First World War – Page 3 – The Melting Pot

David Alfred Thomas and the Lusitania – part 1

David Alfred Thomas (1856–1918), 59, (right) was a British Member of Parliament travelling aboard Lusitania with his daughter Margaret Mackworth and his secretary Arnold Rhys-Evans. On board, they also became friends with Dr. Howard Fisher and his sister-in-law, Dorothy Conner, who were travelling to France to work in the field hospitals. Father and daughter were separated during the sinking, but both survived, as did Fisher and Conner.

Family and background

David Alfred Thomas was born in Ysgyborwen, Glamorgan, Wales on 26 March 1856 as the son of Welsh coal magnate Samuel Thomas of Aberdare. He was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and returned to Wales to become the senior partner in the Cardiff-based Thomas and Davey. This company owned several collieries in the Rhondda Valley. Despite being born into wealth and privilege, D. A.’s needs were simple. A Labour politician had even commented, “There goes Thomas — with the income of a duke and the tastes of a peasant.”

Subsequently, D. A. Thomas married Sybil Haig on 27 June 1882. Their only child, Margaret Haig Thomas, later Lady Humphrey Mackworth and even later Viscountess Rhondda, was born in 1883. D. A. educated his daughter in matters of business and she became a champion for women’s equality everywhere. As D. A. would say of her daughter, “Margaret and I are not like father and daughter. We’re buddies.”

Involvement in politics

D.A. Thomas was elected Member of Parliament (MP) as a Liberal for Merthyr Tydfil in 1888. He subsequently became MP of Cardiff as well, and he held these positions until the 1910 General Election. Although Thomas was reputedly an agnostic, he was a supporter of Nonconformity in his constituency. He even laid the foundation stone of Soar Welsh Calvinistic Church, Cwmaman, and many others.

When the First World War broke, David Lloyd George sent D. A. Thomas to arrange the supply of munitions for the British armed forces. In April of 1915, D. A. Thomas and his daughter Margaret, who was now her personal assistant and proxy, went to take a look at Thomas’ interests in the Pennsylvania coal mines. He also was launching a new barge service on the Mississippi and planning extensions of Canada’s railroad system. His secretary, Arnold Rhys-Evans, also came along.

Lusitania

To end their trip abroad, they had booked passage on the Lusitania. His saloon cabin was the parlour suite B-86, B-88. Aboard the Lusitania, D. A. Thomas and his daughter had befriended Dr. Howard Fisher and Nurse Dorothy Conner, Fisher’s sister-in-law. Dorothy had often commented on the lack of excitement on the voyage and was often teased by D. A. Margaret had also found the voyage rather dull, but as her father was having fun she decided to keep her mouth shut.

A typical 1st Class bedroom on the Lusitania. Photo courtesy of The Lusitania Resource

On the afternoon of 7 May, D. A., Margaret, Arnold, Dorothy, and Howard all sat down to lunch with the foghorn blaring. Margaret remarked, “Home tomorrow! Aren’t you pleased, father?”

“I would be more pleased, my dear,” D. A. remarked, “if I believed that wretched siren hasn’t given our whereabouts away.”

Margaret and D. A. left the saloon and left Howard and Dorothy to finish lunch by themselves. The father and daughter stood waiting for the elevator with Frederick Tootal and Albert Byington. D. A. then joked with his daughter, saying, “You know, Margaret, I think we might stay up on deck tonight. Just to see if you get your thrill.”

Before Margaret could respond, they felt the torpedo rock the ship with “a dull thudding sound.” They were already partially inside the elevator, but instinctively, they stepped back, a move that would save their lives. D. A. ran over to a porthole to see what had happened; Margaret went upstairs to grab lifebelts, and they were separated.

Sometime later, D. A. tried to get back to his cabin, but he found the stairs to be too crowded. A steward gave him an inflatable lifebelt, but it wouldn’t work. He was finally able to get to his cabin and retrieve one from the wardrobe. On deck, he saw the ship overwhelmed by “absolute confusion” and “an entire absence of discipline” among the crew.

