Hi I am looking for good sources of information on Brecon, including the River Usk Defence Line, and the activities at Sennybridge training area. Has anyone come across detailed books or records at places such as Kew, the Museum in Brecon etc? Thanks
Brecon The World War Two bunker at Pen y Fan you might never have noticed Defence of Britain Archive Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (ID: S0007094), Tredunnock, Monmouthshire, Wales By bridge over River Usk on Tredunnock to Newbridge road., Condition: Extant but condition unknown (Grid ref: ST 385 948) Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (ID: S0013601), Brecon, Powys, Wales S of Brecon, beside the trig. station., Condition: Extant but condition unknown (Grid ref: SO 0486 2691) Western Command Stop Line No 26 LOOPHOLED WALL (ID: S0003161), Llanvihangel Gobion, Monmouthshire, Wales St Caduck's Church Yard, The Bryn., Condition: Good (Grid ref: SO 3304 0961) Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (ID: S0003195), Senny, Powys, Wales Castell Ddu, Sennybridge., Condition: Fair (Grid ref: SN 920 283) Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/22) (ID: S0007091), Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire, Wales At Chain Bridge, Nant-y-Derry., Condition: Extant but condition unknown (Grid ref: SO 353 067) Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/24) (ID: S0011308), Glascoed, Monmouthshire, Wales Glascoed Depot, former Royal Ordnance Factory, Glascoed, Condition: Good (Grid ref: SO 334 023) Western Command Stop Line No 26 Glascoed Royal Ordnance Factory defences PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/22) (ID: S0007090), Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire, Wales At Chain Bridge, Nant-y-Derry., Condition: Extant but condition unknown (Grid ref: SO 351 038) Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (ID: S0007092), Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales On the edge of the railway between the river bridge and the B4598 road, near Glascoed., Condition: Extant but condition unknown (Grid ref: SO 375 012) Western Command Stop Line No 26 ANTI TANK WALL (ID: S0007822), Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales E bank of River Usk, Usk town centre, Condition: Good (Grid ref: SO 375 013) Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/22) (ID: S0007089), Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire, Wales At Chain Bridge, Nant-y-Derry., Condition: Extant but condition unknown (Grid ref: SO 349 055) Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/24) (ID: S0011309), Glascoed, Monmouthshire, Wales Glascoed Depot, former Royal Ordnance Factory, Glascoed, Condition: Extant but condition unknown (Grid ref: SO 332 023) Western Command Stop Line No 26 Glascoed Royal Ordnance Factory defences PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/25) (ID: S0014981), Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire, Wales On the N side of the unclassified road through Bettws Newydd, about half a mile E of the A471 road over the River Usk,, Condition: Fair (Grid ref: SO 352 058) [image 1] Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/26) (ID: S0014980), Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales On the E side of Abergavenny, covering the B4521 crossing over the River Gavenny., Condition: Good (Grid ref: SO 310 152) Western Command Stop Line No 26 PILLBOX (VARIANT) (ID: S0015660), St. Brides Wentlooge, Newport, Wales On the coast near St. Brides Wentlooge., Condition: Removed (Grid ref: ST 299 815) Western Command Stop Line No 26 Monmouthshire coast defences regards Clive
Thanks Clive. There are also a few others that have been discovered recently along the banks of the Usk at the Brecon end of the line. What I am interested in doing is some background research to understand who built the line, when, who it was to be defended by. I have done this for some of the other Command Stop Lines in Southern England using Kew, local Record Offices etc but am struggling with this one.
Welsh Pillboxes and Anti-Invasion Defences Wimpey built air raid shelters for planes as well as people, gun emplacements for anti-aircraft defence, concrete pill boxes, underground tunnels for ammunition storage and underground oil storage facilities, one of them being the largest concrete structure in the country at that time. a list of some of the construction companies used in the UK during WW2 The British Government had already established committees comprising Wimpey, Laing, Mowlem and McAlpine. These were the country's largest civil engineering contractors and had the resources to undertake major projects and who could therefore advise the Government on what was possible. construction in the War years by Wimpey
TYPES OF PROJECT During WWII many major building and civil engineering projects were executed for the U.K. Government Ministries including: Admiralty – dockyards, naval bases, deep water military ports, docks and harbours, underground storage depots, oil storage facilities, floating docks, a hundred miles of sea defences including sea forts in the Thames and Mersey estuaries, and a huge causeway at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys; War Office – military barracks including the 49.9m. (£1.5bn.) accommodation, hospitals and stores for the American forces (codenamed „Bolero‟) and hundred miles of inland stop defences; The Air Ministry – new airfields, factories, repair yards; Ministry of Supply – Royal Ordnance factories; Ministry of War Transport - transport systems - roads, railways and bridges. http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/ar2009-0847-0856_Potts.pdf
Hi Clive Thanks for the help. The Berry thesis is great (I think the he now works for English Heritage or CADW but doesn't directly address the area I am interested in here. It is really good on the Stop Line from Carmarthen to Llangranog further west and also the defences of St Athan and Swansea which are his three case studies. I can't find anything at Kew except a document which says the line existed amongst many others built - in the case of other Stop Lines I have found either a file on the line or good plans etc in the files of units which were in the area from 1941 - 1943. I would have thought there would also have been a file on Sennybridge somewhere but where?
Yes it does say in the blurb that they could not find to much at Kew on certain areas.. just a thought Home - Libraries Wales or a local history society
Yes I will try that and also CADW. Luckily the Library of Wales is near me, Have just seen there is a book on the history of Sennybridge by Ronald Church ('Sennybridge Training Area 1940-90') so need to find a copy of that. But need to finish off writing up some other stuff before I dive into the archives again as it is addictive!
SENNYBRIDGE CAMP: SENTA | Coflein FARM 12, MILITARY TRAINING SITE | Coflein An Environmental History of the UK Defence Estate, 1945 to the Present: Amazon.co.uk: Marianna Dudley: 9781441192424: Books An Environmental History of the UK Defence Estate, 1945 to the Present
Hi, I am trying to find someone who would know whether there were links (be it through training/posting/social/barracks etc) between Brecon and St Athan during WW2? I am trying to establish whether someone stationed at St Athan would have had cause to be in Brecon...(and maybe meet a girl! Genealogical research!)
It is possible that someone would have been at the two. Sennybridge was mainly a training area for Royal Artillery and there would have been Royal Artillery on the coast and on anti-aircraft duties at St Athan. Females as well as males were employed in anti-aircraft batteries. Do you know when they would have met and do you have details of the military service of either of the two? If you have a name and ideally rank or number there may be a tracer card for them online.
The US Army Third Army 80th Infantry Division based in Cheshire July 1944 used Sennybridge ranges to proof fire/calibrate the 105/155mm artillery they had been freshly issued with prior to landing in France.
Do you have a copy of the birth certificate - we recently had a similar thread and it took a while before the poster provided the details of the birth certificate as this allowed us to narrow down the date to within a couple of months The question you have stated above is in my opinion much to open for any meaningful help - its best to provide as much details as you know. The other aspect here is that at a guess you are trying to trace an unknown relative, so it may be better and faster to go down the DNA matching route Maybe even start a new thread on your relative so that all relevant comments are contained in one place rather than a general thread such as this one TD
