Swansea At War

Swansea Your Story is a Local History Community Group established by Royston Kneath as the result of a Millennium Citizenship award. The group has run for four years with many successful projects and exhibitions held in venues like Swansea Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea Museum, Public libraries and community centers etc. The last project celebrated the two hundred year history of Swansea and the Mumbles Railway. Thanks to Home Front Recall, Swansea Your Story aims to celebrate the community spirit of wartime Swansea.
Prior to the Second World War the British Government and local council were aware of the potential Swansea could play in the then predicted war. Swansea due to its location was designated an ideal location for military-based industries and munitions manufacture, with the docks providing transportation for weapons and troops.
This essential position in Britain's war effort was to make Swansea a strategic target for enemy attacks.
Swansea Council put plans in place under the pre-war government guidelines in Civil Defense and the later Air Raid Precaution Act of 1937. These plans included strengthening the town's fire brigade and emergency services, digging trenches and building communal shelters in an attempt to protect the local people and property from the possible risk of enemy action.
Lacking any real sense of urgency, these precautionary steps progressed slowly. It was not until April 1939 that work actually started on the construction of 500 communal shelters. From March 1939, onwards Anderson-style domestic shelters started to be distributed.
With no concern for haste, after five months, out of the estimated 30,000 Anderson-style shelters needed to protect the 167,000 inhabitants of Swansea only 6,549 had so far been distributed.
Priorities had to change with the outbreak of war in September 1939. The town was vulnerable from possible enemy attacks. The Air Raid Precautions committee began requisitioning cellars and basements of privately owned buildings for use as public shelters. A period known as the “Phoney War” followed. With no attacks questions began to be asked on the Council's decision to spend so much time and money on Air Raid Precautions.
After 10 months of all quiet in Swansea German troops gained ground in France, So in June 1940, Swansea found itself within the flight range of the German bombers.
At 3.30 am on June 27 1940, a orange yellow light lit up the night sky. As the flare hung above the town, The Luftwaffe dropped ten High Explosives on the east side of Swansea. The residents of Danygraig were rudely awakened to the realities of war as the bombs dropped amongst its streets. The raid intended for the docks caused some damage to properties, but no casualties. Four of the bombs that fell failed to explode.
In the following years Swansea was to suffer much worse The three nights of 19th 20th 21st February 1941 what is locally referred as 'The Three Nights' Blitz' was to test the very spirit of the people who struggled to continue life against the backdrop of conflict, bombs, terror, destruction and death
Over three night’s 230 people were killed, 397 injured and 7,000 people made homeless. The town was a smoldering wasteland of wiped out streets.
Swansea your Story is planning to collect the Wartime Experiences Memories and Photographs of Swansea’s Home Front Heroes. Stories of what the people at home experienced.
A drama production by Students of Swansea Institute of Higher Education along with members of the local community will portray the experiences of a wartime generation of fire fighters ARP Wardens Home Guard and the Wartime Community. It is hard to imagine that the Students at around 17 are the same age as a generation that fought and died in the Second World War.
The photographs will all be copied for archival purposes. A selection will be displayed in a series of exhibitions. A selection of the work will available as a DVD. All original m

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