Back outside, he saw that the water was almost level with the deck and a woman with a small child hesitating to get into a lifeboat. D. A. shoved them both into the boat, #11, before he jumped in himself. Oliver Bernard, also in the boat, was amused by the “rather worried and puzzled expression” on the Welshman’s face. His secretary, Arnold Rhys-Evans, was also in #11, but had gotten in before D. A. did. Being one of the last boats to leave, #11 was still close enough to the Lusitania when she foundered that they were in danger of being crushed by the funnels.

To be continued…..

This article is reproduced with the kind permission of the webmasters of https://www.rmslusitania.info/. If you have an interest in the Lusitania – I would recommend visiting this remarkable and fantastically researched site.

Merthyr’s Coat of Arms and St Tydfil

by Carolyn Jacob

Upon becoming a Borough in 1905, the Corporation commissioned one of the top Welsh artists of the day, Sir Goscombe John, R. A. to design a suitable Coat of Arms. (Goscombe John was fond of using traditional mythical heroic images and in 1906 he also designed the Fountain to the Pioneers of the South Wales Steam Coal Trade to celebrate the efforts of Robert and Lucy Thomas in the steam coal trade).

It was decided that the central figure of the coat of arms should be St Tydfil, as the whole parish is named after her and the original pre – industrial small town grew up around the church dedicated to her. The name Merthyr Tydfil means THE BURIAL PLACE OF TYDFIL.

St Tydfil as depicted in a stained glass window at Llandaff Cathedral

Legend has it that Tydfil was the daughter of a 5th Century Chieftain, Brychan, King of Breconshire. While visiting their sister Tanglwst in Aberfan, Tydfil and her family were massacred by a band of marauding Picts, who came over to Wales from Ireland. It is generally believed that she died on the site of the Parish Church, which bears her name, having defied the pagans and refused to give up Christianity. Tydfil had many brothers and sisters who became saints, including Saint Cynon. One of her brothers, Cadoc, became the Patron Saint of Brittany. Miracles happened around her grave and the shrine of St. Tydfil the Martyr soon became a place of Christian pilgrimage.

In the Middle Ages a village grew up around the church. There was once a wooden statue in the church representing Tydfil which was probably carried out in a procession on her Saints Day on the 23rd of August. The Royal Charter was in fact formally granted only 6 days before the official Saints Day of Tydfil. This changed with the Protestant Reformation and the statue was possibly destroyed in the seventeenth century when Cromwell’s troops were drinking in the inn near the church.

It is significant that, although Merthyr Tydfil became a major centre of nonconformity and had no Roman Catholics until the Irish came in 1815, the town never abandoned the Celtic Saint, Tydfil although very little is known about her. There are in fact very few British towns named after a female Saint and the association with Tydfil is very special.

The later Merthyr Tydfil First World War Memorial has in its centre the same mythological figure of St Tydfil together with the images of a working miner and a mother and child. All these figures are emblematic of sacrifice, St Tydfil was sacrificed for her religious beliefs, too often coal miners are sacrificed to the coal mining industry and mothers’ always make sacrifices for their children.

The Borough Coat of Arms (right) bears a likeness of St. Tydfil as the central motif. The heraldic description of the Borough Arms (formally granted on the 17th August 1906), is as follows:-

‘Azure a figure representing Saint Tydvil the Martyr, in Chief Two Crosses patee fitchee all Or’.

Tydfil is represented as a hard working saint because in her hands she has a distaff, which is used for spinning. The placing of the distaff as an important symbol in the coat of arms is chosen to signify industry and to represent the proud industrial history of the new Borough of Merthyr Tydfil. The daggers on either side of her head are meant to indicate the martyrdom and to remind us of how Tydfil met her death and that her life was a sacrifice to God.

The motto on the coat of arms- ‘Nid Cadarn ond Brodyrdde’ is taken from an Old Welsh manuscript, ‘The Sayings of the Wise’ and means ‘Not force but Fellowship’. There is nothing so strong as the bonds of brotherhood. This reflects the strength of Trade Union feeling and the strong political traditions here.

The Borough’s Seal incorporates the Coat of Arms and has three circles, each with individual illustrations, Morlais Castle (the ancient links with Norman Lords), Trevithick’s engine (the innovations and inventions pioneered here) and a blast furnace (the industrial nature of Merthyr Tydfil).

