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It says something for the accuracy of the Geman bombers that the town of Pembroke Dock, an important target, should have taken the awful hammering it did, while nearby towns went almost unscathed. My parents lived in Haverfordwest at that time (just ten miles from PD as the crow flies) and always talked of seeing those lurid red fires over the Dock in the night skies. But Haverfordwest was bombed only once, and then by accident, in the same year, when a German plane, getting away but losing height, decided to dump her cargo of bombs. Two landed in the town's City Road but amazingly, no-one was badly hurt. A Miss Price had that evening been entertaining friends and, as was the custom of the time, decided to "send" them - to walk part of the way home with them (it was 6 in the evening). Then came the first bomb, and Miss Price's house was a crater - she unharmed! The one casualty was a 14-year-old boy taken to hospital with an injured leg.

As you know Phil, Llanreath, where my family was living at the start of the war was little more than a stone鈥檚 throw from where the oil tanks were. Your account reminded me of my mother鈥檚 recollections, not of this raid but the first raid which took place on July 10th 1940. 鈥淚 was out the garden pegging out the washing when I heard this plane.鈥� She told me. 鈥淚 knew it was a Jerry plane 鈥� they made a different noise from ours 鈥� vroom鈥room鈥room鈥room. I rushed inside, picked up the baby and got my mother and we went to part of the house I thought safest. There was a tremendous crash as a bomb landed in the field at the back.鈥�
After this and before the raid when they hit the tanks, mother, with the baby 鈥� my elder brother, plus my eldest brother who was in primary school, and my grandmother, had 鈥榤oved out the country.鈥� Grandfather stayed and was ARP in Llanreath for much of the war. In a subsequent raid, of a stick of 5 incendiary bombs, 3 landed in our garden and burned out and 2 went through the roof of the house but, fortunately, failed to ignite although they did bring down 2 of the upstairs ceilings. Grandfather proceeded to do a bit of DIY bomb disposal, went upstairs and carried the 2 unexploded incendiaries out into the garden, 鈥渋n case they went off and set the place afire.鈥�

Always remember my late Grandfather telling me that he was a part time fireman living in Ammanford at the time when the Germans bombed Pembroke Dock and he and his fellow part time firemen were sent down to Pembroke to fight the fires.
He also spoke of how little sleep the firemen had at the time and how far afield they came from.
He also spoke of how his clothes caught alight and had to be thrown into the water to save him from burning.

I remember this horendous event as though it was yesterday as it made a great impression on a boy of seven years of age. The smoke from the fire blocked out the sun and the beaches throught the haven were coated in thick oil.
Along with Arthur Morris (who I new myself as he was a great friend of my dads) my father Allan Ferguson Murray (player coach at Milford United) was with Arther Morris in the first fire tender to arrive at the scene of the bombing. The bomber itself (and I understood there was only one) was still in the area and machine gunned the tender as it arrived. The fire crew (all stationed at Pembroke dock Station) dived under the tender for cover and remained safe from the bullets. The pumping station used was based aboard the first ironclad ship The Warrior which was but a hulk at the time and beached just below the site of the oil tanks.
I also remember three screeching bombs falling falling quite close to the underground oil tank near Milford Docks.
As previously mentioned Arthur Morris and his fire crew received little or no praise for their bravery on that first day before support crews arrived but I do recall the Pembrokeshire fire chief getting a medal!

Hi Allan. Opinion is divided re the number of German bombers. Some reports/records say there were three, others say just one. At this distance and with most of the men who were there already dead, I'm not sure there ever will be a definitive answer. The key for me is that the brave men who fought the blaze should be remembered - all of them. Incidentally, Arthur Morris was my uncle - and do you know something, he never complained about the lack of recognition or a medal. An amazing man.

I don't think the tanks that were bombed and set afire were connected to the hulk of the Warrior. She served the tanks at Llanion which were never hit. The tanks that were bombed were connected to the Dockyard via a pipeline in a tunnel which ran under the Barrack Hill into the western end of the former Royal Dockyard - where there was a smaller tank farm, now the site of the sewage works - and RN ships used Carr Jetty as an oiling berth.

When the tunnel under the Barrack Hill was dug it drained the spring which supplied the 'Redwell' which, before the coming of mains water, was the the main well for the people of Llanreath and was reputed never to fail even in the driest summers. Certainly a lot of water flowed through the tunnel - we used to consider it a great adventure to sneak into the tunnel when we were kids.