The Newsletter of The Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust

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Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust

Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre

The Royal Dockyard Chapel,

Meyrick Owen Way,

Pembroke Dock, SA72 6WS

01646 684220

enquiries@sunderlandtrust.comail

www.sunderlandtrust.com

Facebook/sunderlandtrust

Twitter/PDHeritageCent

Instagram/pembrokedockheritagecentre

Registered as a charity

in England and Wales, number 1120476

Registered as a company

limited by guarantee, number 05920931

With the Christmas and New Year holiday

period upon us, we are again producing

a bumper issue of ‘Webfooter’ reflecting

upon a very successful year for the

Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust and our

Heritage Centre.

All of the team at Pembroke Dock send

our very best wishes to you for a Happy

and Healthy Christmas and for the

coming year.

We thank all of our supporters for their

continued interest during the year and

look forward to welcoming many of you

again in 2019. We acknowledge

especially the dedication and support of

our band of volunteers, without whom we

would not be able to operate.

With very best wishes,

Stuart Berry, Heritage Centre Manager

Winter closure 2018-2019

Please note that the Heritage Centre will

be closed to the public from Sunday 16

December 2018 until Sunday 6 January

2019.

The Centre will re-open on Monday 7

January, and opening hours will remain

for the new season: Monday to Saturday,

10.00 am to 4.00 pm.

Please call 01646 684220 or email

enquiries@sunderlandtrust.com for further

details.

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A year of anniversaries

2018 has been a year of special

anniversaries and the Heritage Centre

has been at the forefront in

remembering, the 100th anniversary of

the formation of the Royal Air Force and

the centenary of the end of the First

World War. Major exhibitions and other

events at the Heritage Centre have

marked both anniversaries.

Artist John Wynne-Hopkins lends a hand on

the First World War exhibition – see page 4.

RAF 100

The Royal Air Force Ensign flew again

over Pembroke Dock in July, nearly 60

years after the RAF station closed. Wales’

Senior RAF Officer, Air Commodore

Adrian Williams, MBE, took the salute as

the Ensign was raised in front of the

Heritage Centre, once the RAF Church in

Pembroke Dock.

Air Commodore Williams takes the salute as

the ensign is raised in July.

This was one part of a special day at the

Centre marking the RAF centenary. The

RAF100 Wales team and the Heritage

Centre jointly hosted a commemorative

event and reception which saw the

official launch of the ‘Many Nations,

Many Trades’ exhibition that celebrated

the anniversary. The exhibition featured

uniforms and memorabilia to highlight the

personal stories of service personnel from

many countries who served in the town.

The Reception was well attended by

local politicians and business people as

well as RAF personnel and Sunderland

Trust members. The Air Cadets from

Haverfordwest also played a part in

assisting with the day’s proceedings

which included a demonstration of the

Heritage Centre’s work with local schools

as well as presentations from the ATC on

Pembrokeshire’s historic links with the RAF,

and a presentation on a former

Pembroke Dock flying-boat squadron’s

present-day role.

At the RAF100 Reception are, left to right:

Sqn Ldr Andy Lewis, 230 Squadron; Cllr Aden

Brinn, Chair of Pembs County Council;

Air Cdre Adrian Williams, RAF Air Officer

Wales; John Evans, Sunderland Trust Patron;

Wg Cdr Greg Rawson, RNZAF, and Wg Cdr

Ruth Elsley, RAAF.

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Artist John Wynne-Hopkins (left) and Trustee and Volunteer Rik Saldanha prepare the Trench exhibit.

Great War centenary

Pembroke Dock has a 150-year

connection with the British Army as well

as having Wales’ only dedicated military

cemetery.

In November, for the Armistice centenary

anniversary, Heritage Centre volunteers

have created a new temporary

exhibition and display that has been

developed around a recreated

battlefield trench and officer’s dug-out,

and includes a Vickers machine gun,

many artefacts dating from the war and

a greatcoat of a World War I soldier. The

exhibition, entitled ‘The Glamour Gone’,

will run until the end of April 2019.

The exhibition examines Pembrokeshire’s

role in the Great War, including ways that

the county commemorated the end of

the war in 1918.

The recreated trench which forms the

centre-piece of the exhibition features a

stunning mural backdrop which is the

work of military, aviation and landscape

artist John Wynne-Hopkins, of Llanelli, a

long-time supporter of the Trust and its

work preserving Pembrokeshire’s military

heritage.

