Recently by Hywel Roberts

The latest edition of "Gwreiddiau Gwynedd" or "Gwynedd Roots" arrived a couple of weeks before Christmas and is, as usual, full of interesting articles and items of information. This is the bi-annual journal of the Gwynedd Family History Society and is a substantial A4 sized 64 page publication.

Each edition has a section on one specific area of Gwynedd and this time it is Anglesey and there are 42 pages devoted to 21 substantial articles on Anglesey family histories together with a number of shorter items of interest. There are 5 other substantial articles together with numerous shorter items in the remainder of the journal. It's impossible to mention them all.

The Anglesey articles include two articles on the famous Bulkeley family, one on the old inns of Anglesey which have now long gone and a number of interesting articles on family histories and how people made their family history discoveries. In addition to being interesting there is always something to learn about how to discover some aspects of family history in these articles. Some articles are written in Welsh and a synopsis is always given in English and, additionally, anyone interested in obtaining a full copy of the article in English can obtain one from the Editorial Board.

As someone who did a mathematics degree over 50 years ago I was amazed to read a short article on "The Anglesey Man who invented pi". He was William Jones, later Sir William Jones, who, because of his mathematical alibies, received financial assistance from the Bulkeley family to pursue his education beyond his village school. He taught mathematics on board navy ships between 1695 and 1702 and published a book on navigation and how to calculate position at sea. It was he who proposed that the Greek letter "π", or "pi", be used to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter and school children over the years have learnt that the area of a circle equals πr². Π is an indeterminate number and an essential mathematical concept. He published a number of books and was a friend of Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Edmund Halley (famous for the Haley comet). There is a portrait of him by William Hogarth in the National Portrait Gallery and I certainly learnt a lot from this short article.

Janice B Edwards from Poultney, Vermont, in the "Slate Valley" is becoming a regular contributor and this time she gave the background the family of Bob Thomas of Missouri who is trying to trace his ancestors, Elias Thomas and Anne Williams. In the early years of their marriage they emigrated to the Slate Valley from the slate town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. She writes an interesting story and gives much information and invites anyone who may have a connection with these families to make contact. There have been many articles like this over the years which have resulted in links been formed with information being exchanged with mutual benefit.

There is always a specific section where new members detail their research interests and there are also numerous letters with members seeking assistance and quite often there are articles where members relate how information received from such enquires have been an enormous help to find those elusive missing links.

One of the short news items is about the research work undertaken by Hefin Thomas on the Welsh language newspaper published in the USA, "Y Drych". He has compiled an index of all the emigrants from Anglesey to the US detailed in "Y Drych" between 1898 and 1935 and a hard copy is available in the Society's library which is open every third Saturday each month. Bangor University Archives holds copies of most of the issues of "Y Drych" during the period 1898-1935. The Society also has publications "A01 Emigrants from Gwynedd, Wales, to the USA, Pt.1: Anglesey, Pt2: Caernarvonshire, Pt3: Merionethshire" compiled from 3 Welsh-American religious publications. Details of all the Society's publications can be found on the website, given below.

William Alexander Madocks completed the Cob in Porthmadog in 1811 so the area which will be featured in the next edition of Gwreiddiau Gwynedd will be the Porthmadog and district.

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

Caernarfon, 23 Chwefror (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Rhys Prytherch "Born and Bred"

Bangor, 7 February (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Peter Brindley "Welsh Comic Postcards"

Conwy, 13 February (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Hywel Roberts: "My Great Grandfather's Misfortune"

Pwllheli, 17 Chwefror (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Ieuan Wyn Williams: "Yma ac acw ac yn ôl "

Dolgellau, 9 Chwefror (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Gweithdy yn yr Archifdy

Llangefni, 16 February (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Eric Lander: "Anglesey's Industrial past"

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.

Saturday 11 February: 2.00 pm at The Community Centre, Ruabon, LL14 6LE
Joy Thomas: "Basic Sources for Family History"

In Blog No 46 in September 2010 I wrote about the "The Welsh Voices in the Great War" Roadshows which were being held in various locations to encourage people to take their photos, letters and artefacts relating to their family's time in the Great War. In Blog No. 47 I wrote about my experiences in attending the Roadshow in Llanberis and about the postcard which I show again. It was this event that got me started on telling the story of my mother's Uncle Tom in these blogs during the months that followed.

Since then the website www.welshvoices.com has been considerably developed and there are 7 sections showing items that were contributed at Roadshows held at Aberystwyth, Blaenavon, Newport, St. Fagan, Swansea, Wrexham and the one I attended in Llanberis. When you click on one of these you see an original photo of a soldier or groups of soldiers (or sailors or airmen), a photo of an object or photos of letters sent home by servicemen. There is no index and you work your way through the items and may see something that is of interest to you. I saw a photo that my wife had submitted at the Llanberis show. There is also a section for items that have been submitted online or by other means. For those who are interested in the Great War it's worth spending some time looking at these items.

Also on this page there is a link "Welsh Voices Project Items". If you click on this you'll find a long, long list of all the items that were handed in at the Road Shows. I found that 8 of the postcards that I submitted, including the "Some Jolly Boys from Wales" postcard.