The Borough Seal. © Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

Dewi Bowen – A Tribute

by Mansell Richards

Earlier this year, on 16 June, Merthyr lost one of its great characters, and a huge champion of the town’s heritage, when Dewi Bowen passed away at the age of 93. Here his friend and former colleague, Mansell Richards pays tribute to the great man.

Dewi Bowen was a legend in his home village of Cefn-Coed, a legend at Cyfarthfa Castle School and a legend across the town of Merthyr Tydfil.

A naturally amusing man, he enjoyed making people laugh, whether passers-by in the street, his school pupils and their teachers – not forgetting headmasters – canteen ladies and caretakers, councillors and mayors. But he will be remembered mainly as a gifted artist and teacher. His imaginative artistic output was prodigious: his illustrations of scenes redolent of Merthyr and district’s rich and colourful history can be counted in their hundreds. It is no exaggeration to say that no individual over the decades contributed more to the heritage of this famous Welsh town.

Dewi was born on 7 August 1927 at number 87, High Street, Cefn-Coed-y-Cymmer (he loved to give his village its full title). From an early age he showed artistic talent which was nurtured at his beloved Vaynor and Penderyn Grammar School. In 1944 on leaving school at seventeen, he was directed to work as a coal miner for 2 years as part of the national war effort against Hitler’s Germany. This meant he had to postpone entry to art college. Dewi took pride in his years as a ‘Bevin boy’ at Elliot Colliery, New Tredegar and the Rock Colliery, Glynneath.

Indeed his memories of being a young miner never left him. Many of his detailed illustrations were based on his observations of those hard- working men who risked their lives daily in often dangerous conditions.

Similarly, he identified strongly with the soldier in both World Wars, but especially during the First World War. He never tired of telling of his father’s experience at Gallipoli and Mesopotamia, while his mother served as a nurse in both those wars. This strong affinity with the soldier never left him. Thus in later years, he joined a British Legion excursion to Flanders in order to be present at the unveiling of a sculptured red dragon monument at the site of the Battle of Mametz Wood, where thousands of Welshmen had been killed in 1916.

Dewi never refused work for charities. His cleverly designed, eye-catching posters, advertising fund-raising events appeared at local shops, pubs and libraries. Indeed, he and his scholarly brother Dr Elwyn Bowen MBE, to whom he was devoted, made a massive contribution toward necessary funding, estimated at tens of thousands of pounds, when the Urdd National Eisteddfod visited Merthyr in 1987.

The programme from Cyfarthfa High School’s 1982 production of Christmas Carol designed by Dewi Bowen

Dewi rejoiced also in designing the scenery for the Cefn-Coed Operatic Society which flourished during the 1950s and, contributed greatly in this respect to the annual stage musicals and concerts performed by pupils and staff of Cyfarthfa High School, a school he served loyally for 30 years.

Continuing along the cultural path, his work was regularly exhibited at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, while he contributed to many heritage projects across Merthyr and other districts of South Wales.

He took a particular interest in the preservation of the Joseph Parry Birthplace Project which won the Prince of Wales award. He played a pivotal role in this success for his school. The visitor to 4, Chapel Row, Georgetown will see a beautifully inscribed stone plaque alongside its front door. Not only did Dewi purchase the block of dressed-stone out of his own pocket, but he lovingly carved the inscription, including the evocative words, ‘Joseph Parry, y bachgen bach o Ferthyr, erioed, erioed- Joseph Parry, a little boy from Merthyr , forever, forever’. This carved tablet will remain a monument to the creative talent of Dewi Bowen.

His final contribution to the Merthyr cultural scene was to provide the superb illustrations for a book on Merthyr place-names, compiled by Malcolm Llewelyn. Dewi was delighted to be invited as a guest to the book’s launch last year.

But let us return to his never-to-be-forgotten humour, which appealed to people of all ages. At Cyfarthfa School, some pupils with only limited talent were known to have opted for art, mostly for the pleasure of being taught by him. Several brought him regular small gifts of sweets, while one girl, aware of his liking for wimberry tart, presented him with one every autumn. He was, undoubtedly, one of Cyfarthfa School’s most popular teachers.

