Welsh SSR (1962: The Apocalypse)

History


The Socialist Republic of South Wales was a former UK survivor nation that lasted between 1965 and 1995. It subsequently merged in to the UKPR. Autonamy was granted in 2005.

Little is known about the nation befor 1987 due to the limited outside contact, the chaotic regime and lack of written records. Most accounts had come from local stories, conjecture, hear-say and Mercian/PRUK press reports (Mercian/PRUK news coverage of South Wales was over-opinionated and unreliable)

Doomsday
On the morning of the Soviet attack, the southern coast of Wales was struck by various nuclear weapons. The targets were-
 * 1) Newport, Gwent- 1x 10KT
 * 2) Neport, Gwent docks- 1x 1kt
 * 3) The Uskmouth power stations - 1x 1kt, but the 1kt ICBMs failed to go off and only broke up on impact, spewing radiation dirty bomb style.
 * 4) Cardiff 1 x 10kt and 1 x 20 kt
 * 5) Cardiff docks 2 x 10kt
 * 6) Swansea 2x 15kt
 * 7) Swansea docks 2 x 10kt
 * 8) Cardiff Airport – 1 x1kt
 * 9) Swansea Airport – 1 x1kt
 * 10) MOD St Athan – 1x 1kt
 * 11) Rhymney Valley – 1x 1kt (It buried itself in a recently abandoned coal mine and didn’t explode.)
 * 12) Barry Island dock- 1x 1kt
 * 13) The Woodham Brothers scrapyard, Barry Island- 1x 1kt (It did not explode and buried itself 8 feet into the ground).

Post Doomsday


The survivors of these attacks fled to the countryside of Breconshire, Northern Gwent and the heads of the South Wales Valleys, and later, Carmarthenshire, Western Herefordshire the Clun Valley, Shropshire Hills and Wye Valley.

When the word of what happened came, the towns of Rhondda, Rhymney, Merthyr Tydfil, Bleanavion, Brecon, Monmouth, Abergavenny and Cwmbrân called a town meeting. They decided to cut down a local forest, put up farms and a rationing system. When they thought the UK had largely perished, they formed the Socialist Republic of South Wales on June, 8, 1964. Plans were set forth to later peafuly incorporate eastern Monmouthshire and Carmthenshire to increase the food supply. The only way ti escape the radioactive valleys was by moving in to the country side of South and Mid-Wales.

The wood from the felled forests were used to fortify towns with, help stabilise mine shafts and make bridges with.

A severe famine and an urban cholera outbreak hit the region, killing many people during 1965 (thuse leading to martial law being issued) and a scond outbeark in most of 1966. Several food and water riots also helped to devastate Rhymney, Abertillery, Ebbw Vale, Cwmbrân and Torfaen further. Many turned to the former trade unions and the Anglican Church for help. Amid this chaos various towns developed militias based by various over-parochial ex-trade unionists, Marxist agitators, Labour left wings, local heavies, hard-line Welsh nationalists and concerned Anglican clergy. They ended the nation’s period of anarchy with a mixture of fear, bribery, political inspiration, religious hope and common-sense ideas. As time passed, a new and united South Welsh nationalism began to grow. Wales maintained an isolationist stance outside of Wales until 1976, when it discovered Gloucester and Stround. Standards of living were bad by pre-Doomsday terms, and self-sufficiency was already a large part of the social fabric.

The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog) narrow gauge railway and Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme opencast coalmine) reopened in 1974.

Eastern Monmouthshire and Northern Breconshire
Eastern Monmouthshire and northern Breconshire were peacefully integrated on the promise of reserving coal supply’s in exchange for agricultural produce in 1967. Most coal was scavenged from slagheaps until some of the mines reopened in the early 1970’s. The few surviving Gloucestershire and Worcestershire refugees were peacbly assimilated.

Carmarthenshire
The former county's unorganised villages was pecefully incorperated between 1974 and 1976. Coal was traded for farm goods.

Radnorshire
As the South Welsh moved farther north in to Radnorshire and east through the forest of Dean, they clashed with the locals, but Mercia was willing to give some settlement rights in the western Herefordshire, Clun Valley, the Shropshire Hills and Wye Valley after the Mercians (one of the founders of the Provisional Republic of the UK) realized that they had a heavy manpower shortage in 1974. This treaty would be abandoned in 1976 after a Welsh attempt to annex the regions in to Breconshire.

Cardiganshire
The former county's southen and eastern tribes unorganised villages was pecefully incorperated between 1976 and 1977. Coal was traded for farm goods.

