Official Programme commemorating the opening of the Abbey Works. The task, begun in 1947, involved the draining and clearing of lakes and marsh, repositioning sand dunes and raising the site level some 10 feet to provide a platform upon which to build the most modern steel works in the world – the Margam and Abbey steel works of the Steel Company of Wales. The development created a need for a much expanded labour force, many workers to be housed on the newly developed Sandfields Estate.