One story he liked to tell concerned a friendship he had at Cardiff College of Art with the beautiful future actress Anna Kashfi, who was later to marry the Hollywood star, Marlon Brando. When teased about this, Dewi replied ‘I never understood how she preferred Brando to Bowen!’

Dewi never owned a car, preferring to walk almost everywhere. He particularly loved walking holidays during his earlier years. He visited the Holy Land and parts of Russia. When asked why he loved walking so much, he replied. ‘If you’ve spent 3 days in an ancient bus crossing the Negev Desert in the company of 2 Arabs and 50 sheep, you too, would enjoy walking’.

On another occasion he accompanied a friend to see a Wales/England rugby match at Twickenham. With Wales snatching victory towards the end, Dewi insisted on joining the triumphant Welsh supporters on the famous pitch. He astonished his friend by asking for help in order to ascend one of the very high rugby posts. After climbing unsteadily onto his friend’s shoulders, they were both confronted by a London policeman, who turned to the friend with the instruction ‘put the gentleman down please sir’. Some yards away a group of Cyfarthfa sixth-formers were holding their sides with laughter.

Dewi loved music, especially light opera. He was a regular visitor to Cardiff theatres to enjoy Gilbert and Sullivan productions. He loved singing some of the songs in his distinctive sweet tenor voice, often when talking to friends on the telephone. Dewi would entertain at the drop of a hat.

But his greatest love was his family. He nursed his mother who lived to be a hundred during her final years, while his admiration for his brother Elwyn was profound. He received considerable love and support from his exceptionally loyal nieces, Ann and Elizabeth and sister-in-law Gwynfa, while he gained much joy from his young great nephews, Ewan and Llyr.

There can be no better epitaph to Dewi than in Shakespeare’s words:-

‘We shall not live to see his like again’.

The Castle Inn (Tavern Twll), Caepantywyll – part 2

by Barrie Jones

Born in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, it is not surprising that his memorial stone is inscribed in Welsh. On the stone is a verse in keeping with many Welsh headstones and is a Welsh type known as englyn. The verse describes John as a fond husband, a loving father, both willing and generous and that there has never been a man on earth with his healthy vigour, nor more genial.

At the time of taking on the licence, John Lewis may already have ‘retired’ from puddling, the Cyfarthfa Works was closed from 1874 until 1879 and this interval may have marked his ‘retirement’. More so because after such a long layoff the exacting work that puddling entailed would prevent a return to work for a man of his age. Charles Russell James recalled:

“puddlers in front of the huge furnaces plying their long puddling bars before fires that would roast an ox. To protect their bodies they wore long leathern aprons. The work was most exhausting. They did not live to be old men. They got shrivelled up at a comparatively early age, and often took to drinking beer heavily. No wonder poor fellows, for their thirst must have been a consuming one. They got heavy wages, but no wage can compensate for that class of killing work”.

Puddling was dangerous work, for example, Gabriel, one of John’s sons was forced to seek temporary parish relief for himself, his wife and four children in 1897 because of burns suffered at work.

Through his work, John would have been well acquainted with the beer trade, and the reopening of the Cyfarthfa Works in 1879 would have been a welcome boost to those inns near the works. John’s entrance into the beer trade and, the expansion of the inn, may have been prompted by the Work’s reopening. The iron masters appreciated from an early stage that their workers could not stand the hot, dusty and fume filled atmosphere of the works without regular intake of water. Beer offered the safest alternative to water and the works purchased beer from the nearby pubs on a contract basis for special exertions. When ‘encouragement’ was needed for special exertions beer notes were written by departmental managers, so that the beer could be brought into the works for the men or could be collected by them when they went home. In addition, public houses formed a useful gathering point for workers at the end of their shifts and especially those inns where gang masters paid their gangs their weekly wages.

John had a relatively short-lived career as a publican, no more than a decade. It would seem that the driving force at the Castle Inn was his son Samuel. Joan, John’s widow, moved out of the inn and Samuel became the full time landlord. During this early period Samuel’s sister Catherine and her husband Alfred Parry assisted him. Alfred was no stranger to the licensing trade; his late father Lewis Benjamin Parry was formally landlord of the Black Lion, Picton Street.

Samuel married Diana Smith in 1902 and continued to manage the inn for the next twenty years.

