THE CRUMBLING facade of a former pub which had a role in changing the course of the Second World War is causing a health and safety hazard, councillors have warned.
Members of Mold Town Council warned that the listed frontage of the former Black Lion pub on Mold High Street is beginning to crumble and could be a danger to pedestrians.
The former pub formed part of an elaborate plot in the war to use a dead alcoholic Welsh tramp to fool the Nazis.
During a meeting on Wednesday, Cllr Brian Grew said: “Concrete is coming off now - we have got a health and safety issue now.
“It needs to be looked at.”
Mold town centre manager Dave Hill told members that the facade, located next to but part of the B&M store in the town, was listed, and that is why it has been kept.
He said: “We will now have to formally write to Flintshire Council with an evidenced report to see if it can be sorted out.”
Members of the council heard that B&M had been contacted on a number of occasions in an attempt to make repairs on the building, but that very little had been done.
The former pub took a central role in Operation Mincemeat, which sought to trick the Nazis about where the Allied forces were planning to launch an invasion from.
The body of Glyndwr Michael, from South Wales, was found in London in 1943 and stored on ice for three months in a mortuary.
His body was later shipped to the coast of southern Spain and intelligence officers turned the corpse into a fictitious soldier – Major William Martin – and put an identity card, ticket stubs and mementos from a fiancée on his person.
Amongst his belongings were two letters apparently from his father, on letters headed with Black Lion notepaper.
Dated April 13, 1943, the letter began: “My Dear William, I cannot say that this hotel is as comfortable as I remember it to have been in pre-war days…”
It went on to outline how Mr Martin intended to meet his son in London about a week later when he hoped the two men could discuss complaints from the
bank about the way the major
was handling his personal finances.
Amongst these items, a briefcase containing a letter marked “personal and most secret”, identifying Greece for invasion by Allied forces was included.
The Mold letter and other documents were soon passed to the Nazis who dutifully arranged for massive reinforcements to be sent to Greece.
The invasion of Sicily went ahead with limited loss of life and achieved all its objectives.
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