Rhaglen 7 Darn Bach o Hanes

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-By the end of WW2...

-..the War Office owned

-10% of the surface area of Wales.

-Today, that figure is around 1%.

-But the scars carved

-on the landscapes and communities...

-..during the first half of

-the 20th century are still visible.

-I'm looking at the acquisition

-of land for military training.

-Some believe it was no more than

-an arrogant and insensitive act...

-..on behalf of the government.

-Others believe it

-to be absolutely necessary...

-..to assist in the defence

-from potential invasion.

-Substantial parts of Wales

-continue to be bombed and shelled...

-..for military training purposes...

-..deemed necessary

-to keep the army on its toes...

-..and accustomed

-to the latest technology.

-The Sennybridge Camp

-and Army Field Centre...

-..is the other side of this fence.

-At 37,000 acres, it's

-the largest surface area of Wales...

-..acquisitioned by

-the Ministry of Defence.

-The site has been

-in existence since WW2.

-However, the practice of

-land acquisition by the military...

-..goes back 100 years earlier.

-In 1853, the owners

-of Aldershot Heath in Hampshire...

-..sold 10,000 acres

-to the King for 12 an acre.

-Soon after,

-a brick barracks was built...

-..which became home to soldiers

-returning from the Crimean War.

-That war instigated establishing

-the Penally Training Camp...

-..in the south of Pembrokeshire,

-in 1860.

-The camp is still operational.

-Its purpose was to train soldiers

-to handle the latest muskets...

-..technology which advanced

-substantially during the war.

-But the camp's actual location

-is significant.

-Tenby is a little over two miles

-in that direction.

-The ports of Haverfordwest

-and Milford Haven are over that way.

-And that's no coincidence.

-Because during the 19th century...

-..establishing coastal military

-camps was an absolute priority.

-They were of course,

-strategically important locations.

-The French navy was still a threat.

-In 1797, the French navy

-that landed in Pembrokeshire...

-..posed no real threat.

-But the mere fact it did so

-without facing much opposition...

-..was serious cause for concern.

-By the late 19th century

-and early 20th century...

-..the focus began to shift away

-from coastal defence.

-Wars were now

-more likely to be fought overseas.

-Following the first

-Boer War in South Africa...

-..the Military Lands Act

-was passed in 1892.

-For the first time,

-the Secretary of State...

-..had the power to acquisition land

-for military training purposes.

-"A Secretary of State

-may purchase land..."

-"A volunteer corps may..."

-"The council

-of a county or borough may..."

-"..any portion

-of Her Majesty's military forces."

-During the Boer War, on

-the wide expanse of the Transvaal...

-..it was clear that heavy cannons

-were now a key feature of war.

-The battlefield could potentially

-stretch over vast distances.

-Military training ranges

-to match this scale were required.

-In 1906, using the powers

-of the Military Lands Act...

-..the War Office bought land

-from the Glanllyn estate...

-..south of Trawsfynydd...

-..to establish

-a training camp there.

-Eight years later,

-WW1 broke out in Europe.

-The training that took place here...

-..was tailored to match what

-the soldiers would likely face...

-..in the sodden trenches

-of France and Belgium.

-Parts of the training site

-are still visible.

-As well as the existing bridges,

-such as Cain Bridge...

-..the War Office

-commissioned new, ad hoc bridges...

-..that could withstand the weight

-of heavy vehicles and equipment.

-This is an interesting place.

-It's a training site

-for throwing hand grenades.

-They are

-concrete-fortified trenches.

-The shape gave the soldiers

-queuing for their turn...

-..protection from those

-who were throwing grenades.

-From an observatory...

-..officers viewed

-who could throw grenades...

-..the furthest

-and most accurately...

-..as they aimed for hoops

-in the ground - something like this.

-I'll just pretend to pull the pin!

-Local historian Keith O'Brien

-takes visitors around the site.

-Are you getting good shots?

-Are you getting good shots?

-

-Not bad! It's rather cold here.

-You're a photographer

-and a historian.

-It's the perfect combination

-for researching old ruins!

-People wonder what on earth it is.

-They imagine it's a sheep pen

-or something.

-But there's more to it.

-There are many here, but

-I don't know exactly what they are.

-What is it?

-What is it?

-

-This is fascinating.

-I was fortunate enough to meet

-a crowd of experts on militaria.

-Ropes or wires extended

-from here to the targets.

-It was similar

-to a train junction box...

-..pulling different levers.

-The targets popped up

-and they took aim.

-What about the damage

-to the landscape and to the farms?

-There were a dozen farms

-and smallholdings here.

-The tenants had lived off

-the land for decades...

