479
The Home Front in Tredegar during the Second World War A Key Stage 2 Educational Resource Pack Part 8—Peace & Remembering
480
How Peace came to Tredegar Germany surrendered to the allies on 8 May 1945. The next day, at 3 o’clock on VE (Victory in Europe) day, huge crowds gathered at the Circle to hear the official radio announcement on loudspeakers—the war in Europe was finally over! The town clock was the focus of VE celebrations and on VE night and a couple of nights afterwards, thousands gathered there to sing and dance and make merry! A Welsh Flag was flown from the top of the clock tower. Look carefully at the photo on the right. Three different flags were displayed at the bottom of the clock tower. To which countries did these flags belong?
481
Crowds in the Circle await the radio announcement by the King on VE day.
482
At night, the Circle was lit up with hundreds of electric lights.
483
Tredegar’s streets were decorated with bunting; pianos were dragged out into the streets and few people went to sleep much before dawn!
484
In most streets, outdoor tea parties were held. Everyone collected together as much food as they could to give children a day to remember!
485
VE Day in Tredegar was great. We had a bonfire. There were even some fireworks! Everyone was so excited. We were used to the blackout so we couldn’t have bonfires or fireworks during the war. There was a bonfire at the end of Harford Street. Peter M.Jones
I can remember one of the most exciting things about VE Day. At the bottom of the street was a gas lamp, which had been out all through the war. We went down there one evening, and a man was putting one gas mantle in it, and he stood back and he lit it. We stood back in the glow of the yellow light. Peter M.Jones
486
Victory in Japan (VJ) Day Despite all the excitement on VE Day, the Second World War was still not yet over. Japan still fought on alone against the allies in the Far East. In August 1945, following the dropping of 2 atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese soon surrendered. Finally, people were able to celebrate the end of the war—15th August 1945 was VJ Day! Again the Circle and town clock were decorated with lights as on VE day.
487
On VJ day, most of the celebrations were moved to Bedwellty Park. Here where open-air music, concerts and dancing went on each evening until well after midnight for most of that week, to the enjoyment of thousands!
488
489
In June 1946, Tredegar held a celebration of peace which included a service that was held at the War Memorial in Bedwellty Park. After the service, the dedication of a casket of earth brought from Tredegar Hill, Burma was made. This was the scene of courageous and bitter fighting against Japanese troops at which many men from Tredegar were killed.
490
Tredegar’s Peace day celebrations of June 1946 were broadcast on the radio throughout Britain. Here is the first part of the plan for the day from the Merthyr Express newspaper.
491
492
In 1946 every child in Britain was sent a written message to mark the end of the Second World War. At the back of the message, some important dates during the war were listed as a timeline. These are shown on the next 2 pages.
493
494
495
Lest we forget
496
On 9 December 1940, in the dark early hours of the morning, a Wellington bomber plane was returning to Britain after a night bombing raid over Europe. Unfortunately due to bad weather conditions and without the benefit of the modern equipment that we have today, the plane had become badly lost. Unaware of its actual location, the plane was flying too low and crashed into the hills above Tredegar, killing all 6 men on board. Those who died were: Pilot Officer Albert Tindall (21 years old); Sergeant David Mills (21 years old); Sergeant Hylton Daniel Ellis (26 years old); Sergeant Stanley Gordon Howard; Sergeant Reginald Brown (22 Years Old); Sergeant David Ernest Wallace. The site of the crash is marked by a large pile (or cairn) of stones today. Below is Captain Warren Jenkins’ (Home Guard) account of the terrible accident:
497
498
At least 1,881 men from Tredegar were ‘called up’ into the armed forces during the Second World War. The names of those killed are recorded on the memorial in Bedwellty Park alongside the names of the men killed during the First World War.
499
500
It is difficult to highlight the bravery or sacrifice of one man or event during the war above any others. The death of each and every person was a desperate loss felt by each family left behind. Men from Tredegar have gained ‘distinctions’ for bravery in every country where the war was fought. One of those events is recognised in Tredegar as being one where great bravery and sacrifice occurred. At Arakan in Burma on 26 March 1944, British soldiers of the South Wales Borderers Regiment were involved in a ferocious battle with Japanese troops. Both sides were fighting for control of a tunnel through which a road ran that supplied the Japanese army in the area.
501
In April 1944, after the Japanese troops defending the tunnel had been driven out, Sergeant Butler wrote to his mother at 29 Iron Street in Tredegar to say, “The hill that the Tredegar boys were killed on, is called Tredegar Hill.” The Council asked Captain Moore, a Tredegar officer, to collect some earth from ‘Tredegar Hill’ and bring it back to the town in a casket for safe keeping. The ‘Burma Casket’ as it is now known is kept beside the ‘Rolls of Honour’ (lists of men killed) of Tredegar men from the First and Second World Wars.
502