Young volunteers step back to wartime Penarth (From Penarth Times)

Young volunteers step back to wartime Penarth

8:20am Tuesday 14th December 2010 in Latest news

WARTIME: (l-r) Rosie Troth, Nia Spilsbury, Abigail Trotman, Rose Barker and Katie Garner outside Penarth Pavilion. Picture: Rob Taylor:

A GROUP of young volunteers recently found out what it would have been like to get ready for a night of dancing in wartime Penarth.

As well as donning tea-dresses and having their hair arranged in victory rolls, the five girls involved also discovered some of the more unusual aspects of wartime fashions which emerged from the period’s strict rationing - including drawing lines down the back of the legs to simulate seamed stockings, and using gravy browning to tan legs and arms. The day workshop, which took place at the Washington Gallery in Penarth, was organised by Penarth Arts and Crafts Ltd and sponsored by The Hair Business of Cowbridge.

Creative director and salon owner Leigharne Phillips and assistants arranged the girls’ hair in a range of period styles.

Volunteer photographer Rob Taylor recorded the transformations and co-ordinated a shoot centred around the Pavilion building on Penarth Pier which used to host the popular Marina Ballroom in the 1940s and 50s. The striking art deco pavilion building was a popular spot for dancers around Cardiff and the Vale during the Second World War.

American servicemen would contest with local Penarth natives to dance with the ladies on the home front at regular dance evenings with live bands. The hair and make up workshop is part of a series of historical activities that have taken place throughout 2010 as part of the ‘Marina Ballroom Project’, a Heritage Lottery Fund supported project through the Young Roots grant programme which helps young people between 13 and 25 discover more about their local heritage.