Samuel gave up the licensing trade in March 1915, with the transfer of the Inn’s licence to George Rees. Samuel had then moved to number 20 Gate Street. At the time of his death in March 1933, he was living at number 12 Dixon Street and working at the Dowlais Works. Samuel had inherited his father’s geniality; during his time as a landlord he had established himself within the community and must have been an active and well-liked personality, as testified by his obituary in the Merthyr Express:

“It is with deep regret we have to record the death of Mr. S. Lewis late of the Castle Inn, Caepantywyll, at the age of 57. Working at Dowlais Works, he collapsed at his work last Thursday leaving his home at 12 Dixon Street in his usual good spirits. It came as a great shock to his sons, daughters, relatives and friends. A great sportsman in past years and well known throughout Merthyr, the deceased was a widower of the late Mrs. Diana Lewis”.

It seems fitting that Samuel had returned to the industry that had helped prosper his father and his older brothers for so many decades and to what was then the last iron and steel works in Merthyr Tydfil.

It’s uncertain when the ‘old’ inn was demolished and the larger ‘new’ inn built in its place. The rebuild may have taken place just after Samuel’s retirement in 1915. George Rees was the licencee throughout and after the First World War, and by the onset of the Second World War the licencee was Arthur Charles Sussex.

The Pant War Memorial

by J Ann Lewis

Ninety-five years ago today, on 4 July 1926, General Marden unveiled the Pant War Memorial, with about 1,300 people in attendance and with loud speakers and microphones were in place for the event. Pant was the second village in the area to erect a memorial to the men killed in the First World War.

The Memorial Committee was inaugurated in 1920; house-to-house collections were organised and many promises of weekly contributions were made, but due to the coal strike of 1921, and the trade depression that followed, the final cost of £800 was not quite met. The local inhabitants had paid the bulk of the money, and the school-children contributed largely through the many concerts organised by the staff. Also mentioned for their donations were: Merthyr Football Club, the directors of the Victoria Cinema and the Oddfellows Hall (where the concerts were held).

Mr F. J. Bateson released the ground he had rented from Messrs Guest, Keen and Nettlefold, enabling them to give the ground, previously owned by Daniel Thomas, stonemason, for the memorial. Before the memorial could be erected, the urinal built in 1906 had to be moved to the other side of Caeracca Bridge.

The Memorial is built mainly of Portland stone, with the side wing walls and steps leading to the cenotaph of local limestone. The bronze plate centrepiece reveals the names of local men who were killed during the conflict.

Designed by Mr C. H. C. Holder, a curator at Cyfarthfa Museum, the sculpture is a monument to the skill of Councillor F. J. Bateson from Pant and his assistants. The Mayor, Alderman D. Davies J. P., another Pant resident, accepted the deed as a gift from Mr S. J. Lloyd, Secretary of the Memorial Committee. The mayor had actually lost his son in the War, and his name is commemorated on the plaque.

General Marden, in his response, thanked the Dowlais Male Voice Party for “the most wonderful singing he had ever heard”. The march to Pant was led by the Municipal Band and the G.K.N. Dowlais Silver Band.

A second plaque was added to the memorial to honour the men of the village who died during the Second World War.

Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

To the left hand side of the main memorial is another plaque honouring the men who had been employed at the I.C.I. Factory at Dowlais who died in the Second World War. These were:

Simon Davies
William Evans
Thomas John Davies
Norman Ernest Freshwater
Cameron Meredith
Glyndwr Price
Frank Wills

Jones Brothers (Treharris) Ltd.

The following article is reproduced here courtesy of Peter Gould.

After the end of the First World War, John Jones was provided with a motorcar by his father, which he hired out as a means of livelihood. One of three brothers, he had been gassed in the War, and sadly died a few years later, however, not before the idea of providing charabancs in the district had taken hold. The brothers each purchased a new chassis on which they put second-hand bodies, the first vehicle taking to the road in 1919. By the end of the following year they had three vehicles and the business gradually developed.

In August 1921 a service from Treharris to Pontypridd was commenced, with another route to Nelson in 1925. At this time the brothers were trading as the Commercial Bus Service from premises at the Commercial Hotel, Treharris.

