Dale
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Dale gives its name to the peninsula which shelters the entrance to Milford Haven. At Mill Bay, just inside the harbour entrance, Henry Tudor landed in 1485 on his way to gaining the English crown at Bosworth Field.
A lighthouse has dominated St Ann’s Head since 1713, while Dale Castle is a relatively modern private house, not open to the public. Like the Angle Peninsula across the water, the Dale Peninsula has long been fortified against the threat of seaborne invasion, and there are numerous sites of military significance still evident; in the village itself, what appear to be council houses were actually built as accommodation for service personnel. Dale is fortunate in having an active local history group which has done a great deal of valuable work, identifying and recording the history of many sites which would otherwise have been forgotten.
July 1946, RNAS Goldcrest and RAF Kete
Marloes Sands to West Dale Bay
Here the coast path joins the perimeter track of the airfield and several wartime sites are visible. Near Little Marloes Farm can be seen the earth banks behind which were the bomb stores for the airfield. Towards Dale the path passes the hard standing of one of the Mainhill hangars. At Hoopers Point (SM788 062) is the former rifle practice range, while two concrete tubes are all that remain of an anti-aircraft post. On the airfield itself can be seen the remnants of ‘Battle HQ’, asbestos huts which include the former squadron office and two buildings which housed fuel bowsers.
The Gann and inland
The gravel pits in this area, to the north of Dale, provided the materials for the building of Dale Airfield, and the incline plane along which the materials were transported can still be seen. Alongside the shoreline road are painted concrete cylinders, relics of wartime roadblocks to be used in the event of invasion.
July 1946 The Gann, Dale
The main accommodation site for Dale Airfield was nearby at Crabhall Farm (SM802 074); this is on private land but the huts can be seen from the road, and there are other dispersed remnants of the airfield visible on the road past Philbeach Farm towards Marloes. These include the concrete footings of the WAAF accommodation site near the road junction and two concrete huts in a field a short distance further on which are the remains of a wireless transmission site.
Further reading
Dale, An Illustrated History, published by Dale WI;
An Experience Shared 1939 - 1945 by Vernon Scott, published by Laleham Publications.
Locations of Interest
- Dale Airfield
- Dale Airfield was constructed in 1941/42 as a ‘satellite’ of the nearby airfield at Talbenny. Back to map
- Dale Meadow
- This was the site of a large hutted encampment during the First World War. Back to map
- RAF Kete
- RAF Kete (AMES 69A) was established early in the Second World War as a Chain Home Low (CHL) radar station for the tracking of low-flying aircraft; it was never an airfield. Back to map
- Brunt Farm
- (SM 809 040): Brunt Farm was the site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery during WW2. Back to map
- St Ann's Head
- Lighthouses have existed at St Ann’s Head since 1713. The present structures, the old high light and the low light were built respectively in 1800 and 1844. Back to map
- Mill Bay
- Above Mill Bay can be seen what looks like a pill box. This is actually a battery observation post dating from about 1905. Back to map
- West Blockhouse
- The original West Blockhouse was a fortified tower dating from about 1580. The present West Blockhouse was built in the 1850s to guard the entrance to the Haven. Back to map
- Watwick
- Near the path to Watwick Bay can be seen the concrete footings which are all that remain of a WW2 gun battery dedicated to the defence of the Haven against mine-laying aircraft. Back to map
- Dale Fort
- Dale Point was fortified in Napoleonic times, with a battery of cannons protected by an earth bank. The present fort was built in the 1850s as part of the defences of Milford Haven. Back to map
