Secret

WWII - Secret (unclassified)

Many War stories have been told and retold over the years, some have been made into films and some immortalised in hard cover and paper back books. However, numerous stories have yet to be told which is such a shame because many are humorous – involving local people from Llanelli – the unsung heroes of the war.

During the war years, counties throughout the United Kingdom contributed to the war effort and very few people are aware that Carmarthenshire played its part in assisting the United States of America. The Americans were in desperate need of a particular commodity and an Appeal was launched to supply the ‘Yanks’. Llanelli was to play its part when the particular items were collected from all over Wales and taken to a depot at Llanelli where they were cleaned, baled, crated and taken to ‘Uncle Sam’.

The valuable item that was so important to the American war effort was the humble rabbit, or more importantly its skin. It was the fur that the Americans wanted so badly and they were prepared to go to great lengths to acquire this valuable commodity.

Gerald Grant's, uncle was pressed into service by the Ministry of Supply and given official documents and a petrol ration. By trade he was a fish and fruit merchant, but more importantly he had a large van. He was appointed Official Rabbit Skin Collector for the County of Carmarthen, which title was stamped on his papers. The question springs to mind ‘What were the rabbit skins for? What possible use could they be in times of great hostility?’ Well, we have all seen American War films in the cinema, on television and on video, where American Servicemen win the war single handed. Aircraft crews wearing leather flying jackets lined and trimmed with fur, the seamen and the submariners aboard naval vessels, wearing fur lined jackets. We can all remember the images of the submariners on a bitterly cold night in mid-Atlantic scanning the dark ocean through binoculars, searching for enemy U-boats. What were they wearing? – Fur lined jackets with matching hoods!

So the humble rabbit, that had been important to the Norman Lords during their occupation following the Welsh invasion in the 11th century, was still an important commodity in the 20th century. The farmers were paid sixpence (6d) a skin and they were able to sell the meat, which was not rationed. [Sixpence in the pre-decimalisation days of 1971 is the equivalent to 2½p in post-decimalisation coinage.]