1871: The Cardiff Medical Officer of Health reported that seventy-one deaths had been registered during February. Of these deaths, eighteen were caused by diseases of the brain and nervous system, twenty-two by pulmonary diseases, two by diseases of the heart, three by diseases of the kidneys, seventeen by infectious diseases (including six from scarlatina, four from smallpox, two from whooping cough, four from croup, one from diarrhoea and six from ‘diseases of uncertain seat’) and two from old age. There were eight on which inquests were being held to determine the cause of death. The mortality rate was twenty-four per thousand – slightly higher than the national rate. (Cardiff Times)
1960: Maindy Barracks closed after eighty years as an Army basic training centre. It had opened in 1871. During the Second World War the nearby footpath between Gelligaer Street and New Zealand Road earned the evocative nickname of ‘Burma Road’ which was said to stand for ‘Be Undressed And Ready My Angel’ because, it was said, American troops and local prostitutes used to meet there. (www.cardiffians.co.uk)