On the left hand side of the home page there is a list showing other sections including one "Examples". If you click on this you'll see a list of stories about individuals in the Great War. One of these is about Griffith John Owen of Deiniolen who drowned following the sinking of the Transylvania on 4th May 1917. This tells his story and there are numerous photos and copies of documents including a list of all those who were lost in the sinking. There is also a photo of a bronze plaque which was sent to families of servicemen who had been killed in the war. This became known as the "Dead Man's Penny" and thousands of families would have had one of these at the time. There are several references to the "Dead Man's Penny" in other sections of this website.

There are currently 16 of these stories and they include a wide range of experiences including the experience of a conscientious objector. These have been written by members of the family or friends but there is another section on the left hand side headed "Articles" and these are articles written by academics from Cardriff University who have been running this project. There are currently 8 of these articles which take a theme which bring in many aspects.

One of these articles is by Dr Toby Thacker entitiled "A Corner of a Foreign Field which is Forever Wales? Welsh Identities in the Great War". This article examines the identities of the Welsh in the war and he takes as his starting point the above postcard which I had handed in - the postcard shown which had been produced by John Robert Gethin Jones which featured in Blog No 47 back in September 2010. It's an interesting article and I'm pleased that use has been made of this postcard.

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

Caernarfon, 29 January (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Keith O'Brien: "Hanes Camp Milwrol Traws"

Bangor, 7 February (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Peter Brindley "Welsh Comic Postcards"

Conwy, 13 February (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Hywel Roberts: "My Great Grandfather's Misfortune"

Pwllheli, 20 January (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Dr Richard Roberts: "Rhydychaen, Paris a Phwllheli: Golwg ar waith John Gwenogfryn Evans"

Dolgellau, 9 Chwefror (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Gweithdy yn yr Archifdy

Llangefni, 19 January (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Workshop in the NEW Llangefni Archives

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.

Saturday 11 February: 2.00 pm at The Community Centre, Ruabon, LL14 6LE
Joy Thomas: "Basic Sources for Family History"

I started this blog on 31 December 2007 and it seems incredible that four years have gone by since then. When the editor of the Caernarfon Herald approached me to consider writing a weekly blog of about 500 words I thought I couldn't possibly do it. I then agreed to try it on a fortnightly basis and thought that I might be able to keep it up for about six months. But once I got into it I found that there were plenty of topics to write about although I did have a break of about 6 months between March and September 2010.

Since restarting in September 2010 I've been giving more attention to stories from my own family history and I hope that these have been of interest. In Blog No 44 in September 2010 I told of how one of Margaret's cousins, Jack from Long Beach, Los Angeles, came over and that we'd had a big reunion of Margaret's family. Jack and his wife, Carolyn, his son Jeff and his wife, Sherrie, together with their two teenage sons came over and during the visit Sherrie told us an interesting story about her mother's childhood and about a girl who was acting as child-minder looking after her mother and sister.

I should have stated here that the photo of Marilyn Monroe is the copyright of Sherrie Williams and I should also have pointed out that the video on the Getty Images website is anly available to purchase and can't be viewed without purchase.

Earlier this year we received some interesting follow-up photos from Jack and I show a family photo taken on a beach in California in 1941. Sherrie's mother is one of the young girls and the other is her sister. The child minder is behind them. She was the 15 year old Norma Jeanne Mortensen who was raised as Norma Jeanne Baker. She subsequently adopted the stage name Marilyn Monroe and became one of the most famous people in the world during the 1950s. If you want to see a video of Marilyn Monroe in her first ever home cine film taken on this beach in California in 1941 then go to the following link to see her performing cartwheels on the beach: www.gettyimages.com Select "video" and put "Marilyn Monroe at 15" in the search and it should come up.

An important family event for us during 2011 was our Silver Wedding in May. We had nearly 90 family and friends for a celebratory Sunday Lunch at the Padarn Lake Hotel in Llanberis. Following the starter the main course was a self-service carvery and I realised that this could take some time so I therefore prepared a timed PowerPoint presentation to run during this period. This consisted of the original wedding photos plus photos of some important family events over the past 25 years and people were able to recognise themselves in the photos. This involved scanning all the wedding photos which was a huge task, but I was pleased that this event had forced me to do this. I've already scanned most of the old family photos of my ancestors as I believe that it's important keep them safely and in easily recognisable folders and I also have back-up.

I've already scanned photos of some aspects of my parent's lives but there is still a long way to go and I've also started to scan some of my own photos with captions and in well-defined folders. But this is a mammoth task and one must be reasonably selective as we have so many more photos than did our ancestors. One must therefore select a reasonable number that will represent specific periods or events in our lives. It will take a long time but is something we should all do otherwise our grandchildren will be left wondering when the photos were taken and who the people in the photos were as we have been puzzling over photos of our ancestors without a single name on them.

Talking of grandchildren, the other important family event was the birth of my third grandchild in July. This was a joyous event and he was called Calan which is very appropriate at this time of year! I show a photo of my daughter and the three grandchildren taken soon a few weeks after Calan was born.

Over some 18 months I've been trying to find someone else who had the photo of "The Jolly Boys of Wales" taken in the POW Camp in 1918 (see Blog No.49). I was delighted when I received a message from Brian Hollins in April saying that he recognised his grandfather in the photo (see Blog No.54). This was one of the highlights of my year and I show the photo again just in case someone new may recognise it!

Unfortunately I haven't done a great deal of family history research during 2011 other than for the visit to the Liverpool Records Office at the end of August which I've written about in recent blogs. This was important in giving some important details of both my own and my father's life and it's also given me interesting background information about my childhood. This has helped me with writing my life story for the benefit of my daughter and grandchildren but as you see I'm still in the 1940s so I've got a long way to go!

