11/17/08 08:56:27AM @ian-price2:
Bore da Tam darlin'No one walks their dog on this green because.The Day War Came To Cwmparc *On the night of April 29th/30th.1941 the small mining village of Cwmparc was devastated by the bombs of Hitlers Luftwaffe, an event that survivors of that night of terror will never forget. The reason why this small Rhondda settlement was targeted will never be known, but some theories suggest that possibly a bombing mission planned for Swansea or Port Talbot had failed, causing the German bombers to offload their bombs on their way home. Whatever the reason for the raid the result brought devastation and death to this small close-knit mining community. Most of the bombs fell on houses in Treharne Street and Parc Road, and the resultant death toll was twenty-seven men, women and children. One of the most poignant aspects of the raid was the death of three young evacuees from London. The three, 13-year-old George Jameson, his 11-year-old brother Ernest, and his sister Edith lived at 14 Treharne Street, had been sent to Cwmparc as a place of safety in order to avoid the dangers of the London Blitz. Another victim was Ivor Wright, a member of the local Home Guard. Ivor had seen a parachute floating to the ground, and believing it to be a German parachutist ran to confront the invader, it was however a German incendiary bomb dropped attached to a parachute, which killed him instantly.Cotemporary reports in the local paper, The Free Press and Rhondda Leader, describe how when the air raid warning first went off residents expected a boring wait in the air raid shelter until the all clear should sound. Indeed many did not even leave for the shelters as the sounding of the siren was a common event and until that tragic evening had heralded nothing more than an uncomfortable period in an air raid shelter. This time however it was different as the papers correspondent describes,suddenly, with horrifying unexpectedness, there was heard a clutter like the rattling of a thousand machine guns in simultaneous action. There were queer noises of objects falling on the roof, and outside in the street was a din of shouting . . . The scene was one such as could only exist in the wildest imagination. Incendiary bombs had been dropped and more were still falling, blazing brightly in their hundreds, and many little houses in the main street were already in the incipient stage of being afire.The writer goes on to describe the heroic efforts of the emergency services in extinguishing the incendiaries as they landed and recovering the dead and injured from the debris. However just as everything seemed to be under control, The air became frightful with the drone of returning raiders, and the first of two high explosive bombs fell, these bombs completely demolished two houses and damaged extensively many others. Many of the accounts describe the many acts of heroism and bravery of the rescuers on that night, and in the days following, tunnelling through mountains of debris to reach those trapped beneath.Following the war in November 1948 a memorial service was held outside the Cwmparc Library and institute commemorate the sacrifice of the 27 victims of the raid. An illuminated two faced clock and a plaque to those who had died in the Second World War was unveiled by Colin Harries a 14 year old schoolboy from Treharne Street, who had been saved that night from a bombed house.
11/16/08 06:35:17PM @ian-price2:
Hi TamThe nearest to the camera is a post box - albeit unique in my experience. The other is a recepticle that should be used for the deposit of dog waste - as 'twere.
Bore da Tam darlin'No one walks their dog on this green because.The Day War Came To Cwmparc *On the night of April 29th/30th.1941 the small mining village of Cwmparc was devastated by the bombs of Hitlers Luftwaffe, an event that survivors of that night of terror will never forget. The reason why this small Rhondda settlement was targeted will never be known, but some theories suggest that possibly a bombing mission planned for Swansea or Port Talbot had failed, causing the German bombers to offload their bombs on their way home. Whatever the reason for the raid the result brought devastation and death to this small close-knit mining community. Most of the bombs fell on houses in Treharne Street and Parc Road, and the resultant death toll was twenty-seven men, women and children. One of the most poignant aspects of the raid was the death of three young evacuees from London. The three, 13-year-old George Jameson, his 11-year-old brother Ernest, and his sister Edith lived at 14 Treharne Street, had been sent to Cwmparc as a place of safety in order to avoid the dangers of the London Blitz. Another victim was Ivor Wright, a member of the local Home Guard. Ivor had seen a parachute floating to the ground, and believing it to be a German parachutist ran to confront the invader, it was however a German incendiary bomb dropped attached to a parachute, which killed him instantly.Cotemporary reports in the local paper, The Free Press and Rhondda Leader, describe how when the air raid warning first went off residents expected a boring wait in the air raid shelter until the all clear should sound. Indeed many did not even leave for the shelters as the sounding of the siren was a common event and until that tragic evening had heralded nothing more than an uncomfortable period in an air raid shelter. This time however it was different as the papers correspondent describes,suddenly, with horrifying unexpectedness, there was heard a clutter like the rattling of a thousand machine guns in simultaneous action. There were queer noises of objects falling on the roof, and outside in the street was a din of shouting . . . The scene was one such as could only exist in the wildest imagination. Incendiary bombs had been dropped and more were still falling, blazing brightly in their hundreds, and many little houses in the main street were already in the incipient stage of being afire.The writer goes on to describe the heroic efforts of the emergency services in extinguishing the incendiaries as they landed and recovering the dead and injured from the debris. However just as everything seemed to be under control, The air became frightful with the drone of returning raiders, and the first of two high explosive bombs fell, these bombs completely demolished two houses and damaged extensively many others. Many of the accounts describe the many acts of heroism and bravery of the rescuers on that night, and in the days following, tunnelling through mountains of debris to reach those trapped beneath.Following the war in November 1948 a memorial service was held outside the Cwmparc Library and institute commemorate the sacrifice of the 27 victims of the raid. An illuminated two faced clock and a plaque to those who had died in the Second World War was unveiled by Colin Harries a 14 year old schoolboy from Treharne Street, who had been saved that night from a bombed house.
Hi TamThe nearest to the camera is a post box - albeit unique in my experience. The other is a recepticle that should be used for the deposit of dog waste - as 'twere.