The Cwmparc Blitz Memorial is located on Park Road, Cwmparc, Treorchy. The memorial commemorates the victims of the German Luftwaffe bomb attack that occurred on the evening of 29th April 1941. The small village and community was devastated and changed forever.

During World War Two, the coal-mining valleys of South Wales, while vital to Britain’s war effort, had been considered a “blitz free” zone. Thousands of evacuees from England were sent to the valleys to ensure their safety.

Why the bombs were dropped on Cwmparc that night remains a mystery; the most likely reason is that German planes were lightening their load before returning back to base.

National Archives Records suggest that on the night of 29 April 1941 besides Cwmparc/Ystrad and Cardiff there were nine other areas bombed - Cefn Coed y Cymmer, Blaengwynfi, Coity, Pencoed, Cowbridge, Barry, St Brides Super Ely, Radyr and Caerphilly.

Personal accounts report that the first bombs hit Cwmparc between 10:30 and 11pm. While some of the bombs landed in the mountainside or failed to detonate, three bombs did explode and caused irreparable damage; within minutes the village was blazing furiously.

High explosive bombs hit Park Terrace and Salem Chapel along with Upper Treharne Street (numbers 8 - 12 were demolished). A Luftmine exploded above 51 - 52 Treharne Street and resulted in houses on Park Road being destroyed. Houses on Park Terrace and Morgan Terrace were also destroyed.

Where the memorial stands today was the site of 10 houses (numbers 49 to 58 Park Road), known locally as the ‘bombed’ houses’ that were never rebuilt.

The fourth bomb wasn’t in Cwmparc, but 3 miles down the road, hitting the Library in Ystrad, killing the local Librarian’s wife, Mrs. Roach. She had returned to the flat from Top y Deri where she had been with her husband and son, watching the sky light up with bombs.

Around 770 people were forced out of their damaged houses. All were found accommodation by the afternoon of 30th April.

The lives of 28 innocent victims were lost on that night, including 4 child evacuees from the London area. This event had a major impact on the community. Generations within families were wiped out. One family lost 9 family members.

There was a religious service at Salem Welsh Baptist Chapel on May 5 1941 at 2.45pm before the mass burials at Treorchy Cemetery.

On 5th May 1941 at 2:45pm a religious service was held at Salem Welsh Baptist Chapel. Thereafter, 20 civilians and 4 servicemen (3 members of the Home Guard and 1 Special Constable) were buried in Treorchy Cemetery. The funeral of all the victims was something no one in the village ever forgot. Lorries were used to transport the coffins to Treorchy Cemetery.

On the same day, another civilian was buried in Penrhys Cemetery. The remaining 3 victims were buried the following day in Trealaw Cemetery (Police War Reserve Constable), Treorchy Cemetery (British Red Cross Nurse) and Blaenwaun Chapel in St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire.

After the war, on Sunday 14 November, there was a memorial service at 3pm at Cwmparc Library and Institute for those who had died. As a permanent memorial an illuminated two-faced clock was unveiled by a young boy, Colin Harries, who had been rescued from the wreckage of his bombed house in Treharne Street.

In summary, the American Ambassador to Britain, John G Winant, wrote in his book, A Letter from Grosvenor Square, describing his visit to Cwmparc in the spring of 1941 shortly after the bombing:

‘We walked through the village. Small houses had been ruined and the debris scattered untidily along the street. We had just arrived in the late afternoon. The miners had just returned from the day shift in the pits. They and their wives gathered around us and, without ceremony, sang in Welsh their national songs. These people are tuned to music and their lovely voices lifted us from the scene of smashed homes into a world of beauty of their own making’.

The Cwmparc Blitz Memorial was designed and funded by the local community group ‘The Cwmparc Blitz Memorial Project’, with support of the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. It was officially opened on 30th April 2022. Thank you to the local community for their dedication to ensure this event is remembered and the civilian lives are commemorated.

Sources:

Information provided by R. Tidy, Cwmparc Blitz Memorial Committee