I hope to do more family history research during 2012 and I wish everyone Blwyddyn Newydd Dda - Happy New Year.

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

Caernarfon, 29 January (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Keith O'Brien: "Hanes Camp Milwrol Traws"

Bangor, 10 January (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Hywel Roberts "Uncle Tom in WW1"

Conwy, 9 January (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Peter Broadbrent: "Family History: A Bookbinder's View"

Pwllheli, 20 January (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Dr Richard Roberts: "Rhydychaen, Paris a Phwllheli: Golwg ar waith John Gwenogfryn Evans"

Dolgellau, 12 January (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Angharad Williams: "Gwaith Comisiwn Brenhinol o Hanebion Cymru"

Llangefni, 19 January (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Workshop in the NEW Llangefni Archives

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.

Saturday 14th January 2012 at 2.00 pm Millennium Room, Old Colwyn Methodist Church, Wynn Avenue, OLD COLWYN, LL29 9RD
Bryan Jones: "My American Family Jones"

I mentioned in earlier blogs that I was baptised during 1938 at Capel Stanley Road (Stanley Road Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel), Bootle, and I show an extract from the Chapel's Annual report for 1938 which shows that I was amongst four baptisms that year but unfortunately it doesn't give the date. This splendid Chapel was opened in 1876 and I show the photo on the front of the 1938 Chapel Report. My parents, my grandparents and my father's sister and her husband, Ann and Glyn Jones, were active members. My father was one of the two Superintendents of the Sunday School and my Uncle Glyn later became a Deacon.

Bootle was near the docks and was a constant target for the bombing. In 1939 there were 17,119 houses in Bootle of which 2,043 were completely destroyed, 6,000 were severely damaged and a further 8,000 suffered damage leaving only just over 1,000 houses that were completely undamaged. It is therefore not surprising that the Chapel received a direct hit and was destroyed on 4th May 1941 and I show a photo of the destruction. Only the Schoolroom seen on the left of the photos was left standing but even that was severely damaged. Remarkably the memorial column to those killed in WW1 remained intact and can be seen to the right of the photo.

Ironically the Chapel had been completely refurbished, including the organ, in 1938. The minister had died in July 1938 so there was no minister in post when I was baptised. My baptism service was undertaken by the Rev. John Easter Ellis who was a minister at one of the other Liverpool Presbyterian chapels. The Rev.D Tudor Jones became minister in 1940 and he was the minister when the chapel was destroyed in 1941.

When we returned after the war in 1945 the Schoolroom had been restored and this is where the services and all other activities were held. The rest of the site was clear apart from the WW1 memorial which was still intact. Subsequently the names of those killed in WW2 were added on this memorial which still stands today. The minister at this time was the Rev. Gele Williams. I have memories of attending services there and the Sunday School in particular. I remember Sunday School trips to Loggerheads and to Southport. There were also evening events and events with other chapels including an annual eisteddfod. I have memories of coming home from an eisteddfod on a tram with a group from the chapel who seemed to have taken over the whole of the upstairs. We had won a big cup and there was singing all along the journey.

With some war compensation and a huge fundraising effort the chapel was rebuilt and the new chapel opened in September 1956. A photo of the new chapel is shown and it is seen that the war memorial is still in place. Unfortunately due to a dwindling congregation it was closed in 1996 and it was taken over by Sefton Council and converted into offices.

After my aunt left Litherland in 1954 I hardly visited Liverpool. I went to my friend's wedding in the 60s and when I lived in Wrexham, 1973-1980, I only visited Liverpool about 6 times for meetings to do with my work. When my daughter, Ceri, went to Liverpool University in 1998 I started taking her round the old haunts and my interest in Liverpool was reawakened.

I took Ceri to see Capel Stanley Road and on a Saturday the offices were obviously closed. We saw the war memorial but I was surprised that there was no indication that this had once been a Welsh church. We subsequently went there on a weekday and saw inside the building but again there was nothing to indicate the past history of the chapel. I felt that there should be something on the building to show its past so I contacted the Rev. D Ben Rees, the current minister of Bethel (formerly Heathfield Road) chapel who is an old college friend. He suggested that I write about this in "Y Goleuad" the Welsh Presbyterian monthly which I did. In the following edition Ben had a letter supporting this and he then set about arranging for it to happen.

On Sunday morning 12 October 2003 I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of a new plaque on the chapel walls to indicate the building's past history as a Welsh chapel by a former member, Miss Eirian Roberts, a nice of the famous Welsh writer Dr Kate Roberts. When I stopped there at the end of August I saw that the building is no longer used by the council and in the hands of a private company who was advertising vacant office space. I hope that they fill the offices quickly in order to ensure the building's future. It currently looks in good condition which in sharp contrast to what's happened to some of the other former Welsh chapels in Liverpool such as the formerly magnificent Princess Road Chapel.

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

Caernarfon, 29 January (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Keith O'Brien: "Hanes Camp Milwrol Traws"

Bangor, 10 January (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Hywel Roberts "Uncle Tom in WW1"

Conwy, 9 January (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Peter Broadbrent: "Family History: A Bookbinder's View"

Pwllheli, 20 January (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Dr Richard Roberts: "Rhydychaen, Paris a Phwllheli: Golwg ar waith John Gwenogfryn Evans"

Dolgellau, 12 January (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Angharad Williams: "Gwaith Comisiwn Brenhinol o Hanebion Cymru"

Llangefni, 19 January (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Workshop in the NEW Llangefni Archives

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.