-..certainly generations.

-They were forced to leave at 8am

-to go to a tent on the mountainside.

-They couldn't return to their homes

-until 7 or 8 in the evening.

-That's when they carried out

-their daily chores.

-What about decommissioning the land?

-They had bomb disposal units here.

-Yes, up until the 1980s.

-A bomb disposal unit

-would come here.

-They often gathered up to three tons

-of mortars, grenades and shells.

-That's the reason for choosing

-this land in the first place.

-It was so peaty.

-The shells hit the peat

-at this kind of trajectory...

-..and over time,

-they worked themselves up.

-That's why so many were collected.

-As well as the ignition bunkers...

-..there are 21 telephone boxes

-dotted across the site.

-I'll put my bag down

-and explain what happened here.

-They used crocodile clips

-to attach a phone to the two cables.

-They were connected.

-"Hello, sir? I'm in position."

-Senior officers gave them

-the all-clear to fire.

-It was a fantastic system.

-They were as effective

-as latter-day mobile phones.

-There's no signal here!

-There's no signal here!

-

-This would solve that problem!

-What happened in Trawsfynydd

-broke new ground.

-Only one other British camp

-pioneered in field communication.

-Trawsfynydd playing a part

-in the British war machine...

-..is not something to boast about.

-But the history has definitely

-enriched popular culture...

-..and has been the source

-of fascinating stories.

-They'll disappear if not chronicled.

-Whatever your opinion, it would be

-a shame if they'd be lost forever.

-The camp developed after the war.

-The village of Bronaber

-grew around it.

-It was known locally as Tintown.

-Today, nature is doing its work.

-It's slowly returning

-to its former glory.

-Can you hear that?

-Silence... well,

-apart from the wind.

-But there is still firing

-in other parts of Wales.

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-I'm tracing the history of land

-acquisition for military training.

-There was some opposition

-to the early acquisitions...

-..but this gathered momentum

-by the thirties.

-In 1936,

-there were fierce protests...

-..when the historical Penyberth farm

-was acquisitioned and demolished...

-..to make room for a bombing school.

-The protests reached a head

-when the bombing school was torched.

-But as a world war loomed, the

-need for land became more urgent.

-Between 1940 and 1943...

-..as the Luftwaffe

-bombed London...

-..Cardiff and Swansea...

-..the defence of land acquisition...

-..was easy

-for the government to justify.

-We know about

-the 1892 Military Lands Act.

-In 1939, another law was passed

-to bolster the original law.

-It was the Emergency Powers Defence

-Act.

-As it happens, I have a copy here.

-Here's what it says.

-"Subject to the provisions of

-this section, His Majesty may...

-"..for securing the public safety,

-the defence of the realm...

-"..and the efficient

-prosecution of any war...

-"..in which His Majesty

-may be engaged...

-"..authorize the taking

-or possession or control...

-"..on behalf of His Majesty,

-of any property or undertaking...

-"..the acquisition on behalf

-of His Majesty...

-"..of any property other than land."

-It was because of this law...

-..that large areas of Wales

-were seized during the war.

-In 1940...

-..54 families

-in Epynt and Bwlch y Groes...

-..received

-a formal requisition order.

-They were given two months notice

-to leave their farms.

-The area is still owned

-by the Ministry of Defence.

-The firing continues.

-Before I came to London,

-I went to Epynt....

-..to meet the military historian,

-Medwyn Parry, to find out more.

-It's noisy here, between

-the machine guns and cannons.

-What's going on?

-What's going on?

-

-Training.

-It sounds like

-they're firing 155 Howitzers.

-There's a small arms range here.

-There are two ranges on Epynt.

-One for the Infantry,

-for small arms training...

-..and Artillery,

-where they fire big guns.

-Apparently, this place was

-targeted long before it opened...

-..back in the 1910s.

-Repercussions

-from the recent war was ongoing.

-It's not unusual.

-There were similar sites

-all over Britain.

-The government was always

-on the look out for land.

-This place was available.

-What made them choose this place?

-Not many people lived here

-in the early 1900s.

-Also, only one road

-crossed the range.

-It ticked all the boxes.

-What were the opposing arguments?

-People obviously don't want

-to leave their villages.

-There was a small community here.

-This was the tavern.

-We won't get a pint here today!

-We won't get a pint here today!

-

-Unfortunately not!

-People dislike change.

-Britain was committed

-to the war effort in Europe.

-They were turbulent times.

-Things changed incredibly quickly.

-But it was a hard life up here.

-The mostly elderly population

-accepted compensation.

-That happened

-in the Trawsfynydd area.

-Some farmers reluctantly sold up

-whilst others accepted.

