Day of destruction when deadly tornado ripped through Valleys
In 1913 a tornado caused death and destruction when it swept through South Wales. Katie-Ann Gupwell looks back at that fateful day
IT’S hard to imagine such a spectacle ravaging through the Valleys – some would say it would be impossible.
But more than 100 years ago a deadly tornado swept through Wales, bringing with it destruction and devastation.
At least three people died and more than 100 people were injured
The shocking incident happened on Monday, October 27, 1913, and saw a tornado arrive in the Taff Valley.
The weather system started in south-west England and built momentum as it travelled through Devon and Somerset, and headed over the Bristol Channel.
Then, the tornado journeyed north up the Taff Valley, destroying homes and communities in its path.
Places affected included the likes of Treforest, Pontypridd, Cilfynydd, Abercynon, Edwardsville and Bedlinog.
According to records collected by the Glamorgan Archives, the beast was about 300 yards wide and was accompanied by lightning and torrential rain. It brought winds as powerful as 160mph.
Many pictures of the aftermath show roofs torn from houses and buildings left in ruins.
Records from the Glamorgan Archives show a local football player died in the chaos. A. Woolford, of Ton Pentre Football Club, had been playing for Treharris when he was swept up by the wind.
Following the match, he started to head back to the station and was hurled against the wall.
He later died of his injuries.
The body of a collier was also discovered in a field close to Abercynon.
It’s believed Thomas Llewellyn Harries was transported a fair distance by the sheer power of the wind before losing his life.
Other victims suffered injuries as they sat in their homes, watching the walls and ceilings cave in around them.
Photographs from that day show Howell Street, in Cilfynydd, where roofs were blown off.
On October 29, the head teacher of Cilfynydd Infants School recorded: “A severe storm caused much damage in the school buildings and it is impossible to have school.”
This was followed by a note logged on November 17 which read: “School was reopened after 14 days closed. Damage caused was so severe that the school buildings could not be repaired in so short time as was at first expected.”
Two classrooms also flooded at Treforest Board School and, in other parts of the Valleys, some children were left homeless.
This was documented in the log book for Abertaf Infants in Abercynon.
Records noted by the head teacher show attendance dropped on October 28 “owing to the tornado”.
The log read: “Several of the children were rendered homeless.”
While the scale of the disaster may be hard to imagine, shocking photographs from the time show just how severely the Valleys suffered as a consequence.
According to Dean Powell’s book on Cilfynydd, the cost of repairs required throughout the Taff Vale area ran to £40,000.
The vestry of Calvary English Baptist Chapel was also severely damaged after being struck by lightning. Reports in old national newspapers recount tales of entire streets lying in ruin. That’s echoed by notes logged in the minute book of Pontypridd Urban District Council.
The book highlights just how much damage was caused to council-owned buildings during the tornado.
It refers to destruction at schools in Cilfynydd, the gas manager’s house, the gas works building and the electricity generating station.
According to the records, Cilfynydd Fire Station was found in “complete demolition” following the ordeal where “certain of the fire appliances had been blown away and could not be found”.
The headmaster of Treharris Boys School gave a shocking account of the event.
B. P. Evans was known as a teacher to many, but he was also a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.
Mr Evans witnessed the sheer chaos the tornado brought, and detailed just how bad the weather was leading up to the event.
In the records, he tells how the disaster destroyed his home, ‘Arfryn’, in Edwardsville, Merthyr.
The school’s log book does not indicate any sign of the tornado around the date of the incident, but what follows is intriguing.
A note logged on January 5, 1915, reads: “The master absent in afternoon, subpoenaed to London to give evidence re Tornado in Edwardsville, Oct 1913.”
His account was published in A South Wales Tornado by Meurig Evans, published in Glamorgan Historian, Volume 11, 1975.
In his account, he says there was a vivid hissing noise that could be heard just before chaos erupted.
It was so distinctive his family believed an express locomotive was going to crash into the house, although he predicted the tornado itself only lasted about a minute or so.
The house was left severely damaged and he describes the striking of red and blue lightning flashes, how the incident left his house covered in debris and corrugated sheets.
After making its mark on the Valleys, the tornado continued its journey north and caused further damage to places including Shropshire and Cheshire.
Later in 1915, an inquiry into the tornado was conducted by the Meteorological Office, and it was discovered that tornados with as much power as the one seen in 1913 are normally only seen in parts of America.
The team at Glamorgan Archives researched the events of the tornado for a blog post in 2013.