Sir,

I enclose a photo of Pembroke Dock which I took in 1960. It was a 35mm slide form, but I have made a print of it. Much has changed in the 52 years since then, but most of the buildings shown still remain, with some structural alterations and change of use.

The Victoria School in the foreground which provided early education in the town was at this point in time the Employment Exchange and The National Insurance and Pension Office. The Dockyard Chapel, hidden amongst trees, was to become a Motor Museum and in recent years, culminating in 2011, has been restored to its former glory and has been used for numerous events, the latest being a concert by the Welsh Guards and Pembroke and District Male Voice Choir.

The new road leading through the gate in the Eastern side of the Dockyard wall to the Irish Ferry terminal had yet to be built as had the Cleddau Bridge.

The large building halfway up the picture on the right is the former Co-operative Store in Albion Square which has now been pleasantly converted into flats, but in its heyday sold practically everything a shopper needed, from leather for repairing shoes to woolly winter underwear, from sliced bacon to demerara sugar, on its three floors.

In the picture can be seen the Hobbs Point to Neyland ferryboat heading across the Haven to the Neyland pontoon. The Town Market stands firm in the centre of the picture and at that time served the community in many different ways as in the past it had served not only as a retail centre for local food and other assorted goods, but as a concert hall, law court, drama theatre, and an engine factory. This, too, has been restored in recent years, as have a number of Dockyard buildings and the large aircraft hangers, all put to good use by Pembroke Dock Townscape Heritage Initiative.

Llanion Barracks, in the top right of the photograph, was still occupied by the military, but nowadays the Officers Mess is the headquarters of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, while the former barrack blocks have been converted into flats, while numerous dwelling houses, and an Eventide Home, occupy much of the old military area. There are also numerous small engineering and other industries in the southern area of the barracks and along Pier Road.

The Lidl's store occupies the site of the once large Army Ordnance Depot, while Wilkinsons and a Lodge Hotel are within the barrack boundary wall, which is still in evidence. Centre left across The Haven can be seen faintly the old ice factory at the entrance to Barnlake, where now a marina is based, which in days gone by served the Neyland fishing fleet. The site of the fish market is now Brunel Quay, an area which is evidence of community effort in Neyland.

When one studies the old photos of Pembroke, Pembroke Dock, and the surrounding area and reads the articles submitted by Linda Asmun under the Pembroke and Monkton Local History Society banner each week in the Observer, one becomes acutely aware of the rich heritage that belongs to this area and something of the people who lived and worked here and gave it its character.

Pembroke Dock will be one hundred years old in 2014 and it is amazing the part it has played in Our Island's history, not only as a great naval dockyard, but a garrison town with over 58 regiments, many of which embarked from Hobbs Point for battles throughout, not only the British Empire, but also other foreign parts. A town that once had the largest existing flying boat base is justly served by the Sunderland Trust, and a visit to the Guntower Museum at Front Street should be a must for all who live in our area.

George Lewis.