We think the driver was Howell Perrin from Gresham place not sure who the conductor was. (pic courtesy of W Phillips and Tony Evans)

To cope with the extra services two Thornycroft A1’s with Norman 20-seat bodywork were purchased during 1925.

By 1928 an additional route to Bedlinog had opened and more vehicles acquired, including two Thornycroft SB’s with Hall-Lewis B26D bodywork and two Leyland A13’s with Leyland 26-seat bodywork.

In March 1930 Jones Brothers introduced a short-lived service between Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd, which ceased shortly afterwards because of opposition from Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council. From August 1930 the company was incorporated as Jones Brothers (Treharris) Ltd. By 1931, however, other operators, including Imperial Motor Services of Abercynon, Aberdare Motor Services and Gelligaer UDC, were running along parts of Jones Brothers routes.

Under the 1930’s Road Traffic Acts Jones Brothers were granted operating licences for the following routes;

Nelson – Trelewis – Treharris – Pontypridd, and
Bedlinog – Hollybush – Nelson – Pontypridd.

Other routes were also applied for, including one to Tredegar, but were unsuccessful, however, in November 1932 another route from Blackwood to Pontypridd serving Treharris, Nelson, Ystrad Mynach and Pontllanfraith was granted, although the licence contained clauses protecting existing operators.

For some time Jones Brothers had been operating a joint service with Evans and Williams, originally a competitor, but their application to take over the route was denied and it passed to Imperial Motor Services.

By the onset of World War II the fleet had grown and had included examples of AJS, Dennis, Leyland, Lancia, Vulcan and Thornycroft vehicles. (It was reported that Jones Brothers had acquired an ex-London General Omnibus Company B-type open-top double-decker in the early years of the company, but that the vehicle was disliked and returned to LGOC. Whether it actually operated in service is unknown, but if so it would have been the only double-decker operated). During the War the inevitable Bedford utility vehicles made an appearance, including several OWB models. An interesting purchase in 1942 was an AEC Q, originally new to Corona Coaches of London in 1935, which gave several years of service with Jones Brothers before being withdrawn.

The Company operated in a livery of maroon and brown with cream lining.

On 1st November 1945, the stage carriage business was sold jointly to Caerphilly UDC, Gelligaer UDC, Pontypridd UDC and the West Monmouthshire Omnibus Board, with ten vehicles passing to these four operators, who ran the ex-Jones Brothers routes jointly.

A single vehicle, Dennis Lancet II (No.4; HB5236) now with Francis (of Swansea) C32C bodywork was retained by Jones Brothers who continued to operate the coaching side of the business until 1958, when it finally ceased.

A Jones Bros bus outside the old Merthyr Police Station. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

To read the original article, please use the following link –

http://www.petergould.co.uk/local_transport_history/fleetlists/jones.htm

A Whimsical Tale

Here is a little story to make you smile, courtesy of Mansell Richards……

Two Merthyr miners in the days following the First World War, met regularly on Brecon Road, after a day’s work underground, and the relaxing tin bath scrub, in front of the fire. One hailed from the community of Caepantywyll, the other from Georgetown. The conversation went something like this:

“Tom you had a tough time at Gallipoli but I had it even worse on the Somme. Did you know I was captured, taken to a German prisoner of war camp, where I was interrogated regularly and even tortured from time to time? I was regularly questioned by a fine-looking German officer, a large man topping six feet in height, whose English was perfect, not surprising perhaps, as he had been educated at an English private school. But do you know Tom, really he was quite dull….HE COULDN’T SPELL CAEPANTYWYLL!!”

Arthur Trystan Edwards

Following on from the last article, here is a bit more about Arthur Trystan Edwards.

Arthur Trystan Edwards was born in Merthyr on 10 November 1884 at the Old Court House. His father, Dr William Edwards, was a School inspector and later Chief Inspector of the Central Welsh School Board.

Following his education at Clifton school, and Hertford College, Oxford, where he took honours in Mathematical Moderations, in 1907 he became articled to the prominent architect Sir Reginald Bloomfield, R.A. (who designed, among other things, the Menin Gate in Ypres), who he reverentially referred to as ‘The Master’, and in 1911 he joined the department of civic design at Liverpool University.