Saturday, 14th January 2012 at 2.00 pm Millennium Room, Old Colwyn Methodist Church, Wynn Avenue, OLD COLWYN, LL29 9RD
Bryan Jones: "My American Family Jones

As I wanted to see the Litherland History Exhibition on the Saturday we decided to go to Liverpool on Friday morning and stay overnight. Ceri and the family came to meet us on Friday evening which was really enjoyable. On the Friday we went to the New Liverpool Museum which opened at the dock side near the Prier Head in July. It was very lively and attracted many children and there is one floor that was unfinished when I visited but it has since opened on 2 December.

On the Ground Floor there is a special area for children and there are a number of educational rooms. There is also a "Global City" area which illustrates the historic links with China and rest of the world. Another section "The Great Port" was scheduled to open before Christmas and I wondered how this interacted with the established more traditional, but excellent, Maritime Museum which is located in the nearby Albert Dock. Looking at the website I now realise that this section is about the port rather than the ships.

The top floor has two lively sections, "Wondrous Place" and "The People's Republic". The first section gives great prominence to the Beatles and the Liverpool pop stars of the 60s and 70s. Several Liverpool writers and their works are featured such as Alan Bleasdale and his famous TV drama "The Boys from the Blackstuff" is given prominence. This is understandable and I believe that this series in 1982 was the most powerful TV drama that I've ever seen. The fact that I was unemployed myself at the time probably coloured my judgement but I could fully empathise with the characters in this drama which really portrayed its time.

There is a feature about Ken Dodd here, and quite rightly so, and the briefest reference to Arthur Askey but no mention of any of the others in the long line of great comedians from Liverpool. No mention of Rob Wilton, Ted Ray, Tommy Handley etc. It seems to be incredible that a museum in Liverpool dealing with entertainers should completely ignore Tommy Handley who, with his radio programme ITMA, did so much to maintain morale during the dark war years and the difficult post war years. There is also considerable attention to the football clubs, the Grand National and sporting heroes but the impression that I got was that this section was a post 1960s section. It was lively and there were plenty of youngsters there and this is clearly a good sign.

In the other section buildings and communities are featured. There are models of the Pier Head, the Liver Bird and a huge model of how the Catholic Cathedral would have looked like had the original plans gone ahead. Before seeing this exhibition I hadn't fully appreciated that the joys of my childhood, Meccano, Hornby Trains and Dinky Toys had been designed and manufactured in Liverpool. No wonder that they went on to build the Ford Anglia in Liverpool!

"The model that brought back memories was a model of "Gerard Gardens" (see photo) which were blocks of council tenements built in the 1930s. I used to pass these tenements on the No. 58 bus from St John's Lane to Litherland and, even as a child, I couldn't help but admire them, although, of course, I had no idea of what it was like to live in them. From the comments seen it is apparent that people did enjoy living there. One realises that there were excellent approaches to public housing during the 1930s to match the well-built 1930s semis in the private sector. The Quarry Hill Flats in Leeds were another example.

The other important display here was the "Welsh in Liverpool" section. It was well set out with good photos and mainly about the Welsh Chapels in Liverpool. The lack of space undoubtedly prevented a wider representation of why there were so many Welsh people living in Liverpool and what they were doing but it was good to see recognition of the contribution of the Welsh to Liverpool.

One of the features which opened on 2 December which I'm really looking forward to seeing is an original carriage from the Overhead Railway. There is also a "City Soldiers" section featuring the King's Liverpool Regiment. I will be interest to see how many artefacts there are in this section from the now closed Liverpool Scottish Museum. There is a section of the second floor devoted to military history and it will be interesting to see whether this section has been transferred to the new display on the first floor. In one display cabinet there was an album opened with two photos showing with the caption "Friedrichsfeld POW Camp, WW1". I would have loved to have had a look through this album to see whether Uncle Tom, who spent some time in this POW camp, can be seen in one of the photos. I will certainly be going back sometime to see the new section which is now open.

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

Caernarfon, 29 January (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Keith O'Brien: "Hanes Camp Milwrol Traws"

Bangor, 6 December (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Neil Fairlamb "The Incorporated Church Building Society & church building in 19th & 20th century Gwynedd"

Conwy, 12 December (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Members Evening

Pwllheli, 20 January (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Dr Richard Roberts: "Rhydychaen, Paris a Phwllheli: Golwg ar waith John Gwenogfryn Evans"

Dolgellau, 12 January (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Angharad Williams: "Gwaith Comisiwn Brenhinol o Hanebion Cymru"

Llangefni, 19 January (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Workshop in the NEW Llangefni Archives

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.

Saturday, 14th January 2012 at 2.00 pm Millennium Room, Old Colwyn Methodist Church, Wynn Avenue, OLD COLWYN, LL29 9RD
Bryan Jones: "My American Family Jones

Whilst I left Litherland to live in Llanfrothen in the summer of 1947 my Aunty Ann and Uncle Glyn continued to live in 91 Stanley Park and I would go to stay with them every Christmas holiday and during the summer holiday until they left in 1953. During this period I remained friends with Peter Warren. He came to stay with us a number of times and in 1958 we went on our first holiday in Europe staying in youth hostels. I went to his wedding in 1966 and he then went to work in Rhodesia and we unfortunately lost contact during the next few years.