Armistice events

In addition to the exhibition, the Heritage

Centre also arranged a number of other

events and activities to commemorate

this special anniversary.

Each month throughout the autumn

there have been held a series of evening

talks linking to the First World War. The

talks have featured speakers such as the

Trust’s John Evans and Haverfordwest

Museum’s Dr Simon Hancock.

Over the Armistice weekend, there was

also planned a Choir Concert of

remembrance and on Sunday 11

November the Heritage Centre hosted a

special service which included a

beacon-lighting ceremony, linking to

others around the UK. Sadly the Concert

had to be rescheduled due to adverse

weather, but was held with great success

later in the month.

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Volunteers commended

In summer, fundraising volunteers at

Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre were

recognised for their tremendous efforts

over the past year.

The group, which had raised several

thousands of pounds for the Trust, was

awarded a Highly Commended by PAVS,

the Pembrokeshire Association of

Voluntary Services, at their annual awards

ceremony.

“Our group was Highly Commended in

their category,” said Centre Manager,

Stuart Berry. “The time and effort of all our

volunteers is essential for everything the

Trust wants to achieve, and staff and

trustees are eternally grateful for the

contribution of our fundraising team.”

Auction boost

One of the year’s major fundraising

events was a fundraising auction. The

volunteer team spent the first half of the

year sourcing lots for the auction, which

ranged from once-in-a-lifetime

experiences such as a trip aboard a

Svitzer tugboat, to signed rugby shirts and

tickets to local attractions.

Around £2,000 was realised for the

Heritage Centre at the event held at the

town’s Pater Hall in June. It was a most

successful first venture into this area of

fundraising and reward for the hard work

of the volunteer fundraising team.

It also reflected the support of so many

local businesses and individuals, donating

a total of nearly 50 auction lots.

Caroline White of PAVS presents the Highly Commended Certificate to Mary Willington,

one of the leading members in the Heritage Centre’s Fundraising Group.

With them are, left to right: Derek Church, Sue Clarkson, Peter and Marilyn Mitchell, Pam Thomas,

Mags Clark, Gill Springett and Pam Maynard.

Have you considered giving a donation instead of Christmas cards this year?

https://localgiving.org/donation/pdst

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Cousins Jeanine Belbin (left) and Eileen Hulbert meet after 60 years.

Family Connections

In summer, a remarkable series of

coincidences led to long lost family

connections being re-established after an

Australian couple’s visit.

Jeanine Belbin, from Victoria, was

following the family trail of her parents;

Jeanine’s mother had lived in Pembroke

Dock and met her husband who was

serving on Sunderlands in the Royal New

Zealand Air Force in the 1950s. They

married locally in 1955 and eventually left

to live in New Zealand.

With just an address and family names,

Jeanine arrived at the Centre and thanks

to local contacts they quickly linked up

with Jeanine’s cousin Eileen Hulbert.

With these family connections firmly in

place, Jeanine plans to return to ‘PD’ in

2019 to meet more of her Welsh family.

Airborne meeting leads to donation

A chance meeting between holiday-

makers led to the collection of a former

RAF pilot being donated to the Heritage

Centre’s collection.

Returning by air from a holiday in

Thailand, John Greer, of Saundersfoot in

Pembrokeshire, got into conversation with

fellow traveller Duncan Thomas, of

Marlow, Buckinghamshire. When Duncan

learned that John was from

Pembrokeshire the family connection

with Pembroke Dock and Sunderlands

was revealed.

John passed on Duncan’s contact details

to the Heritage Centre and a visit to

Pembroke Dock by Duncan was soon

arranged.

Duncan’s father, William Kenneth

Thomas, flew Sunderlands with three RAF

squadrons during and after the war,

including time at Pembroke Dock.

Duncan and Fiona Thomas meet up again

with John Greer (right). With them is John

Evans of the Sunderland Trust.

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Family ‘invasion’

Family members turned out en masse

when medals and artefacts of a former

Sunderland flying boat engineer were

presented to the Heritage Centre in

August.

Thirty people in all – spanning four

generations in the family of the late Bill

‘Sandy’ Sandiford – visited the Heritage

Centre to view a special collection.

Heading the ‘Sandiford Invasion’ was

Sandy’s son, also named Bill, and his wife

Ruth, their children and grandchildren,

plus nieces and nephews.

Sandy Sandiford flew nearly 2,000 hours in

Sunderlands during a long RAF career. His

collection includes campaign medals,

logbooks and other memorabilia.

Sandy Sandiford’s great-granddaughter,

Freyah Lock, displays his campaign medals.

