News

Angle: Service 100 years after the sinking of a Japanese ship

Published

8 years ago

September 8, 2018

A NEW memorial commemorating those who died in the German sinking of a Japanese merchant ship in the final days of World War I will be next month in Angle.
The unveiling ceremony for the memorial to the victims will take place on Oct. 4, exactly 100 years after the sinking took place, and will be attended by residents and representatives from the company which owned the vessel, and the Japanese Embassy.
As one of the Allies contributing to the war effort during the first war, alongside Britain and France, merchant vessels from Japan were seen as legitimate targets by Germany.
More than 200 sailors and passengers died when the Hirano Maru, a Somedono Maru class transport ship, was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the Irish Sea in October 1918, just over a month before the war ended.
The sinking of the Hirano Maru was the greatest loss experienced in Japanese commercial shipping during the conflict.
After the ship was sunk, residents of Pembrokeshire, found at least 20 bodies along different stretches of the coastline, though the majority were found on Irish beaches. Only 30 of the 240 people aboard survived the attack.
The bodies were buried in a local churchyard, but a wooden memorial erected at the time has since rotted away.
According the owner, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), the ship had just embarked on a journey from Liverpool to Yokohama when it was torpedoed.
About two-thirds of those aboard were crew members.
At the church in Angle, burial records list nine anonymous victims, naming only one man, Shiro Okoshi, who is listed in the records as having been a waiter on the vessel.
The church also possesses old photos in the churchyard of a wooden grave marker, which according to its inscription was erected 11 days after the ship was sunk.
David James, honorary secretary of the West Wales Heritage Maritime Society, has been raising funds to create a new memorial with support from Nippon Yusen.
As a former serviceman, James served in the British Army in Germany and Libya, where he noticed the graves of British soldiers had markers, inspiring him to commemorate the victims of war in his hometown.
“We must remember them,” he said in an interview with the Japan Times.
“The men in the graves there had families, somebody grieved when they died,” James said. He hopes the memorial will “show there is feeling here, and compassion.”
He also said he wants the memorial to keep the story alive for younger generations and help them understand the realities of war.
A spokesperson for Nippon Yusen said it was always difficult to retrieve keepsakes to send back to the families of victims who die when a ship is lost at sea.

Community

Milford Haven Carnival organisers appeal for help from residents

Published

4 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Tom Sinclair

MILFORD HAVEN ROUND TABLE is asking residents in Hakin and Hubberston to help keep roads clear ahead of this Saturday’s Carnival Procession.

Organisers say the event is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet, with a large number of floats, lorries and support vehicles expected to make their way through Hakin before the procession begins at Waterloo Square.

Residents living along Gelliswick Road, Rectory Avenue, Glebelands and Picton Road, particularly near the junction with Observatory Avenue, are being asked to avoid double parking or parking on pavements where possible between around 11.45am and 1.00pm.

The route being used by the floats and support vehicles is shown on the map.

Some of the vehicles involved are large, and organisers say keeping the roads as clear as possible for the short period will help ensure the procession reaches Waterloo Square safely and on time.

Milford Haven Round Table said the carnival “belongs to the whole community” and thanked residents for their continued support.

They added: “Your understanding and cooperation, even for this short time, will make a huge difference and help make this year’s Carnival another fantastic day for our town.”

Residents are also being encouraged to share the message with friends, family and neighbours who live along the affected roads.

Crime

New Year’s Day drug-driver banned after police stop in Milford Haven

Published

14 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Sarah Jane Absalom

A NEW YEAR’S EVE drive has resulted in a 12-month road ban after a motorist was found to be more than twice the legal cannabis limit.

Ridwan Rahman, 20, was stopped by police as he drove his Vauxhall Astra along Steynton Road, Milford Haven, on January 1.

“Police noted the car accelerating away from traffic lights in an erratic manner,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“When officers asked the vehicle to stop, they smelt cannabis coming from inside.”

A blood test later showed Rahman had 5.2mcg of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in cannabis, in his system. The legal limit is 2mcg.

Rahman, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to drug-driving. He was represented in court by solicitor Alaw Harries, who disputed the prosecution’s claim that he had been driving erratically.

“He does not accept that he was driving in an erratic manner, nor that he accelerated away from the traffic lights,” she said.

“The officers told him he had been stopped because the vehicle’s registration plate light was not working.”

Rahman, of Carbon Close, Newport, was fined £323 and ordered to pay a £129 court surcharge and £85 costs.

He was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Crime

Fishguard man jailed after breaching order banning contact with mother

Published

16 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Sarah Jane Absalom

A FISHGUARD man has been jailed after breaching a restraining order which banned him from contacting his mother.

Steven O’Sullivan attended his mother’s home on June 22, despite the order having been imposed in November 2012. It prohibited him from having any direct or indirect contact with her.

“She felt she needed to phone the police because she was frightened of her son,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“He had been dropped off at his mother’s property by a female, and his mother went upstairs to ring the police because he makes her feel vulnerable.”

When officers arrived, they found O’Sullivan inside an outbuilding, crouching beside an outside toilet.

“There have been a number of previous breaches, the most recent being on June 5,” continued Ms Vaughan. “Now we have yet another one on June 22.”

O’Sullivan, of Gwelfor, Fishguard, is currently on remand at Swansea Prison. He is also accused of stealing beer and food worth £45 from the Nisa store in Haverfordwest on June 21.

Representing him in court, solicitor Tom Lloyd said there had been no threats of violence when O’Sullivan went to his mother’s home.

“But the aggravating factor is his previous convictions,” he told the bench.

“He was particularly upset and had nowhere else to go. This was why he went to see his mother.”

Magistrates jailed O’Sullivan for eight weeks. He was also ordered to pay a £154 court surcharge and £85 costs.

He is due to return to Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on July 7 to enter a plea in relation to the alleged theft offence.