Bridge on fire
Last updated: 07 December 2006
Radio Wales community correspondent Gwenda Parry takes a trip down memory lane with people who remember the Britannia Bridge fire.
Did one scrap of burning paper really start the the Britannia Bridge fire? Ken Roberts, Jim Parry and Ted Woodall tell Glenda what they remember of that fateful 1970s night.
Click here to listen...
More on the history of the bridges across the Strait.
your comments
Susan Hughes
I got engaged the night the bridge burnt down. My fiancée Brinley was a fireman in the Menai Bridge fire brigade and was meant to be at the scene but had the night off for us to celebrate. A crowd of us went down to St Mary's Church just under the bridge to watch the blaze. It was a very sad but amazing sight.
Wed Aug 19 16:48:01 2009
Debbie Williams, Ohio, USA
I was 10 and on summer vacation at my grandmother's and my uncle lived right by the Britannia Bridge. We were real close so we saw everything. It was real scary, but I will never forget that night.
Wed Dec 31 09:23:29 2008
John Murphy, Winsford, Cheshire
I was 4 years old at the time of the fire, my mother and I were living with Uncle Hugh and Auntie Gertie in a tiny cottage at the base of the stone bridge support on the Anglesey side shore. Uncle Hugh was a foreman in charge of the gangs who worked on the lines along the North Wales coast so the cottage was probably owned by British Rail.
My memory of that night is being carried out of the cottage by a fireman, unfortunately I can't remember anything else. The cottage was destroyed by falling debris and if you walk down the stone track to the base of the stone tower you can still make out the overgrown remains of the base of the walls of the cottage. Hugh and Gertie have since died and my mother can't remember much as she was ill at the time but if you search images on the web you can sometimes see the little white cottage at the base of the bridge.
Mon Sep 8 10:05:12 2008
Daphne Davidson from Aberdeen
I used to live in Holyhead and my daughter was born in Ysbyty Dewi Sant, Bangor. I often look at the Menai and Britannia bridges on the net as they hold happy memories for me. I remember the night in 1970 when the Britannia bridge was destroyed by fire. It is with gratitude and thanks to the scores of workers who reconstructed the historic bridge that they kept the original towers and lions. It is super now with the A55 trunk road above the railway. I am looking forward to my next holiday in Wales.
Mon Jun 23 10:03:50 2008
Daphne McLean from Aberdeen
I was staying with my cousin in Holyhead in 1970. We heard the sirens of the convoy of fire engines which raced to the scene over 20 miles away. We later heard on the news that the Brittania Bridge was on fire. We took a walk uo the hill out towards South Stack road, where the glow of the fire lit up the night sky. It was sad to think that a piece of history of Wales was gone for good. Masses of workmen rebuilt the bridge and made a road over the top of the railway, all that remains from the original are the massive concrete pillars and the lions.
Mon Nov 19 10:50:39 2007
Liz Matthews, Ludlow, Shropshire
I can remember going home back to Shropshire after staying in the family cottage at Menai Bridge and seeing the Britannia Bridge glowing with flames. I can remember it as if it was yesterday and I was only 11 then.
Thu Oct 4 15:33:20 2007
John Bakewell from Valley, Anglesey
At the time I was Chief Officer on "Cambria" in Holyhead harbour. We could see the glow in the sky of the Bridge burning over 20 miles away.
Two boys were the culprits. They had lit a piece of paper in order to see birds in the tunnel. The lit paper then fell on pitch which immediately caught fire. They were not prosecuted as it was deemed to be an accident.
The Mail Ships "Cambria" and "Hibernia" were taken off the Holyhead / Dun Laoghaire service and transferred to the Heysham / Dun Laoghaire service. This lasted for about two years.
Passengers from the mainland to Holyhead had to leave the train at Bangor and a coach took them to LlanfairPG where they boarded another train. Fortunately some rolling stock had been left on Anglesey.
Thu Dec 14 09:57:30 2006
