Last Friday evening in Monkton Priory Church Hall, we were pleased to welcome John Evans who kindly agreed to talk to us about his exciting Sunderland project.

Our president, George Lewis, introduced John to a large audience, the size of which is testament to the interest in this project which has won international recognition.

Had it not been for the fact that the choir was singing in the Priory Church across the road (an unfortunate clash), we would have been full to bursting! Both John and George are members, but took a holiday that night to be with us.

The Sunderland Trust has been a huge success and has attracted visitors from all over the world.

Over 21,000 people have visited The Sunderland Centre which tells the Story of the Sunderland 79044 and the stories of some of the pilots who flew it. 

John told us how it had all began; In November 1940, there was a huge gale - one of the flying boats went missing, disappearing without trace when it came off its mooring.  Happily, no one was killed.  But the T9044 was lost for decades - no one knew of its whereabouts. But at the end of the 1990s, parts were recovered - at first its identity was not known - until August 2003 the engine was recovered. Then we knew it was a Sunderland!

Much still remains of it and what makes it all the more significant is that the T9044 is a rare wartime survivor, the Mark 1 version, a unique and historic aircraft.

RAF Pembroke Dock was a flying boat station for 29 years and can boast of being the largest in the world.

The Sunderlands remained in service until the 1950s, the last leaving the Haven in 1957 thereby ending an important chapter in Pembroke Dock's history.

The Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust was set-up in 2006 with the intention of recovering, conserving and displaying Sunderland T9044 as its centrepiece with Wing Commander Derek Martin, who flew T9044 in 1940, as patron.

Later this year, a new visitor attraction is being developed with the intention to create a major heritage centre based in the Fleet Surgeon's House which is owned by the Port Authority.

We all admire John for his determination and drive in making all this happen and in inspiring his dedicated group of volunteers, three of whom came along in support, Mike Hurley, Ron Boreham and Graham Clarkson.

Theirs is a huge achievement and the heritage of Pembroke Dock, long-neglected, now has people to champion the great historic role it played in our nation's history.

John is forging links both nationally and globally. On a visit to the Wales Assembly building last year - what did I see prominently displayed there? An exhibition for the Sunderland Trust!

When I first worked in Pembroke Dock as a community librarian many years ago in the '70s, I was absolutely amazed to find out that once this small town, now much in need of TLC, was a world leader in ship building in its Victorian heyday.

The dockyard played a prominent role in the history of Pembroke too, bringing much-needed employment and many local families find their origins here, from the dockyard workers who came to work here.

Over 260 ships were built for the Royal Navy from 1814 to 1926. It is also John told us, the only UK community which has connections with all three Armed Services over the 200 years since its founding in 1814.

Sunderland Stories

At the end of John's talk some of the audience came up with stories connected with the Sunderlands.

Sue Clague told us that her family moved to Pembroke Dock from Shropshire because her father, John Robb worked for Coastal Command stationed in the dockyard. He was a moorings officer, popularly known as 'the Admiral'. She was able to provide photographs of him on duty, pictured here (centre) on the 'Salmoor' which was used to check the moorings for the Sunderlands and also as a salvage vessel.

Vicki Haggar then added a humorous anecdote. War time Pembroke Dock was a busy place and servicemen of all nationalities were posted into the county. The centre of entertainment in Pembroke was Haggar's with the latest Hollywood and British films: the 'lovers' seats in the back row were invariably booked by the Sunderland crews and their favourite film which they demanded and got was, 'Goofy learns to fly'.

With such a lot of interest in the Sunderland Trust we must arrange a group visit when the new centre opens - watch this space!

Future events

Next Saturday morning, May 5, we will have a coffee morning in Monkton Priory Church Hall, 10.30 am - 1 pm, with a film show and exhibition on the theme of 'Royal Pembroke'. Please bring along any photographs you may have of our royal visits or coronation parties which we could scan. All contributions greatly appreciated.

Contact

If you have any stories or photographs for this column, please contact me, Linda Asman, on 01646 622428, email [email protected]">[email protected] and visit our website http://www.pembrokeandmonktonhistory.org.uk">www.pembrokeandmonktonhistory.org.uk