Eyewitness account of a ‘shaky day’ (From Penarth Times)

Eyewitness account of a ‘shaky day’

8:30am Thursday 2nd August 2012 in Letters

HAVING seen the pictures in the Penarth Times (July 26) letters page ‘A shaky day for the pier’, here are two further pictures and a report taken from Roy Thorne’s Book.

I can confirm the report as a Terry Thorne (possibly a relation of Roy) and myself saw the whole episode while sheltering in the entrance to the gents’ toilet on the Dardanelles. We were about ten years old and pupils at Victoria School.

I can enlarge on the report because I lived in Sea View Children’s Home in Bradford Place (now Sea View flats). When I went to the beach the following day the ship, Port Royal Park, had gone but the beach was littered with broken cast iron from the pier railings. The pier was in a sorry state as you can imagine.

I was very interested in the picture of the little girl on the damaged pier as it was closed. She must have had special permission to take the dog on it – what price health and safety!

I wondered whether the pier master allowed her to go on and if so, was she a relation?

Wally Davies Via e-mail