# Boys Village, Jan 17



## jadewest94 (Jan 29, 2017)

The boys have long gone from St Athan Boys' Village. Its dormitories, church and the canteen that fed 200 boisterous young colliers enjoying a free holiday are now burnt and dilapidated. The ruin, on a windswept plot near Barry, south Wales, is the only known monument to a unique experiment aimed at giving teenagers a respite from doing the work of men, six days a week, in the filthy blackness of their country's coal mines. But nowthe former holiday village faces the threat of total erasure.

Founded close to the sea on the outskirts of West Aberthaw in 1925 by the Boys' Club Movement, St Athan was a place for the poorest boys of the mining community to take a week's summer holiday, a chance to be children again.

Now their teenage descendants in West Aberthaw use it as a different kind of playground: a focus for vandalism, drink and destruction.

One of their most popular targets is the cenotaph at the heart of the holiday village, dedicated to the memory of "the youth of all nations who fell that war might end, by the boys of the South Wales coalfield".

This year on Remembrance Sunday, just a handful of those who remember the memorial's significance scaled the broken boulders at the entrance to the camp to pay their respects. There is a steep decline in attendance from years gone by when (in 1962) the Queen Mother visited. - Independent News.


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## krela (Jan 30, 2017)

Good work Jade. Thanks.


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## HughieD (Jan 30, 2017)

Nice little set..


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## smiler (Jan 30, 2017)

Nicely Done Jade Thanks


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## Sam Haltin (Jan 30, 2017)

Well done on this one. Sadly comparing with other posts this place is getting worse for wear.


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## jadewest94 (Jan 30, 2017)

Hugh Jorgan said:


> Well done on this one. Sadly comparing with other posts this place is getting worse for wear.



Thank you, also yes I agree. I was hoping to see the swimming pool as I've seen in previous pictures but it's been filled in with grass, dirt and everything else. The only building that's not completely destroyed is the church.


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## cogito (Jan 30, 2017)

Bloody hell, that place is deteriorating! Thanks for the update.


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## sureshank (Jan 30, 2017)

nice jade i only seen a few photos on your fb nice to see the rest of them


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## Jon6D (Jan 31, 2017)

Wonder how much longer this place will be standing for, gone down hill rapidly in the last few years


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## TopAbandoned (Feb 6, 2017)

Yeh I went back there the other day, they're definitely doing something with it, I noticed one of the buildings I saw 8 months ago is gone now


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## Ghwerig98 (Dec 10, 2020)

This is a fantastic place, I am part of a paintball team called Draguns, and we used to practice here. Unfortunately this is going to be developed, and we can no longer use it, very fond memories of the site, have had some awesome and fun times here, used a shot of me in my cammo, standing in the church as a profile pic on Facebook for quite a while!!


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