In 1905 the ship-repair workshop based in Dock Road Connahs Quay -and founded by my great-grandfather, William Butler was lost to, what became to be known as, "The Great Fire of Connahs Quay". The consequence of such loss and disruption so incensed the local council that they decided, that henceforth, the growing town must have its own fire-station! 

This recording of an account of the event was compiled by me from various audio/films I made during 2009 when visiting the Connahs Quay home of fellow local-history enthusiast, Vic Williams. Given my own limited ability to take handwritten notes, it was my custom during such meetings to always have running a pocket-sized, audio recorder. This was to prove an invaluable aide-de-memoire that would ensure accuracy in any of my subsequent transcriptions. 

In this video production, I've cheated! What you see and hear of the speaker is an a/v "mashup". The moving images of Vic were repurposed from an earlier session that morning when my subject spoke to camera on a different topic! It's my humble attempt to recreate the telling of the story in a way that might be appreciated by future generations. 

NO Artificial Intelligence ("AI") was used in the making of this compilation. Hope that justifies the almost complete absence of lip-synch! Whatever, listen now to Vic's inimitable story-telling style as, from his own research notes, he recounts, a fascinating piece of Connahs Quay/Deeside history! 

John Butler January 2022 N.B. In due course, this item will be submitted for inclusion in the Wales National Archive, "Peoples Collection".