September 2010 Archives

In the middle of August I saw an item on the Welsh magazine programme, "Wedi 7" (which I think is the best programme on S4C), on an event held in Aberystwyth about World War 1. This was part of a project run by Cardiff University School of History and Archaeology to gather information about Welsh experiences in WW1. The objective is to gather information, take digital images, catalogue and organise it so as to make it available on "The People's Collection" website. Part of this process is to hold Roadshows to give people the opportunity to bring their memorabilia to the researchers, discuss their significance and have documents copied. One Roadshow is to be held at the Welsh Slate Museum, Llanberis, on Saturday 2 October.

The TV item showed the Roadshow held in Aberystwyth and the hall looked quite full. There were interviews with the public who gave their reasons for being there and what they had brought with them. These included diaries, letters, postcards etc received from men serving in the armed forces during WW1 or items belonging to them. The stories were really interesting and I'm sure that the resulting entries on the website will worth while.>

Details can be seen on the website www.welshvoices.com or the Welsh language site www.rhyfelmawr.com. If you have the facilities to do so, these website enable you to send copies of your documents or photos of your artefacts directly to the researchers. If you don't have the facilities to do this, then you can take items that you think are of interest to the Roadshow and they can be copied or photographed there. Another advantage of going to the Roadshow is that you can discuss these with experts and get their views on the significance of your documents or artefacts. They will also give you advice on how you should care for your documents or artefacts so that your heirlooms can be well preserved for future generations. They are also interested in civilian experiences during WW1. In providing any copies or photos you have to agree that the University can use them and make them available to the public. They are also interested in stories that have been handed down over the generations and may take verbal stories. There are some good examples on their website.

My grandfather's brother, Thomas Williams (my mother's Uncle Tom), served in WW1 in the Liverpool Scottish Regiment (photo of him in his kilt above) and I have a number of postcards that he sent during his time of service. The first above is of the Regiment on the beach at Blackpool before embarkation. This, dated 9 April 1916, was sent to his father (William P. Williams of Gwiga, Penmachno) and on the back is written in Welsh, "Off to France tomorrow. See me behind the dot. Will write soon". The first card from France, dated 29 July 1916 was addressed to my mother, then aged 7, on which is written, "Just a card for your collection. Going on alright. Tom". All subsequent cards were addressed to my mother and it's difficult to imagine a child aged between 7 and 9 during 1916 to 1918 receiving postcards with such horrific photos. No letters have survived but the cards have done so because my mother was collecting them and my grandmother ensured that they were kept safely.

I shall be taking these and other postcards to the Roadshow and I hope that anyone within reasonable travel time from Llanberis will bring their memorabilia. The Roadshow is open 10.00am to 4.00pm on Saturday 2 October. As far as I can see there are no other Roadshows planned in the north.

Gwynedd Family History Society, www.gwyneddfhs.org
Meetings for the next four weeks are:

Bangor, 5 October (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Gareth Haulfryn Williams: "Edmund Glynne"

Caernarfon, 30 Medi (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Wil Lloyd Davies: "Bachgen Bach o Felin y Wig"

Dolgellau, 14 October (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: H Llew Williams: "Grym Ewyllys"

Conwy, 11 October (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn Rev Eirlys Gruffydd: "John Davies, Nercwys"

Llangefni, 21 October (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Nigel Thomas: "The last man publically hanged in North Wales"

Pwllheli, 15 October (In Wales, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: William Roger Jones: "Hugh Griffith a'i Oscar"

Clwyd Family History Society, www.clwydfhs.org.uk

The meetings are held on the second Saturday of each month (except August) at 2.00 pm at locations that rotate within the former county of Clwyd. The next meeting is as follows:

Saturday 9 October: at The Eirianfa Centre, Denbigh.
Phil Coops: "The murder of Mary Malpas - 1855"

The European Heritage Days Open Doors scheme, co-ordinated in Wales by Civic Trust Wales, has been running for a number of years with the objective of making buildings which are normally closed to the general public open for public access for limited periods during September. In some Welsh towns there have been several building taking part in the scheme and a good example in Caernarfon is Llanfaglan Church. This Church is normally closed but open once a year during September it's opened so that the public can visit this historic medieval Church and learn about its history from a knowledgeable guide. This year it will be open on 11th and 12th September between 12 noon and 4.00 pm. This is an opportunity for people who may be interested in the building or, from the family history perspective, seeing inside a building with which had some of their ancestors might have had a connection.