Expedients of discovery
An expedition was sent to explore the ruins of Avonmouth, Severn Beach and pilling in 1975. It found a few fortified hamlets, but the survivors were suffering badly from the effects of long term radiation sickness.

An expedition was sent to explore Gloucester in 1976 and found the Gloucester and Stroud Co-dominium.

An expedition was sent to explore Gloucester in 1977 was with the Pembrokeshire.

An expedition was sent to explore Gloucester in 1977 was with the Commune of Colwyn Bay.

First Contact
First contact was made by the Welsh SSR was with the Gloucester and Stroud Co-dominium. It was a disaster that leads to the collapse in relations with Wessex, the PRUK and the Gloucester and Stroud Co-dominium in 1976. Later clashes occurred with Pembrokeshire and the PRUK in 1977. Only the benevolent Commune of Colwyn Bay could make peace with the revolutionary state.

War and rebellion
When Republic of South Wales attempted to predate high grade Mercian agricultural land off of Herefordshire and Shropshire in the 1976, there was much worry and anger in Mercia, who had long feared this. This lead to the 1977 battle of Clun, in which Clun Bridge was destroyed. Mercian held Ross-on-Wye also saw an anti-Welsh riot in late 1978.

After the Mercians had defeated the Welsh provisional army and ejected the settlers from the Clun Valley and Shropshire Hills South Wales was on the retreat. Things became more chaotic as the Mercia, West Wiltshire and Wessex successfully laid siege to Monmouth for a month, while simultaneously overrunning Hey-on-Wye and New Radnor in 1979. The reformist communist/socialist element of the regime then entered a civil war with the hard-line communists, nationalists and pro-democracy movement between 1979 and 1984 in which the towns of Brecon, Carthenshire, Cwmbrân and Abercynon would suffered greatly.

Carthenshire, Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Blaenavon all rebelled during the civil war and declaired UDI during 1981. Mercia would also be hit by a by the the 1984 Mercian Revolution and enter a time of chaose in the mid 1980's

The irradiated remnants of 2 Aberthaw power stations were cannibalized and 1 became partially operational by 1985. The railways were also restored in part, by heavy cannibalization of track and gear. At last electivity became common place in Glamorganshire and Monmouth one more.

As the nationalist and communists/Socialists tried to take the country over, the Anglican clergy broke from the collapsing nation and organised a more moderate and humane state in the Rhondda and Rhymney valleys during 1994-1996.

Democracy
The reforms of 1987 were set forward by more progressive part of the Socialist and Anglican clergy factions. This allowed for- a free press, the right to protest, an end to the 1965 declaration of martial law, the normalizing of relations with all nations and free elections. The election later that year saw the progressives sweep to power and the nation acceptance of a fiscal union with the PRUK.

Assimilation in to the PRUK.
As time passed the various towns and villages broke away and largely fell under the control of the PRUK and were mostly assimilated by 1994. The Rhondda and Rhymney valleys were finally (and in their case happily) assimilated in 1995. Autonamy was granted in 2005.

Government
The Socialist Republic of South Wales is a de-facto communist state and is run by various and often uncooperative ex-trade unionists, Marxist agitators, Labour left wings, local heavies, hard-line Welsh nationalists and concerned clergy. The regime was authoritarian and conservative by nature. As the nationalist tried to take over, the Anglican clergy broke from the coalition and organised a more moderate, independent state in the Rhondda and Rhymney valleys during 1994-1995. The nation was devided in to 18 circles (boroughs).

Foreign Relations


The South Welsh Republic was able to establish diplomatic relations with the British survivor nations, including such as the Duchy of Lancaster, and also with the Ireland in the late 1980’s. Relations with the PRUK, Wessex and the Gloucester and Stroud Co-dominium were appallingly bad until the reforms of 1987 were brought in.

Transport
The rivers Wye and Lugg were navigable from Hereford to the Bristol Channel.

The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog) narrow gauge was located 3 miles north of Merthyr Tydfil in Beacons along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir. It was reopened with 2 steam locos and 4 carriages in 1974 and expanded to Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd, Tonypandy, Monmouth, Rhonda and Clun through cannibalising track and equipment. The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway and Big Pit museum were also utilized by the south Welsh. 10 Nora class 1912 saddle tank engines and 45 coal trucks made for the National Coal Board serves the Aberthaw power stations, Aberthaw, the Tower Colliery, Aberdare, Mountain Ash, Abercynon, Tonypandy, Ystrad Rhondda, Treherbert and Treherbert trading estate (well 2 small furniture factories, a warehouse, 2 small wind turbines and small screw factory) twice weekly.