-Everybody knows about this place.

-They are open about it.

-Are there top secret sites?

-Hush hush?

-Something out of James Bond?!

-I found it hard to gain access

-to Trecwn in Pembrokeshire.

-Access isn't normally a problem.

-Maps have survived...

-..with blanked-out sites

-and roads leading to nowhere.

-During the Cold War...

-..5,000 sites in Britain

-were removed from the map.

-You see roads and railway tracks

-entering a white area.

-Google Earth changed all that.

-People can see these areas.

-There's no point keeping it

-off the map.

-Back in London, I've arrived

-at The National Archives in Kew.

-Kew houses more than 11 million

-historical documents.

-They date back more

-than 1,000 years...

-..from the Doomsday Book

-to recent government papers.

-I've come to the maps department,

-to study one map specifically.

-The map wasn't released to

-the public until fairly recently...

-..in 1978.

-It was top secret.

-It contains sensitive

-and inflammatory information.

-Why inflammatory?

-The map pinpoints

-the Ministry of Defence's designs...

-..for the Preseli Mountains

-in Pembrokeshire.

-If we look here

-we'll see what they planned to do.

-The green areas...

-..for "General Infantry Training"

-or foot soldiers.

-The red areas for "Armoured

-Training," tanks and so on.

-The central yellow area...

-..was the "Firing" area

-for cannons and big guns.

-As you can see, it covers

-the whole of the Preseli Mountains.

-Can you see how large it is?

-60,000 acres.

-Six years earlier, they took

-40,000 acres of the Epynt.

-It's no wonder these plans

-met such strong objection.

-When the war ended...

-..reporting restrictions imposed

-on the national press disappeared.

-The Young Wales Union pressure group

-pledged to oppose the plan.

-Fierce debates took place in council

-chambers all over the county.

-It was by no means

-unanimously opposed.

-A few councillors saw the potential

-benefits to the local economy.

-But their voices were drowned out

-by the cacophony of opposition.

-In Epynt, the threat

-to homes and communities...

-..had been used

-by those in opposition.

-But another angle was employed

-here in Pembrokeshire.

-There are 37 prehistoric sites

-on these mountains...

-..megalithic tombs

-and burial chambers...

-..standing stones and stone circles.

-These cairns

-on the summit of Moel Drygarn...

-..the graves

-on Carn Bica and Foel Feddau...

-..the Bedd Arthur stone circle

-below the Carn Bica summit...

-..and at the foothills...

-..the Gors Fawr stone circle

-and the two standing stones.

-But I'm standing on Preseli's

-most famous historical site.

-Known locally as Carn Menyn,

-its real name is Carn Meini.

-This is the source

-of the Stonehenge bluestones.

-The stones were transported

-all the way from here...

-..they carried and buried their

-loved ones on these mountaintops.

-These mountains were incredibly

-important to our forefathers...

-..and therefore, our heritage.

-The campaign to save Preseli's

-prehistoric treasures...

-..bolstered the argument

-against compulsory possession.

-Ministry of War civil servants

-viewed them as piles of stones.

-But to an army of antiquarians

-and archaeologists...

-..these were internationally

-important sites...

-..and bombing them would be

-a disgrace and wholly unacceptable.

-But as well as safeguarding

-the site...

-..protecting the agricultural

-community was just as important.

-Cerwyn Davies comes from

-a family of mountain shepherds...

-..who played a key role

-in the local opposition.

-It's lovely here

-when it's not so cold!

-There's a saying locally,

-"you won't get a view and a shade!"

-What is a shepherd's day?

-To a large degree,

-it's very seasonal.

-When we're lambing and shearing

-it's hectic.

-There are times

-when we're not so busy.

-We do maintenance work on the farms.

-It's an unique way of life.

-This would have disappeared had

-the Ministry of War had its own way.

-The area would have been ruined.

-It was said that 16,000 acres

-were under threat.

-I believe that the plan

-targeted 204 farms.

-From those,

-105 would have been demolished.

-In a 1947 report...

-..in today's money...

-..the local area lost out

-on 2.6 million annually.

-The affect would be more than money.

-Once you lose something,

-it's gone forever.

-The more astute of you

-will have noticed...

-..that we mostly filmed

-this side of the fence.

-We explained

-to the Ministry of Defence...

-..that we were filming a

-factual, unbiased documentary.

-But they refused permission

-for us to film on the ranges.

-We have to ask why.

-It's never been recognized

-that mistakes were made...

-..in the treatment of

-the Epynt and Preseli residents...

-..more than 50 years ago.

-But the Ministry of Defence's

-unwillingness to open their gates...

-..might be recognition to many.

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