Laid out in the mid-1930s, the Miners? Welfare Ground at Forge Side was built using voluntary labour and financed by the Miners? Welfare Fund and grants from the Special Areas Commission. Encouraged by their knowledge of the work of international volunteers at nearby Brynmawr (open air swimming baths, NPRN: 411741), the Welfare Association at Forge Side benefited from a small group of international workers in the summer of 1934 who helped local volunteers complete the work they had begun the previous year. The toughness of the ground upon which the park was intended to be built necessitated the use of explosives to help in the excavation work. The insecurity of yearly leases was overcome by the intervention of the Distressed Areas Commission who also granted, in 1935, £989 15s to help complete the project and was used to purchase tools, work clothes, and mid-day meals for 40 local volunteers.

Daryl Leeworthy, RCAHMW, 4 October 2010