Volume Twelve - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - further aspects - Aerial Views - 1946 to 1981 . . .

During the construction of the Penarth Marina, a series of searches was undertaken by Sir William Halcrow & Partners of Windsor Place, Cardiff, in consultation with the Welsh Office, of the Central Register of Air Photography for Wales in respect of aerial photographs taken in the vicinity of the Penarth Dock and River Ely Tidal Harbour.

The Central Register indexes all aerial survey cover of Wales flown by the RAF, Ordnance Survey and commercial aerial survey companies, and is a comprehensive source about aerial photography of Wales advising all interested users. The Assembly holds an extensive collection of aerial photographs covering Wales from 1940 to present day at a variety of scales.

During March 2024, I was given the privilege of viewing the following series of aerial photographs which are in the care of Mr. Stuart Jones, the Penarth Marina Manager. Stuart is a civil engineer who worked upon the barrage and conversion of the Penarth Dock to the Penarth Marina. [1292]

We commence just after the end of WWII, during December 1946, and travel through time in a series of steps until June 1981.

	4th December 1946 - Nos. 1 & 2 of 4 - Two high-altitude aerial photographs taken over the River Ely and Penarth Dock and Basin, etc.
	4th December 1946 - Nos. 3 & 4 of 4 - The meandering River Ely leads finally to the Severn Sea and the 'Cut' which is a dredged channel to the Pier Head and Cardiff Dock entrances.