Greetings to all for the New Year! 2020 has certainly proven itself to be been a year that historians will look back on for some quite specific reasons.
As we head into the challenging times for us all in 2021 the work of the Five Communities Group continues. We have recently set sail for the storm-lashed waters of St Brides Bay, taking a deep dive to explore the archival heritage of our maritime heritage.
The sea has always played a critical role in Pembrokeshire’s history and so this has been an excellent opportunity to work with perhaps one of the largest parts of a collection I’ve seen in recent years in regard to the sheer number wrecks around the Dale area and the information that has been collected on them.
In just one example, I’m sure many will remember the agony of the Sea Empress disaster and it’s important to see a whole series of documents with so much information preserved by the Coastlands History Group for access, preservation and posterity.
Going through the archives today, despite all the years, I can even now almost smell the oil and feel the tears from my own experiences of the event. Another dramatic example of the power of archives not only to educate but also to move and trigger not only memories but our emotions as well and demonstrate just what powerful things archives can be.