Medals tell their stories

2018 has been a year of significant

donations of medals and personal

artefacts of Sunderland airmen.

There is a story of wartime heroism, and

ultimately tragedy, behind the medals

and a dinghy paddle from an Australian

airman who flew from Pembroke Dock

during the Battle of the Atlantic

campaign of World War II.

Ron Benning with the Dowling medals

alongside Centre Volunteer Margaret Black,

holding the wartime dinghy paddle.

The medals were awarded to Flying

Officer Bill Dowling, a pilot with No 461

Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. In

May 1943 he was involved in an epic

encounter between Sunderland flying

boats and German fighters. He and most

of the crew survived that battle, returning

to land on a Cornish beach where they

used the aircraft dinghy and its paddle.

Tragically, weeks later Bill Dowling and his

crew were shot down and all were lost

without trace.

The medals were donated by Bill’s

nephew, Peter, and family in Australia to

the Heritage Centre. These were

donated, along with a diary and the

fountain pen used to write the diary, and

were presented on the family’s behalf by

Ron Benning in June this year. Ron, who

lives in Kent, is a driving force behind the

placing of a memorial stone at Praa

Sands, Cornwall, where the Sunderland

landed.

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A Stormtrooper and Biker Scout guard the gates to the Heritage Centre as the town’s movie

heritage is celebrated.

May the fourth be with you!

May saw a new event on the town’s (and

the Heritage Centre’s) calendars, as

Pembroke Dock’s links to one of the most

famous movie franchises were

celebrated around the town.

Already celebrated as one of Wales’ –

and Pembroke Dock’s – best kept secrets

is the fact that the 1980 Star Wars sequel,

The Empire Strikes Back made use of one

of the town’s Sunderland hangars to build

the Millennium Falcon spacecraft that

was featured in a number of famous

scenes from the film.

This fact was celebrated by an Arts

Council of Wales funded play, written by

Pembroke Dock born writer, Mark

Williams. The play was produced by Dirty

Protest, a Cardiff-based theatre

company, and toured venues around

Wales throughout April, culminating in a

Pembrokeshire performance on Friday 4

May, dubbed ‘Star Wars Day’ after one

of the film’s famous lines.

Part of the funding arrangement for the

play was a programme of community

engagement, and this included a day of

celebration in the town, which included a

parade through Pembroke Dock, and a

range of other activities and events in

around the town and in the Heritage

Centre.

“We have always been keen to

celebrate this important and very

popular part of the town’s heritage,” said

Stuart Berry, Heritage Centre Manager.

“And events like this can reinforce how

important it is that we continue to reflect

all aspects of the town’s history.”

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Classics steal the show – again!

2018 has been another bumper year for

events, in addition to those coordinated

in celebration of the year’s anniversaries.

The year’s highlights, however, again fall

to the Heritage Centre’s motoring events.

Although July’s Rendezvous was marred

by some heavy showers and hailstorms, it

was the ever–popular South

Pembrokeshire Coastal Run in October

which saw bumper numbers of Classic

and Retro vehicles of all shapes and sizes

meet at the Heritage Centre before

departing on Pembrokeshire County

Motoring Events’ last motoring run of the

year.

Heritage Centre volunteers have

supported the motoring events by

running a barbecue at each one, to feed

the hungry motorists and raise funds for

the Trust in the process.

Heritage Centre volunteers offering bacon

rolls and burgers to hungry motorists.

The run takes the vehicles around the

county’s southern coastline past beaches

such as Freshwater West and Angle,

before an optional return to the Heritage

Centre.

October’s South Pembrokeshire Coastal Run included a diverse range of vehicles, including this

beautiful Gilbern, one of the very few cars that were made in Wales.

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Minister’s Visit

Welsh Government Minister Lord Dafydd

Elis-Thomas was briefed on Pembroke

Dock’s significant place in Welsh

maritime, military and social history, and

the potential for this heritage to attract

growing numbers of visitors, when he

visited the Centre.

Lord Elis-Thomas, Culture and Tourism

Minister, met with Centre Manager Stuart

Berry, Trustees and Volunteers. Joining the

Minister was local Assembly Member, Mrs

Angela Burns. During a tour of the Centre

Lord Elis-Thomas saw displays on the

town’s connections with all three military

services; and learned of the active

weekly involvement of over 60 volunteers

and the engagement with many

community groups and organisations and

the support given to wellbeing initiatives

in the local community.