In the 1940/50s the Mersey Ferries were fully operational and a favourite trip was to New Brighton. I remember being on a ferry with my mother coming back from New Brighton during 1946 and there was a troop ship coming in down the Mersey. Everyone was on the side of the ferry waving and cheering and the deck of the ferry was sloping at what appeared to be about 45 degrees. Everyone was really excited but I was scared that we were going to tip over!

When I went on my holidays to Litherland, and I was older, we would be able to travel by ourselves to New Brighton open air swimming pool. As I grew older the bathing beauty contests there became more interesting! About 6 years ago Margaret and I had gone to the top of the Anglican Cathedral to get an overall view of the city and I was surprised that I couldn't see the New Brighton pier. On asking I was told that it had been pulled down in 1975.

During the Christmas holidays I used to go to all the pantomimes at the magnificent theatres; the Empire, The Royal Court, The Playhouse and the Shakespeare Theatre. I saw some wonderful comedians at these pantos including Vic Oliver, Arthur Askey, Ted Ray, Norman Evans, Jewel and Warris and a young Frankie Howard. These were wonderful experiences and I was lucky to have experienced them.

I used to be taken to the cinemas locally in Litherland but I was then able to go on my own to the city centre and my favourites were the Tattler News Theatre in Church Street and the Liverpool News Theatre in Clayton Square. I think that the Tattler was part of a chain with cinemas in other cities. The programme lasted for about 75 minutes and consisted of short comedy films, cartoons and a news reel. The programmes started at 10.00 am and would be repeated all day. Once you had paid to go in, you could stay as long as you liked. I would quite often see the show through twice and occasionally even three times! In 2008 Liverpool was the City of Culture but to me the culture was the pantomimes and the news theatres!

Three of the theatres named above are still open but the Shakespeare Theatre in Fraser Street has long gone, having been demolished in 1976. Fraser Street was where the north Wales buses used to depart and arrive. There were two regular bus services between Caernarfon and Liverpool. One bus would go along the coast and would stop for a break at Bodelwyddan where there was a café near the Marble Church. The other bus would go along the A5 and then Ruabon and the break stop would be in a café in Corwen. I have memories of going on both routes. I would sometimes stay with my grandparents in Penmachno and join the A5 bus at the "Penmachno Road End" stop. These buses ran daily and were quite full and this was an indication of the strong links that existed between northern Wales and Liverpool.

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

Caernarfon, 24 November (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: J Dilwyn Williams: "Teulu Tŷ Newydd, Llanor a Tan y Bryn"

Bangor, 6 December (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Neil Fairlamb "The Incorporated Church Building Society & church building in 19th & 20th century Gwynedd"

Conwy, 12 December (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Members Evening

Pwllheli, 20 January (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Dr Richard Roberts: "Rhydychaen, Paris a Phwllheli: Golwg ar waith John Gwenogfryn Evans"

Dolgellau, 12 January (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Angharad Williams: "Gwaith Comisiwn Brenhinol o Hanebion Cymru"

Llangefni, 19 January (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Workshop in the NEW Llangefni Archives

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.

Saturday 3 December: 2.00 pm at The Eirianfa Centre, Denbigh, LL16 3TS
A Social Afternoon: member's contributions

Following my visit in August I went onto Google and found a website associated with the Society which contained a selection of photos from Litherland's past some of which I've used on earlier blogs, http://litherland-digital.co.uk developed by Ronnie Cusworth. There is also another website with excellent photos, www.litherlandtown.co.uk developed by David Clayton. These have helped me recall memories and have given useful background information which I couldn't have known in my childhood. Most people think of family history research as being searching for the history of our ancestors. But we must not forget to record our own lives otherwise our grandchildren will be left with trying to find the stories as we are currently searching for our ancestors' stories.

I'm currently trying to write my life story for the benefit of my daughter and grandchildren but it's a long process as I haven't yet reached 1945! Hence my current interests in the war years and the activities of the Litherland History Society have been a real boost. I went to their Exhibition on 24 September and found it of real interest. There were some displays on boards and there were numerous folders full of photos which added to my recollections and knowledge. There were a number of people present and it was a joy to talk to them. They answered queries about some of the photos and helped me understand some of the backgrounds. I certainly learnt a great deal from this exhibition and I will keep in touch with the Litherland History Society website and will endeavour to attend any future exhibitions.

I saw that there were houses in one end of Stanley Park in the 1911 census but the majority of the street and the surrounding area consist of semis built in the 1930s. The houses in the part that we lived were built by Alun T Jones, a builder of 11 Marine Crescent, Waterloo, who was a deacon in the Stanley Road Welsh Presbyterian Chapel. My grandfather, a carpenter from Llithfaen, had moved to Liverpool during the 1920s and had worked in Cammell Lairds Shipbuilding yard where he had worked on the second Mauritania. By 1936/37 he was working for Alun T Jones and had worked on the Stanley Park development. My parents got married in March 1937 and moved into the new house as the first owners of no. 93 with my father's sister Ann and husband Glyn Jones buying the adjoining semi, no.91. My grandparents also lived in no. 91 and I remember my grandfather telling me that had ensured that the best wood was used in the construction of this pair of houses!

