Our New Community Council Logo:
Our newly merged community council required a new logo which aptly represents all of our 6 wards.
The logo of six trees, one for each ward, represents the beech copse on Pen Y Lan ridge which is visible from some parts of each of the six wards.
The History of this Beech Copse:
Many years ago a large beech tree stood on top of Pen Y Lan ridge. Ships in the Bristol Channel used this fine landmark and it was marked on shipping charts. The Laybourne family had purchased Graigwith Farm in the valley below in the 1930’s. Sadly Richard Laybourne was killed flying just prior to WWII and the Humphreys family, who then inherited the farm, replaced the then fallen beech with a small beech plantation as a memorial to him.
This same Pen Y Lan ridge was made into a decoy site in 1941 in the defence from German invasion in WWII, operating in conjunction with the guns at Newport Gun Defended Area H2 Christchurch gun site ( now Celtic Manor). The guns were 3.7 inch Mk II guns manned by 45 Brigade Royal Artillery.
This decoy site was intended to give bombers the impression, when activated, that the real target, Newport, had been hit. The ROF factory 3 miles to the NE was classed as Vulnerable Point 145 and was defended by light machine guns.
The bunker on this site was constructed as a generator house to power the lights and ignite
incendiary fires for the decoy site. Two men stayed in it at night, ready to operate at short notice.
The command to operate the decoy came from Glascoed, but the information upon which the decision to ignite the display originated from No.10 Group Headquarters, Fighter Command at Rudloe Manor Box, together with intelligence gathered by No.90 Group (signals).
One night a 500lb parachute mine landed 100 yds away in the lane, making the wider area still visible today. Shrapnel was found at Graigwith half a mile away and incendiaries landed in the forest on the other side of the ridge.
The Humphreys family sought permission to preserve this historic relic, and the bunker has now been converted into a holiday home in this scenic countryside