With Welsh Government Minister Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas at the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre

are, left to right: Stuart Berry, Centre Manager; Jonathan Berry of Cadw; Mrs Angela Burns, Welsh

Assembly Member, and Trustees Gareth Scourfield and John Evans.

Be remembered for remembering them…

Find out how: www.sunderlandtrust.com/donate/gift-in-your-will

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Catalina lands

A large scale model Catalina flying boat

‘landed’ at Pembroke Dock, just in time to

mark the RAF’s 100th Anniversary, in April.

The model has been donated to the

Heritage Centre by The Rolls-Royce

Heritage Trust in Derby.

In wartime, American-built Catalinas

were operated out of ‘PD’ by both the

RAF and the United States Navy. Local

removals firm ‘Mr Shift It’ made the move

possible and the Catalina arrived to a

welcoming crew including members of

the Penfro Model Group. In time the

group will refurbish the model and paint it

in the markings of an individual Catalina

with a local connection.

Along with Adrian Phillips and Gino Thomas

(centre) from ‘Mr Shift It’ are: left to right,

Peter Mitchell, Barry Clark and Bob Western.

Negative Treasures

A treasure trove of 50 glass negatives,

taken in and around Pembroke in the

1920s, has been donated to the Heritage

Centre by Martin and Viv French of

Bognor Regis.

Martin’s grandfather, Charles Norton

Thomas, worked in Pembroke Dock’s

Naval Dockyard and lived in Pembroke

with his wife Gertrude and two daughters

at the time the photographs were taken.

Charles Thomas was a keen amateur

photographer and his glass negatives

record local events and scenes and

buildings still familiar today.

Martin and Viv French display some of the

superb images taken nearly 100 years ago

with Centre Manager Stuart Berry.

Sunderland turret

Another project for Centre Volunteers is

recreating the front turret of a Sunderland

flying boat.

The turret, with its Vickers machine gun,

was recovered from ‘our’ Sunderland

T9044, which sank in Milford Haven in

1940. It is a Frazer Nash F.N.11 turret, now

a very rare example. The turret project

follows on the full size Sunderland cockpit

replica which Trustee Rik Saldanha and

his team previously completed; and now

is a star attraction at the Heritage Centre.

The reconstructed F.N.11 turret, from T9044.

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Plans for 2019

2018 has been an important year for the

Trust and the Heritage Centre, with two

big centenary commemorations, and a

host of other events.

The Heritage Centre will open early in

January in 2019, and we will commence

our event planning for the year early, as

we look forward to half-term in February

when visitor numbers will start to grow

again.

Our present Temporary Exhibition

featuring the reconstructed trench will

remain in place until the end of April, but

we hope to follow this with a new display

telling the story of Pembrokeshire’s Home

Front during the Second World War.

Over the summer, we will of course be

seeking to reproduce the success of our

usual array of events, including Classic

Car events and Armed Forces Day, as

well as looking to new partnerships and

new horizons.

The Trust and the Heritage Centre have

come a long way since the first heritage

visitor attraction opened its doors in 2009,

and this year will mark a tenth anniversary

of that achievement. We are hoping

that this can be a double celebration as

we look to completing our Museum

Accreditation process later on in 2019.

In 2018, we started to develop good links

with the National Museum of the Royal

Navy – an important connection for a

museum serving Wales’ only Royal

Dockyard. In 2019 we hope to build

upon this, as well as building on our

existing relationship with the RAF Museum.

It is hoped that over time, both of these

important connections to armed forces

museums that aren’t currently

represented in Wales, will enable the

Heritage Centre to forge ahead in

developing its internationally significant

story.

If you are interested in attending or being

a part of any of the Heritage Centre

events or projects, you can sign up to our

events email list, or follow us on our social

media channels, all details listed in the

box below.

Find us, follow us, like us, discover more…

Sign up to our events email list to receive regular updates about events and activities at the

Heritage Centre: www.sunderlandtrust.com/visit-us/mailing-list/

Go to our Facebook page, and click ‘Like’ to get our Facebook updates, including news,

events and activities, in your Facebook newsfeed: www.facebook.com/sunderlandtrust/

Our Twitter account also shares news and events, click Follow on our account to receive

these updates in your Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/PDHeritageCent/

We regularly share pictures and photographs from events and activities through our

Instagram account, click ‘Follow’: www.instagram.com/pembrokedockheritagecentre/

Of course, you can also contact us by phone, 01646 684220, or email

enquiries@sunderlandtrust.com if you have any questions or would like any information.