The day a tornado hit the valleys
If you think we’ve seen some wild weather in Wales in 2018, spare a thought for those living here in 1913 when a tornado ripped through the valleys of South Wales, claiming lives and leaving homes in ruins. KATIE GUPWELL tells the story
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 tornado swept through Wales and caused chaos to many people’s lives.
October 1913 specifically proved to be a challenging month for the community of South Wales.
October 14 saw 439 men lose their lives at Universal Colliery in Senghenydd.
Then, on Monday, October 27, 1913, a tornado arrived in the Taff Valley and further devastated Welsh communities.
The tornado journeyed north up the Taff Valley, destroying places such as Treforest, Pontypridd, Cilfynydd, Abercynon, Edwardsville and Bedlinog in its path.
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. But, more devastatingly, lives were lost.
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 a wall. He later died of his injuries.
The body of a collier was also discovered at a field close to Abercynon. It’s believed Thomas Llewellyn Harries was transported a fair distance by the sheer power of the wind.
Other victims suffered injuries as they sat in their homes, watching the walls and ceilings cave in around them.
Log books held at the Glamorgan Archives reveal many schools in the area were damaged and some were even closed in Cilfynydd to enable essential repairs to take place.
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.”
According to Dean Powell’s book on Cilfynydd, the cost of repairs required throughout the Taff Vale area ran to £40,000 – an awful lot of money in those days.
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” where “certain of the fire appliances had been blown away and could not be found”.
The head teacher of Treharris Boys School gave a shocking account of the event. B P Evans was also a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.
In the records, he tells how the disaster destroyed his home, “Arfryn” in Edwardsville.
His tale 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.
Nevertheless, the house was left severely damaged and he describes remarkable sights, from the striking of red and blue lightning flashes, to how the incident left his house covered in debris and corrugated sheets.
Many thanks to the team at Glamorgan Archives who researched the events of the tornado for a blog post back in 2013.