Sandfields Estate, Aberavon, South Wales

My parents lived in a prefab on the Sandfields Estate from early in 1949 when my father was engaged in the construction of the new steelworks at Port Talbot. The AIROH prefab was at 59 Lingfield Avenue and my parents remained there for three years before returning to London early in 1952.

My sister was born during that period and the photos show her in the garden, two with my father’s mother on a visit and one with a friend. The photos illustrate the type of prefab, with the back door on the side and cooker opposite, the generous sheds with which the prefabs were provided and something of the area. It is possible to pinpoint the location of the prefab on the aerial maps of the Sandfields Estate on Coflein, the online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales.

The prefab was my parents’ first real home, a luxury for a young couple during the post-war housing shortage when the alternatives were living with parents or in a shared flat. And the sand dunes on which the estate was built clearly provided many bucket and spade opportunities for my sister.