My grandparents had moved back to Llithfaen in May 1939 where my grandfather worked as a carpenter in the Trefor and Nantgwrtheyrn quarries. Ann and Glyn Jones remained in Liverpool during the war. Glyn was not medically fit for the forces and remained working for Royal Liver Insurance and I remember him telling stories of fire watch duties at the top of the Liver Building. From there he had a view of the bombs dropping all over city and the fires breaking out.

We went for a dive round the area on 24 September and the biggest difference was the car. In the 1940s there were hardly any cars around. My father, like many others, went to work in Everton on his bike. We had the trams and the Overhead Railway as I previously mentioned. We also had the No.58 bus which came from St John's Gardens in the city centre through a different route to the trams and came up Hatton Hill Road to its terminus at the Jubilee Inn. This was conveniently at the bottom of the road but when we went to chapel we would have to walk much further to get the trams.

One of the most wonderful sights could be seen if you were on a bus or tram passing a factory at the end of a shift. There would be dozens, if not hundreds, of bikes pouring out of the factory gates into the streets. I wish I had a photo of that sight. Later in my life, many of the paintings of L S Lowrey would remind me of these sights. Those 1930s streets were not designed with today's car usage in mind. The avenues in particular are today very congested with car parking.

I'd seen photos of the RWF Litherland camp during WW1 and I was pleased to receive confirmation at the Exhibition that the church spire in the background was that of St. Phillips. The camp was therefore situated in a field opposite to St. Phillips School which I attended and where the current English Martyrs School has since been built.

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

Caernarfon, 24 November (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: J Dilwyn Williams: "Teulu Tŷ Newydd, Llanor a Tan y Bryn"

Bangor, 6 December (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Neil Fairlamb "The Incorporated Church Building Society & church building in 19th & 20th century Gwynedd"

Conwy, 12 December (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Members evening

Pwllheli, 18 November (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Gareth Haulfryn Williams "Edmund Glynne"

Dolgellau, 12 January (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Angharad Williams: "Gwaith Comisiwn Brenhinol Hanebion Cymru"

Llangefni, 17 November (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Julie Stone: "Britannia Bridge - Stone masons and brickmakers"

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.

Saturday 12 November: 2.00 pm at The Church Hall, Church Lane, EWLOE, Ch5 3BF
Rev. Dr. D Ben Rees: "The roots and contribution of Dr Kate Roberts to Welsh Literature"

When we moved to live with my grandparents in Penmachno in 1941 I was no longer an evacuee as I was living with my family and I went to the village school which was Welsh speaking. There were many genuine evacuees from Liverpool in Penmachno, amongst them was Ken Dodd who later became President of Machno United FC (amongst other claims to fame!). These evacuees were taught separately in the old school with their own teachers as my father had been with his pupils in Diddlebury. Also amongst these evacuees was Peter Warren living with his mother at Tan Lan, not too far from Gwiga.

Peter came from Litherland, living in Enstone Avenue which was very close to our home in Stanley Park. We became friends in Penmachno so when we returned to Litherland in September 1945 I was very lucky that I already had a friend living nearby. We were in the same class and we could walk together to school, St Phillips C of E Primary School. By this time my English was somewhat limited and it was therefore an enormous change going from a Welsh speaking school to a totally English environment. This experience has given me an understanding of how incomers to Wales feel. I was really fortunate that I had one friend from the start; it would have been very difficult had I not known anyone in the new school.

My memories are of the two of us, and also some other friends, walking to school, although my mother no doubt would have taken me initially. When I went there during August I realised that it was quite a long walk and there are two busy roads to cross, in fact there is now an underpass for the road immediately outside the school. No parent today would allow children of aged 7 to undertake such a walk unsupervised but the traffic was not a problem back in 1945.

I could see in August that the school has been rebuilt since my day but what was depressing was the tall iron railings round it, the heavy locks on the gates and the big metal shutters on all the windows. This is a sad reflection on today's society. Occasionally we used to go to services at St Phillips Church next door. Across the road there was the English Martyrs Catholic Primary School. We used to have snowball fights when it snowed which was quite natural but there were no problems between the schools although there were parts of Liverpool where there were considerable Protestant/Catholic antagonism in those days.

One incident as we walked home from school is still very clear in my memory. As we walked home down Sefton Road we saw a boy on a bike being hit from behind by a car. He was thrown in the air, landed on the bonnet and then fell onto the road. The driver and some adults walking nearby rushed to him and I saw one person rushing off to the telephone box at the corner of the street. As we were only eight we could only look on horrified. I don't know what happened to him but that image is still in my mind.

At the bottom of our garden there was a small fenced off vegetable plot and when we returned in 1945 there was an Anderson Shelter there. It was the standard model; half buried with the corrugated roof covered with soil sods. I don't know if my father had built it before the war or whether the people who were staying in the house during the war built it. It must have remained for a while as I remember playing in it but by the Spring of 1946 my father had got rid of it so that he could plant much needed vegetables.

I can't remember any bomb damaged housing in our area but there were cracks in the walls. My father would write the date on a stamp edge and put it across a crack. If the stamp edge broke then that was proof that the crack was still expanding. If the stamp edge remained unbroken for a period of time then this was the sign that the building had settled down. I believe that it was then possible to make a claim for war damage.

Gwynedd Archives - Dolgellau
Dolgellau Archives will be closed for a period of 3 weeks from 24 October and will reopen on 14 November.

