Tagged with: South West Wales
Posts (49)
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Bill Frost - the first man to fly?
Phil Carradice
Wilbur and Orville Wright are commonly accepted as the first men to design and fly a power-driven aeroplane. But there was one man, in west Wales, who might just have beaten the brothers to the punch. His name was Bill Frost and in the eyes of many he is the person who deserves the epithet of 't...
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Tanker disasters
Phil Carradice
Pembrokeshire has always had its fair share of shipwrecks. In the days of sail it was inevitable that, with a westerly wind driving frail schooners and ketches onto the rugged coast, maritime disasters of one sort or another were bound to happen. And when the oil industry came to Milford Haven in the early 1960s there were many prophets of doom who predicted ecological disaster should one of the giant oil tankers that regularly sailed in past St Ann's Head ever run up onto the rocks around the south Pembrokeshire coast. In the main, such disasters have not occurred - that does not mean, however, there have been no accidents and when shipwrecks have taken place the threat from oil spillage has been real and terrifying. In fact there was near disaster right at the beginning. Esso's new refinery at Gelliswick Bay in the Haven had only just opened for business when, on 8 July 1960, the "Esso Portsmouth" began discharging 32,000 tons of crude oil at the terminal. She was the first ocean-going tanker to tie up at the refinery and expectation and excitement ran high. Unfortunately, so did the risk of danger, not only for the ship and refinery but for the whole town of Milford. Almost as soon as the tanker began to discharge her cargo, there was a structural failure in one of the arms that took off the oil in huge pipes from the ship and a serious spillage took place. Within seconds the oil had ignited and a massive explosion rocked the area. Firemen quickly put out the flames and the majority of the cargo was saved but the hull of the "Esso Portsmouth" was seriously damaged and buckled. The explosion was a warning. No serious oil leak had occurred but the incident could so easily have resulted in chaos. The next time an oil tanker was in trouble off the Pembrokeshire coast things did not go quite so well. On 12 October 1978 the "Christos Bitas", en route from Rotterdam to Belfast, ran onto the Hats and Barrels Reef, some 10 or 15 miles off the coast. The ship was quickly re-floated and the captain decided to continue with the voyage. Unfortunately, the rocks had ripped a large hole in her bottom and the ship was now leaking oil at an alarming rate. The owners, BP, ordered her to stop and two tankers came alongside to take off over 20,000 tons of crude oil. Although the "Christos Bitas" was towed out into the Atlantic and scuttled, thousands of tons of oil leaked into the sea. Over forty vessels were deployed, laying down booms around the oil and using skimmers to try to reclaim what they could. Aerial spraying, when it was feared the slick might reach the bird sanctuaries of Skomer and Skokholm, was also employed. In the end, after many days of hard physical effort, the oil was mopped up but not before somewhere in the region of 9,000 sea birds had been killed. Clearing up at Milford Haven Pembrokeshire's next oil disaster, the third largest oil spillage in Britain, took place on 15 February 1996 when the "Sea Empress" grounded on the rocks of St Ann's Head at the mouth of Milford Haven. She was bound for the Texaco refinery on the south shore of the Haven but was pushed off course by the current and hit the rocks just after 8.00pm. The "Sea Empress" had punctured her hull and rescue attempts by tugs from the Port Authority served only to make matters worse as the ship repeatedly re-grounded, slicing open her bottom even more. Over the course of the following week 73,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the water and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park was faced with an ecological disaster of major proportions. It took six weeks for the oil slick to disperse and in that time thousands of birds had died, caught up in the cloying and clogging mixture. Shearwaters, guillemots, puffins, birds that had made their homes on the islands off shore, fell victim to the oil. There was also serious damage to the shore line right around the coast, seaweed and invertebrates being particularly badly hit. A rescue centre for oiled birds was set up in Milford and dozens of volunteers (as well as paid workers) toiled for days to try to minimize the extent of the disaster. Tugs and other vessels from as far away as Dublin and Plymouth also came to help. The "Sea Empress" disaster was only the third major incident involving oil tankers to take place in and around Milford Haven. Perhaps the area has been lucky. One thing is certain - the potential for future disaster remains and the only way to avoid trouble is with extreme caution and vigilance. It is the least our coastline deserves.
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New exhibition at Swansea Museum celebrates the history of the Swans
成人论坛 Wales History
An exhibition devoted to Swansea City Football Club has just opened in the centre of the city. Proud To Be A Swan takes place at Swansea Museum on Victoria Road until the end of September. It charts the history of the club from the very earliest days, through the successes and the failures, a...
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The Llanelli railway riots of 1911
Phil Carradice
One thing you can say about the Welsh - they're a pretty militant lot and they do not take kindly to exploitation. From the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr to the Rebecca Riots, from the Chartist march on Newport to countless miners' strikes at pits and collieries, perceived injustice has often led n...
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The flying boats of Pembroke Dock
Phil Carradice
In the 1930s and 40s one west Wales town played host to the largest flying boat base the country had ever seen - maybe even the world. That town was Pembroke Dock and for nearly 30 years residents of the community woke each morning and went to bed at night with the deep throated roar of Pegasus ...
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Swansea's copper heritage set for revamp
成人论坛 Wales History
Swansea's copperworks are set to play a role in Swansea's Council's redevelopment strategy, helped in part by Channel 4's Time Team programme. The history programme, fronted by actor Tony Robinson, features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig in an area of historical inte...
