FORGOTTEN VOICES OF SOUTH WALES

When a talk is entitled “Glamorgan’s Greatest Generation”, it might be anticipated to be about the county’s heavy losses of menfolk in World War I, but Cowbridge U3A’s History Group found this not to be so. Author Malcolm Cowper’s excellent presentation was a collection of memories from the Second World War, not just from servicemen and women, but from factory workers, children and ordinary civilians, based on some 40 interviews with people living in South Wales, from Cardiff to Swansea and Porthcawl to the Valleys. His interest was in how people coped with wartime life during this period of exceptional events.

Malcolm gave the audience short extracts from the recollections he has recorded in his book.

The first story was about Stanley, an RAF pilot who became one of Bomber Command’s many casualties (55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew - a 44.4 percent death rate), leaving a widow and an unborn son. Two boys in Holland found a small window from his downed plane and, 50 years later, this was presented to Stanley’s son.

David, a Royal Marine, described his service as a ‘tour of the world’, courtesy of His Majesty’s Government. Not much of a holiday though, as he was on some of the Arctic convoys to Russia in appalling weather (never mind the enemy trying to sink your ship)! The Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean were some of the other theatres of war he sailed in.

Another RAF man was Ivor, an armourer (ground crew), who had the misfortune to become a prisoner of the Japanese for 2½ years. Beriberi, malaria, leg ulcers, and scabies were just some of the illnesses he contracted, which, along with malnutrition, almost certainly contributed to an early death at 58. He told his family a story about medical supplies and food being dropped to prisoners when hostilities ended and how he had a marvellous meal of jam and toothpaste mixed together.

The Royal Ordnance Factory at Bridgend, known as the Arsenal, employed some 35,000 workers at its peak, many of them women. Although the work was repetitive, the pay was good – young ladies could earn more than their fathers! There was, however, always danger lurking from handling munitions, which ranged from skin turning yellow because of exposure to TNT (the girls were called “canaries”) to death (27 workers were killed at Bridgend).

Malcolm’s father was employed at the factory and stayed in South Wales after the war, rather than returning to Birmingham.

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The Island Farm prison camp was initially built as accommodation for Arsenal workers, but was underused as many preferred to live at home, despite lengthy travelling times. The buildings were then used by American troops prior to D-Day, before the site became a camp for German prisoners; Field Marshall von Rundstedt was held here at one time, along with other high-ranking officers.

The arrival of American servicemen in South Wales was called a “friendly invasion”; most people’s knowledge of the USA came solely via the cinema and films. John from Maesteg related how there was both interest in the newcomers (especially the black troops) and resentment, as local men found it difficult to compete with soldiers who had more money, not to mention supplies of chocolate, cosmetics and nylons, when it came to wooing girls. He told also of numerous fights between white and black Americans, as, unlike in the USA, no segregation was imposed outside the camps and all were allowed to fraternise with the civilian population, which caused racial friction.

Many children were evacuated from English cities to South Wales, which was deemed to be a safer place, although 13 year old Bert from Swansea, who vividly described the bombing there, might have disagreed. Pamela, aged 8, living in Grangetown, Cardiff, told of her family not taking up the offer to shelter in the deep cellar of a nearby bakery as her sister had measles and her mother did not want anyone else to contract the disease. That night, the bakery took a direct hit from a bomb and all inside were killed.

Malcolm’s interviewees provided stories about improvised meals, tolerating the blackout, and extending the life of clothes and shoes through “make do and mend”. There were hardships - food rationing was in place until 1953, eight years after the war had ended – but also great camaraderie. At least some memories have now been recorded and preserved.

Hut 9, the only surviving building of the Island Farm camp, is now maintained by a preservation society.

Steve Monaghan