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

Caernarfon, 27 October (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Dafydd Whiteside Thomas: "Peking, Paris a Betws Garmon"

Bangor, 1 November (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Sandy Balfour "Going for Gold - The Story of the Steam Clipper Royal Charter"

Conwy, 14 November (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Rev. Eirlys Gruffudd: "Harriet Elias"

Pwllheli, 18 November (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Gareth Haulfryn Williams: "Edmund Glynne"

Dolgellau, 10 November (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Deri Thomas: "DNA - cadwch e yn y teulu"

Llangefni, 17 November (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Julie Stone: "Britannia Bridge - Stone masons and brickmakers"

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.

Saturday 12 November: 2.00 pm at The Church Hall, Church Lane, EWLOE, Ch5 3BF
Rev. Dr. D Ben Rees: "The roots and contribution of Dr Kate Roberts to Welsh Literature"

"Following my visit to the Liverpool Records Office at the end of August I went on a nostalgic tour of Litherland where we lived before the war and where we returned to in 1945. We lived there for two years to the summer of 1947 and, whilst I have no memories of the pre-war period, I have many memories of this period. From the Records Office I drove up the long Stanley Road passing Capel Stanley Road, the Presbyterian Chapel where I was baptised, and then along Linacre Road to Litherland.

Stanley Road and Linacre Road was the route of the No 16 and No 28 trams that ran from St. John Gardens to Litherland. At the end of Linacre Road there was a huge white building which was the Richmond Sausage Factory and here the trams would turn left down Bridge Road towards the Seaforth and Litherland station on the Liverpool-Southport line. This was also the northern terminus of the famous Liverpool Overhead Railway which provided an absolutely fascinating journey to the Pier Head. The photo shows the 28 tram, probably before 1930, coming up Bridge Road and turning into Linacre Road with what looks like the original Richmond factory behind.

The Overhead ran above road level along the docks so you could get a wonderful view of the docks, which were all working in those days. Many called it "the docker's umbrella" as it gave shelter from the rain. I used to look forward eagerly, in particular, to passing Hutchinson Dock where there would be ships with "Welsh Granite Company" written on the sides. These were the ships that carried granite from the quarries at Llysfaen, Penmaenmawr, Trefor and Nantgwrtheyrn. Granite would be unloaded here and transferred to larger ships for transportation abroad or by road within Britain. My grandfather on my father's side was then working at the Cae'r Nant Quarry in Nantgwrtheyrn and I would always think of these connections as we passed Hutchinson Dock.

The Sausage Factory was an important landmark in my childhood memories. This factory was built in 1930, having started as a small business in a butcher's shop in Linacre Road in 1889 which developed into a small factory in 1917. The business flourished and was taken over by Walls in the 1950s. This factory closed in 1970 and was subsequently demolished in 1980 but Richmond Sausages can still be found in the supermarkets. The photo shows the Sausage Factory fairly soon after it was built.

If you turned right at the Sausage Factory you would go over the Lift Bridge over the Liverpool-Leeds Canal to the part of Litherland where we lived. The Lift Bridge was another significant landmark in my childhood memories as I would walk over it to catch the trams or go to the Overhead Railway. Built in 1934 it lifted the whole section of roadway vertically to allow the canal barges to pass underneath. The bridge was demolished in 1974 to make way for a new flyover to be built over the canal. You can no longer turn right at the end of Linacre Road, you have to turn left to a roundabout near the railway station and then turn back onto the flyover over the canal. I show a photo of the bridge raised and a canal barge passing underneath.

I then went along Hatton Hill Road and turned into Stanley Park to see where we lived in number 93. I got out here and in a number of other places and was pleased to see that there are still shops in Sonning Avenue but there was no longer a William Ross greengrocer shop which is where I saw my first banana in 1946. I still remember, as we were playing outside, hearing people passing-by saying "There's bananas at Ross, there's bananas in Ross" and rushing home to tell my mother. We rushed to the shop to join the enormous queue, everyone with their coupons, to buy this exotic fruit which was available for the first time after the war.

I visited Watling Avenue which, back in 1945, was the last street of housing, behind which there were fields. The Litherland Tannery stood on the side of the canal and we used to play football on the field behind the Tannery and further long there was a foot path leading to Crosby with a wooden swing bridge over the canal. The Tannery is now long gone and there is housing as far as you can see. I show a photo of the tannery taken from the canal side.

I then went for a stroll in Hatton Hill Park where I spent many hours in my childhood. There used to be a "Parkie" in a uniform patrolling the park in those days. Here I came across a poster announcing that the Litherland Historic Society would be holding an Exhibition on the history of Litherland at the end of September. I was now really hooked on finding out more about the history of this part of the world which played a significant part of my childhood.

Gwynedd Archives - Caernarfon
Caernarfon Archives will be closed for one week from 10 October and will reopen on 18 October.

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

Caernarfon, 27 October (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Dafydd Whiteside Thomas: "Peking, Paris a Betws Garmon"

Bangor, 1 November (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Sandy Balfour "Going for Gold - The Story of the Steam Clipper Royal Charter"

Conwy, 14 November(In English, second Mondayof each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn. Rev. Eirlys Gruffudd: "Harriet Elias"

Pwllheli, 18 November (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Gareth Haulfryn Williams: "Edmund Glynne"

Dolgellau, 11 Hydref (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: W Lloyd Davies: "Bachgen bach o Felin y Wig"

Llangefni, 20 October (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Gareth Robinson: "Billets to ballots: vestries to votes - the poll books and family history"

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.