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Gower cave could hold Britain's oldest rock art
成人论坛 Wales History
Archaeologist Dr George Nash of Bristol University believes a wall carving discovered in a Gower cave could be Britain's oldest example of rock art. The faded scratchings of a speared reindeer are believed to have been carved during the Ice Age more than 14,000 years ago. Dr Nash, called the discovery "very, very exciting." For now, the exact location of the art is being kept secret as experts are working to verify the art. The limestone cliffs along the Gower coast are renowned for their archaeological importance. The Red Lady of Paviland, actually the remains of a young male, is the earliest formal human burial to have been found in western Europe. It is thought the remains are around 29,000 years old. Read more about this remarkable find on the 成人论坛 Wales News website.
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Pirates of the Pembrokeshire Coast
Phil Carradice
You only have to turn on the television or open a newspaper to see that piracy is still alive and - I hesitate to say "well" - kicking in our modern world. These days it seems to be restricted, in the main, to the near and far East. But it was not so long ago that pirates and piracy flourished around the Welsh coast - around Pembrokeshire in particular. Angle Bay in Pembrokeshire was the scene of pirate activity (image from coletracey) In the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries the problem of piracy was a major issue in all of the western counties of Wales. This was, in many respects, due to the fact that the area was so far away from central government but a large part of the problem also stemmed from the fact that all elements of society, from squires and landed gentry to humble shop owners and fishermen, were involved in the business. For a long while, in the days of Elizabeth I, one of the prime movers in both piracy and smuggling was George Clerk. He was at the centre of a web of illegal operations that brought him hundreds of pounds every year. And he was also a senior customs officer stationed at the town and port of Pembroke! Small wonder he could operate with impunity. Clerk was the man who also owned the Point House Inn in Angle. This ancient beer house was renowned as the haunt of pirates and smugglers, often giving sanctuary to men on the run from the law. John Callice, the famous Cardiff pirate, was just one man who made use of Clerk's hospitality - for a price, of course. From the mid 1570s onwards Clerk was regularly paid to "turn a blind eye" to the dealings of the more unscrupulous merchants of Pembroke town. Although war between Britain and Spain did not break out until 1587, the two countries had been implacable enemies for many years as men like Francis Drake and John Hawkins constantly harassed and captured Spanish ships. It did not stop the Pembroke merchants transporting cargoes of leather and grain to and from Spain. Clerk simply ignored the trade and happily took his share. One of the best "piracy" stories from west Wales concerns Sir John Perrott and a pirate gang led by a certain Edward Herberde in the early 17th century. Off the Heads outside Milford Haven, Herberde boarded and took a vessel carrying a cargo of salt. He then sailed the captured ship into the Haven and up the river to Pembroke, then the largest port in west Wales. The ship's owner, Dutchman Peter Muncke, was frogmarched into the town and at the point of a hidden dagger was forced to stand in the town market and attempt to sell the salt. Unfortunately for Herberde and his gang, the town mayor took one look at Muncke and realised he was acting under duress. When the pirates were looking the other way he managed to exchange a quick word with the unfortunate Dutchman and confirm his suspicions. From there events moved rapidly. Sir John Perrott, the mayor said, was the man most likely to buy such a huge cargo and so Muncke and two pirates set off for his home in nearby Carew. Once there the pirates were overpowered and a plan was hatched. As dusk fell slowly and easily over Pembroke River, two longboats pushed off from the quay. They held Sir John Perrott, the town mayor, Peter Muncke and several dozen armed men. Under cover of darkness they climbed the side of Muncke's ship and fell on the pirates who were more concerned with drinking away the profits they soon expected to come their way. Surprise was absolute and after a brief fight the ship was taken. The piracy did not end there, however, and surprisingly the cargo did not revert to Peter Muncke. Sir John Perrott decided that he would retain half of the cargo as a "reward" for his part in the affair. Pembroke's town mayor also grabbed himself a further five tons of salt, again as a reward for himself. After all, civic duty demanded some recompense! The ship, the rest of her cargo, even her ropes and tackle, were then divided up between John Vaughan - the original customer for the salt - and Sir Richard Vaughan who qualified for a large portion of the cargo simply because he was deputy vice admiral for south Wales. The men who had done the actual fighting received a few bags of salt each - a valuable and much sought after commodity in those days as it was the only means of preserving fish and meat. And Peter Muncke? Much to his chagrin he was graciously allowed share of the profits, decided to cut his losses and promptly disappeared from the scene - probably vowing never to go near Pembrokeshire again. Muncke's disappearance did cause a few problems, however. When the pirates came to trial at Haverfordwest Assizes later in the year, he was called to give evidence. Of course, he did not appear and the case simply fell apart. Judge Fetyplace was obliged to set the defendants free and they returned to their piratical ways, no doubt supplying Sir John Perrott and other local dignitaries with whatever goods they could capture on the seas around the Pembrokeshire coast. Piracy in the 16th and 17th centuries was clearly not restricted simply to low born ruffians and scoundrels. It was a business open to everyone. Phil will be talking to Roy Noble about the pirates of the Pembrokeshire coast on Tuesday 19 July from 2pm on 成人论坛 Radio Wales.
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Oystermouth Castle re-opens to the public with family fun day
成人论坛 Wales History
Oystermouth Castle re-opens to the public this Saturday (16 July) after undergoing a 拢1.7m makeover. Live medieval music, falconry and archery displays will form part of the family fun day. The castle, which sits majestically overlooking Swansea Bay at Mumbles, was established by William De L...
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John Poyer, the forgotten hero (or villain) of the civil war
Phil Carradice
When you think of the Civil War, the great rebellion against the crown that took place in the 17th century, you tend to think only of famous men like Charles I and Oliver Cromwell. Yet the war was organised and fought by dozens of less well-known individuals, all of whom contributed, in lesser ...
