter or Snoek Rissole tonight, dear?” As early as October 1939 the Minister of Food asked Wartime Recipe, Sandwich Filling everyone to ‘Dig for Victory’. Dr Carrot and Potato Pete encouraged people to turn 2 tbsp. mashed potato, 1tbsp. their gardens into vegetable cocoa, 1 tbsp. sugar, vanilla patches and by 1943 a million flavouring tons of fruit and vegetables had been grown in gardens and Would you like to try this? allotments. Comments welcome! Even so, food rationing had to start, people were asked to register at local shops and hand Childhood memories of a over their food coupons. The Southfields boy first foods rationed were bacon, I was and still am a ‘Southfields boy’, sugar, tea, butter and meat. born in Bond Street where I grew Long queues were inevitable. up in in the 30’s and 40’s. Wartime In 1941 only one egg a week years , but for me full of excitement.