I did a first recce and took some pictures of Boys Village in St Athan today in preparation for a moving image project.

Boys Village is a village-style holiday camp located in West Aberthaw, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It opened in 1930 as a summer camp for the sons from families in the South Wales Coalfield, it offered them a place to play and be free, as well as being close to the nearby beach.

Over the ages its usage developed (but not necessarily changed) to be used as a camp for youths and apprenticeships etc as well. The buildings included a dining hall, dormitories, a gym, swimming pool and a church. There was also a full-sized cricket pitch and pavilion. The site also includes a war memorial. There are rumours about Boys Village being haunted or plagued by a troubled past.

The site declined in line with the decline in coal mining in the Welsh valleys and without the money put in by the miners, it no longer had the finances to operate and subsequently closed in the late 1960s. Having been sold by auction in July 2010 the site is likely to be demolished and, after speaking with some surveyors I met on the property today, it may be that these photographs could be the last pictures published of this village.

Finding the site was surprisingly easy and access was even easier. We walked straight in without having to climb over any gates or fencing. There was an auction sign up by the entrance and after meeting the surveyors inside we found out that the site was bought in July, however they did not know who had bought it and what they intended to use it for.

I was lucky enough to be armed with the might of the Canon 5D, which I borrowed from the University for the day. It’s such an awesome piece of kit. Using it today is the only incentive I need to scrimp and save every penny I can get my filthy fingers on. I’m even willing to sell my body, but my friends don’t think anyone would buy it.

Everything apart from the paint, brick and mortar has been removed. Left is just the empty shell of a lost generation. For that reason it’s difficult to tell the story through any kind of relics left behind, so I concentrated my efforts on the composition of my images. I was using the Canon 24-105mm f/4, and a Sigma 15mm f/2.8 and had lots of fun with the wide-lens – it’s the first time I’ve used one, and I kept taking shots of my feet by accident. the only safe way to take a shot is to lean forward and try not to fall over.

As you can see the site has been subjected to an awful lot of vandalism, and there are burnt out sections in many of the buildings.

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