A group of Gowerton schoolchildren have been transported back to the Second World War with a talk at the city’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.
Children from Tregwyr Junior School were given a talk at the Alexandra Road attraction by Sid Kidwell- a local man who experienced the Luftwaffe bombing of Swansea in 1941.
The children were then treated to a special workshop with local artist Mary Hayman and studied original paintings by Will Evans- a Swansea artist who sketched and painted the devastation caused by the bombing in the days after it happened.
The schoolchildren are now starting work on a giant mural dedicated to the three-night blitz that will be stored in Swansea Museum’s education room.
It’s thought the mural could then makes its way either to St Mary’s Church or back to the school where it will be put on display.
The project is being partly funded by The Arts Council of Wales and Swansea Council’s education department
Tregwyr teacher Russell Casey has also helped the schoolchildren study the famous Guernica painting by Pablo Picasso that was borne out of the Spaniard’s anger over the bombing of part of his country’s Basque region in 1937. Links have now been developed between Tregwyr Junior School and their contemporaries in Guernica.
The three-night blitz in Swansea lasted from February 19 to February 21 in 1941. It led to 230 deaths and 409 injuries.
Cllr Graham Thomas, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism, said: “The three-night blitz was an especially dark period in Swansea’s history and there are still many people in the community who can remember that terrifying time.
“It’s important we all heed the lessons of history and it’s encouraging that the children from Tregwyr will be able to express what they learn through the medium of art.
“This is another example of a fun and educational event being held at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.”
