Brief Histories: Sketty during WWII

World War II reshaped communities across Britain, and Sketty was no exception. Though this peaceful Swansea suburb was never the centre of military strategy, its streets, homes, and institutions played vital roles in the national war effort. From civil defence operations and air raid precautions to rationing, church memorials, and welcoming American troops, Sketty’s contribution and experience during the war years deserve remembering.

When war broke out in 1939, Swansea’s suburbs immediately became part of Britain’s national civil defence network. Sketty Hall, now a familiar venue and historic landmark, was requisitioned by the local government and used as an Air Raid Precautions (ARP) divisional headquarters for the western side of Swansea. It coordinated blackouts, shelters, rescue operations, and public safety measures from its grand rooms and grounds.

Volunteer ARP wardens patrolled Sketty’s streets by night, ensuring windows were blacked out to prevent enemy bombers from identifying targets. Local residents joined in too: men too old or too young for regular military service joined the Home Guard. The 12th Glamorgan (Swansea) Battalion of the Home Guard had its headquarters at Pant Gwyn House in Sketty. These men conducted drills, manned roadblocks, and prepared for the feared threat of German invasion, often armed with little more than old rifles and improvised weapons.

Civil defence wasn’t glamorous, but it was vital. Sketty residents filled sandbags, prepared for gas attacks, and organised public shelters. Community halls along Sketty Road were converted into air raid shelters, and schools adapted to double as emergency centres if needed.

The most intense test came during the Swansea Blitz in February 1941. Over three nights—19th to 21st—Luftwaffe bombers devastated Swansea, destroying much of the city centre and port. While central areas suffered most, bombs also fell on suburban streets.

One recorded casualty was Ivy Ethel Johnson, of 19 Brynsifi Terrace in Sketty. She was killed on 22 February 1941, when a high-explosive bomb struck nearby. Her burial in Bethel Chapel cemetery is a quiet but enduring reminder that Sketty was not spared.

Other air raid casualties from the village were commemorated at St Paul’s Church. There, a Roll of Honour was created listing the names of local parish members who served in the forces during the war; ten in total, of whom two did not return.

Wartime Sketty was shaped by shortages. Families lived with strict rationing of food, clothing, and fuel. Every household kept ration books, which entitled them to meagre weekly amounts of essentials. Queues for groceries were common.

Despite these restrictions, local businesses adapted and continued. A striking example is Kristy’s Bakery on Eversley Road. Founded during the war, it was started by owners whose city-centre premises had been destroyed in the Blitz. Relocating to Sketty, they established a bakery that became a village institution, demonstrating the resilience and resourcefulness of local tradespeople.

Residents also took part in national salvage campaigns—collecting scrap metal, rubber, and paper for recycling into munitions and equipment. Children often helped with these efforts, making the war everyone’s business.

While direct records of specific Sketty schools during WWII are limited, it was common across Swansea for schools to be requisitioned. Glanmôr Girls’ Grammar School nearby, for example, was entirely taken over by the military for wartime use. It’s likely that Sketty’s own schools provided space for billeting troops, civil defence operations, or emergency classrooms when city-centre schools were damaged.

Churches such as St Paul’s played important roles as centres of community support. They organised charity drives, gathered knitted garments for soldiers, and hosted events to raise funds for the war effort. Most importantly, they served as places of remembrance. After the war, St Paul’s added a memorial plaque and illuminated Roll of Honour to its interior—ensuring future generations would remember those from Sketty who served and sacrificed.

Perhaps the most dramatic change to Sketty’s landscape came in 1943. That year, Singleton Park—then still largely open land—was transformed into a U.S. Army camp as part of preparations for D-Day. Wooden huts, barracks, and stores were set up, and convoys of American military trucks became a common sight along Sketty’s roads.

Known as “Singleton Park Camp,” this installation was part of a network supporting the Allied invasion of Europe. Local residents, especially children, were fascinated by the presence of American soldiers. The GIs introduced locals to things like chewing gum, peanut butter, and even jitterbug dancing at social events.

After the war, the American camp was dismantled, but Singleton Park retained its importance. Eventually, it became the site for the new Singleton Hospital and parts of Swansea University.

Though there was no major hospital within Sketty itself, nearby Cefn Coed Hospital (known during the war as Princess Royal Hospital) was converted to serve as an emergency casualty facility. It treated air raid victims, including those from Sketty and the wider Swansea area. Singleton Park’s open grounds also provided space for emergency installations linked to medical care.

After the war, Sketty, like the rest of Swansea, rebuilt quietly. Memorial services were held, and plaques installed. Bethel Chapel cemetery holds graves of Blitz victims like Ivy Johnson, while St Paul’s Church displays its Roll of Honour proudly to this day.

What stands out in Sketty’s wartime story is not just resilience but community spirit. Residents adapted to hardship, volunteered for civil defence, shared scarce resources, and commemorated their losses with dignity and care.

Today, many of the physical traces—blackout curtains, sandbags, Home Guard checkpoints—are long gone. But Singleton Park, Sketty Hall, local churches, and family businesses like Kristy’s Bakery carry echoes of that defining period.