WIREDGOV

Carwyn Jones is uploading photographs of his great uncle, an RAF Pilot killed in World War II to the archive of reminiscences, photographs, video and audio for future generations to learn from and enjoy. In his family collection the First Minister has found a printer’s block with an image of his uncle, Leading Aircraftman Edgar Hopkin from Gwaun Cae Gurwen, who was only 19 when he perished while flight training out in the US.

Edgar had been accepted to read Medicine at Edinburgh University, a collier’s son and the first member of the family to achieve a University place, when he was called up to the RAF. He was warm weather training in Alabama when his plane got into difficulties, and he did not eject. He was buried close to another family member living in Newcastle, Pennsylvania. The First Minister has investigated the story for himself, talking to the flying instructor, who is still alive, and visiting the grave.

He said:

"This was a well known story in our family, and I’ve now been able to fill in some of the gaps."

There still remains a mystery as to why Edgar’s image appears on the printing block, and the First Minister is hoping that by posting up material on the People's Collection Wales website there may be someone out there who knows more.

People’s Collection is a place to discover and learn all about our rich cultural heritage for people of all ages, with items as diverse as images of the Tonypandy Riots to recordings of dialects from around Wales, with films about our customs and traditions, and the opportunity to create a family tree. It uses GPS technology to enable the viewer to travel over the landscape of Wales and travel back and forth in time, while viewing artefacts in 3D.

Anyone looking to add their own stories and items to the website can go to the People's Collection Wales website.

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