Horses are still popular in the nation, despite the resent, but short lived, outbreak of equine ethmoid hematoma.

6 7 petrole alco-fuel busses run twice on Mondays between Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd, Aberthaw, Cwmbrân, Hirwaun, Monmouth and Rhondda.

Battles
The 1977 battle of Haverfordwest was the biggest in a short series of battles with the Irish client state of Pembrokeshire. The failure to capture of Haverfordwest (Welsh: Hwlffordd) ensured the nation's independence from the Welsh SSR.

The 1977 battle of Clun occurred after rebel Welsh settlers had effectively taken control Clun Valley, and were also laying came to the increasingly ethnically Welsh Shropshire Hills. The Mercians were feeling increasingly threatened by the ethnic imploding of Shropshire and Herefordshire, so they took up the challenge and invaded the Welsh rebel stronghold at Clun. It was a face battle with the Mercian forces and local English militias versus the South Welsh Army and local Welsh insurrectionists. With the result of 20 Mercian military dead (including 2 cavalry horses), 12 Mercian civilian dead along with 35 dead Welsh dead and 20 Welsh civilian deaths, as well as the destruction of Clun Bridge the Welsh government became unstable once more. Provisional Republic of the UK took over the Monmouth and Hey-on-Wye districts shortly afterward. The Welsh state gradually fell under the rule of the Provisional Republic of the UK and was fully assimilated by them by 1995.

Economy
Like most other post-Doomsday European nations, especially British ones, the economy is poor and suffers from a labour shortage. Most of the rural economy is weighted towards agricultural production though there are some industrial aspects to the economy and the urban regons is near to the capability of nations like Durham and Southern England.

Tower Colliery and Ffos-y-fran Land coal mine
The South Welsh government reopened the Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme opencast coalmine just north-east of Merthyr Tydfil in 1974 and Tower Colliery (Welsh: Glofa Tŵr), at Hirwaun in 1975, but output was very low. The 2 Aberthaw power stations and the 14 steam trains are the main users. Domestic use was supplied by looting the slagheaps of abandoned mines and stealing from the Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme opencast coalmine until 1980. Welsh coal has fuled home fires across the PRUK since 1997. The South Wales coalfields are seen a possible source of future wealth and fuel. The Abercynon Colliery located in Abercynon reopened in 1992 with Irish and Lille-Wallonia help, and has been highly productive ever since. Bedwas Navigation Colliery located in Bedwas, was slated for reopening by the PRUK at around 1999-2000, but never were due to technical difficulties. Albion Colliery located in the village of Cilfynydd was planned to reopen in 2011-2012.

Alcohol
Cwmbrân Brewery is a small, independent brewery in Cwmbrân produces the nation’s beer and high proof alco-fuel in small quantises.

Earthquake
A set of 6 minor earthquakes hit Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale, Rhymney, Tredegar, Caerphilly, Abergavenny, Blaenavon, Cwmbrân and Torfaen in 2006. It was reportedly caused by several old mine workings collapsing. The only casualty was in Torfaen. The actual fate of the unexploded nuke under the Rhymney Valley (Cwm Rhymni) is still unknown.

Bad weather
There was major flooding between June and August 2007 (as in OTL). The winter of 2009-2010 was (as in OTL) the worst in 50 years.

Health care
Thyroid and lumps cancer has decreased steadily since the mid 1970's.

Waterworks
Pontsticill Reservoir and the Afon Lwyd River provide most of the clean water for the country. The drinking water from the River Taff, River Severn and Rhymney River was banned until 1997.

Media
The Rhondda Leader and South Wales Argus were back in print by 1985. Radio South Wales began broadcasting from Carmarthen and Monmouth in 1992.

Sport
Pontypool Rugby Football Club, Cwmbran RFC and Croesyceiliog RFC are the major Rugby cubs and Merthyr Tydfil F.C. is the national soccer club. Merthyr Tydfil F.C. The 3 matches in 1985, 1996 and 1998, between Shrewsbury Town F.C. and Merthyr Tydfil F.C. were noted for their off pitch violence.

The Death Penalty
Murderers, Sex Predators, (rapists, child molesters), traitors and enemy spies are executed by hanging.

Also see

 * 1) 1962: Doomsday
 * 2) List of surviving nations (1962: Doomsday)