Saturday12 November: 2.00 pm at The Church Hall, EWLOE, CH5 3BF
Rev. D Ben Rees: "The roots and contribution of Dr Kate Roberts to Welsh Literature

Following my visit to the WW2 Exhibition in Capel Curig in August I've had time to study the accompanying booklet properly and it is indeed an excellent reference source on the effects of WW2 in Snowdonia. However, there is one aspect of life during WW2 that has not been included - the Black Market! This is probably a difficult topic to discuss in such an exhibition as people would not wish to be identified as taking part. But it was a very real element of rural life in those days.

In Blog No 63 I told of how I was, at the age of one, evacuated from Liverpool to Diddlebury in Shropshire. Some 18 months later my father was called up for military service and my mother took me to live with her parents in Penmachno and this is where I have my earliest memories. My grandfather was a postman and had a small 13 acre farm with 4 cows named Gwiga. My grandmother made butter and, before the war, took the butter and eggs to sell at the Llanrwst Market on Tuesdays. During the war, however, all farm produce had to be sold to the Government and was taken to the "Packing Station" based in the now demolished Town Hall on Ancaster Square in Llanrwst. (Photo shown)

However, I remember one man who came round the farms buying eggs, butter and other farm produce. I was told that he would sell these to the hotels in Llandudno. This was the Black Market. My grandparents couldn't sell him too much as this would affect how much they could sell to the Packing Station and it would be suspicious if there was a significant drop in the amount!

I can't remember his name but one of his legs was shorter than the other and he had a big built-up shoe. As a child I was fascinated by this shoe and I couldn't keep my eyes off it - a child's face is nearer to an adult's shoe than to an adult's face. He was clearly not physically fit for military service. He had a green van and I would sit in a tree waiting to see him arrive and park his van outside Tan y Dderwen. He would then walk up to Erw'r Clochydd and then to us at Gwiga and then on to other farms. Thinking back, I can't understand why he wasn't caught. There weren't many cars and vans in those days and, because of petrol rationing, very few actually travelling on the roads.

I remember that on one occasion he gave me half a crown for a basket full of mushrooms freshly collected in the fields. On one Market Day in Llanrwst I remember my grandmother giving me a basket containing eggs, which were well covered, and asking me to take them to the Black Market man in Watling Street. Presumably a child of about 6 carrying a basket was less likely to arouse suspicion than an adult. This was the first time in my life that I broke the law!

There were many stories about the movement of pigs in the middle of the night but I had no experience of that activity. This all came back to me when I saw the show "Betty Blue Eyes" when in London recently. This is set in 1947 during the post-war rationing period and "Betty Blue Eyes" is an unregistered pig. It was hilarious.

My grandparents were honest chapel going people who wouldn't have dreamt of doing anyone a bad turn. If they had seen a £1 note on the roadway they would have gone looking for a policeman to hand it in. Yet they, and many people like them, were prepared to participate in the Black Market.

Petition regarding the cost of BMD Certificates

For some time there has been a process for people to set up e-petitions on the government website and if sufficient people sign them they will be considered by the relevant department. There is currently one such petition that will be of interest to family history researchers which attempts to make it cheaper to get a birth, marriage or death certificate for research purposes. The objective is to allow the GRO to supply cheaper uncertified certificates. These would have no legal value but would be of value to family research. Click on the following link to get the Petition and add your name:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1792
The wording is as follows:

"Research Copies for Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates for Genealogical Research Purposes

Under current legislation, the GRO can only "release this information by means of the issue of a paper certified copy Cert of the relevant entry, and payment of the relevant statutory fee for a certified copy." We request that this House enacts legislation to allow the General Register Office of England and Wales the ability to issue "uncertified" research copies of birth, marriage and death certs - with a notice on the copies that they are uncertified, and have no legal authority - and that these may be obtained at a much lower cost than the current £9.25 per cert (eg £2) when ordered on-line and the GRO Index Ref is Provided, and that these may be issued in a electronic (email) format or a plain paper in the same way as The Rep of Ireland; this would enable family historians to buy many certs for their research at a lower cost" In the Republic of Ireland you can ask for an uncertified copy from Roscommon (their version of GRO) for €4."

Anglesey Archives
The Anglesey Archive Service will re-open to the public in the new building at Bryn Cefni Industrial Estate on 3 October after being closed since the beginning of May.
For details visit www.anglesey.gov.uk.

Gwynedd Archives - Caernarfon
Caernarfon Archives will be closed for one week from 10 October and will reopen on 18 October

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

Caernarfon, 29 September (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Wil Aaron: "Y Llyfrgell fwyaf yn y byd"

Bangor, 4 October (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: David Ellender "Plas Newydd: a home shaped by love and loss"

Conwy, 10 October (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Parry Vivian Williams "Dolwyddelen and the Navvies 1874-79"

Pwllheli, 21 October (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Noson Aelodau

Dolgellau, 13 Hydref (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: W Lloyd Davies: "Bachgen bach o Felin y Wig"

Llangefni, 20 October (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Gareth Robinson: "Billets to ballots: vestries to votes - the poll books and family history"

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.

Saturday 9 October: 2.00 pm at The Community Centre, Park Street, RUABON, LL14 6LE Chris and Judy Walsh: "Wyvern Midland Railway"