Last year Caernarfon Royal Town Council decided to participate in the scheme and will be doing so again this year. The Institute Building is full of items that are an essential part of Caernarfon's rich heritage and conducted tours will be undertaken on four Mondays, September 13, 20, 27 and October 4 during the hours 10.00 - 11,30 am and 2.00 - 3.00 pm.

The Council Chamber itself is well worth seeing being adorned with copies of the Royal Charters, the Coat of Arms, Royal Seal and other historic documents. The first Charter was granted and signed by Edward I on 8 September 1284 and confirmed by several subsequent monarchs including Elizabeth I. In 1963 Elizabeth II granted the charter to the Royal Borough of Caernarfon (shown) and it is seen that this refers back to Edward's first charter. With the local government reorganisation of 1972 Caernarfon became a town and a charter dated 19 February 1974 gave Caernarfon the status of "Royal Town", the only Royal Town in the UK. The Chamber also has photos of all the past mayors since 1854 and photos of several other notable Caernarfon people such as Group Captain Brabazon Rees, the only Caernarfon man to win the Victoria Cross.

But it isn't just the Chamber that's interesting. Numerous paintings and historic photos adorn the walls of each of the other rooms in the building. In the Peblig room there's a wall-length painting of the 1911 Investiture with a key that names all the principal characters taking part and people like Lloyd George and Winston Churchill are easily identifiable. Maesteg born artist, Christopher Williams, was commissioned by King George V to undertake this commemorative painting.

Christopher Williams' sketchbook whilst he was in Caernarfon in 1911 shows preliminary drawings of one of his most iconic paintings, "Deffroad Cymru" (The Awakening of Wales). This shows Gwenllian, daughter of Owain Glyndŵr rising to freedom on the back of a fiery dragon. The image is loosely based on the legend of Andromeda escaping from the clutches of a sea monster as depicted in an ivory statuette in the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight. The painting depicts the rising confidence in Welsh identity at the beginning of the 20th century, in a small way encouraged by the political fortunes of David Lloyd George and later the disestablishment of the Church in Wales soon after the end of the First World War. This huge painting is in the Seiont room.

The range of paintings and historic photos of the town is comprehensive and this year photos of historic buildings that were destroyed in 1973 when an internal "by-pass" for the town was constructed will be on display for the first time. There is plenty to interest everyone, not just the tourists. To see details of the Open Days throughout Wales go to the website www.civictrustwales.org. Go to the section on European Open Days and select your area of interest to see what's available. However, you should make sure that you also take note of the "Stop Press" notice and click here to see details of the late entrants as there are nearly as many in this section as there are in the main section!

The Gwynedd Family History Society meetings for the next four weeks are:

Bangor, 5 October (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Gareth Haulfryn Williams: "Edmund Glynne"

Caernarfon, 30 September (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: William Lloyd Davies: "Bachgen Bach o Felin y Wig"

Dolgellau, 14 October (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: H Llew Williams: "Grym Ewyllys"

Conwy, 10 October (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn Rev Eirlys Gruffydd: "John Davies, Nercwys"

Llangefni, 16 September (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Bridget Geoghegan: "How I came to know about the Crimean War"

Pwllheli, 17 September (In Wales, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Hywel Roberts "Anffawd fawr fy hen daid"

Clwyd Family History Society

The meetings are held on the second Saturday of each month (except August) at 2.00 pm at locations that rotate within the former county of Clwyd. The September meeting is as follows:

Saturday 11 September at The Community Centre, Ruabon.
Derrick Pratt: "More funny bits of Flintshire"