In 1915, however, with the First World War raging, he joined the Royal Navy as a ‘hostilities only’ rating. He enjoyed his life in the navy so much that he spent the next twelve years of peace as a rating in the R.N.V.R. and he considered his naval experiences as one of the principal cultural influences of his life.

At the end of the War, Edwards joined the Ministry of Health, then responsible, among other things, for housing policy, and there he remained for six years.

In 1921 he published ‘The Things Which Are Seen: A Philosophy of Beauty and in 1924 he published ‘Good and Bad Manners in Architecture’ in which he urged architects to respect the neighbourhood in which they designed their buildings.

He was ahead of his time, too, in founding the Hundred New Towns Association, but even his energetic and rumbustious campaigning failed to make any significant impression until the Royal Commission on the Geographical Distribution of the Industrial Population, the Committee on Land Utilisation, the New Towns Committee and the Royal Commission on Population showed that at last official thought was moving towards his point of view. He gave evidence before all these bodies and their reports show how far his influence had begun to tell.

He prepared valuable plans for an auxiliary inner by-pass at Oxford above the top of Christchurch Meadow and designed schemes for the extension of the Palace of Westminster across Bridge Street, with its fine roof terrace and minimum demolition, all of which could have brought great benefit to the nation.

In 1925 the Chadwick Trustees awarded him £250 for research into the question of density of houses in large towns. His report, Modern Terrace Housing, was published in 1946 and was much criticised on the ground that his projected density was too high.

In 1953 he published his ‘A New Map of the World: The Trystan Edwards Projection’, an attempt to solve the problem of projecting the spherical surface of the earth on to a flat surface, a problem which by its very nature is incapable of satisfactory solution, followed in 1972 by ‘The Science of Cartography’.

After retiring to Wales and his home town he contributed to the regional studies published by Robert Hale with papers on Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda and the Valleys; ‘Merthyr-Rhondda, the Prince and Wales of the Future’ appeared in 1972. He returned to architecture in 1968 and published ‘Tomorrow’s Architecture: The Triple Approach’. He continued to write well into old age and in 1970 he published Second Best-boy: The Autobiography of a Non-Speaker.

Among his other books are ‘Architectural Style’ (1925); ‘Sir William Chambers’ (1926), ‘The Second Battle of Hastings’ 1939-45 (1970) and ‘How to Observe Buildings’, (1972),

His small stature, mercurial temperament, genial presence and sharp wit were proverbial and part of his Welsh background. His fellow architects thought highly of him as a pioneer in town planning and as a man who inspired social developments in Britain which won world acclaim. He was FRIBA, FRTPI, FRGS.

He married in 1947 Margaret Meredyth, daughter of Canon F. C. Smith. She died in 1967 and he led a lonely life until his death aged 88 at St Tydfil’s Hospital on 29 January 1973.

Penywern

by Carolyn Jacob

Penywern was a typical industrial village built for the workers of the Ivor Works in 1839. Here was the permanent barracks for the Volunteers. After the Merthyr Rising of 1831 soldiers were permanently barracked at Penywern to keep an eye on the growing town of Merthyr Tydfil. On the tithe schedule of 1850 the owner of the land here was the Dowlais Iron Company.

A section of the 1850 Tithe Map showing the barracks in Penywern

At first all there was in Penywern were the Barracks, as is shown on the 1850 Tithe Map, however by the 1875 Ordnance Survey map Penywern had developed and Lower Row and Upper Row are shown. The reservoirs and ponds which once fed water into the Dowlais Works are situated in this area. These are now of great historical significance, especially as so little now remains of the great Dowlais Works. There are 2 large and 2 small ponds east of Penywern and also a reservoir to the south.

A section of the 1875 Ordnance Survey Map. Two of the reservoirs can be clearly seen.

This was a self-sufficient community and there were a number of shops here. Late nineteenth century directories show that Morgan Evans was a baker, grocer, tea dealer at number 4 Penywern. The working men of the area were mainly employed in coal mining. The community built their community church vestry during the General Strike of 1926, when so many skilled men were force to be idle due to the national economic climate.

The famous historian Gwyn Alf Williams was born in Lower Row in a cottage belonging to his grandmother, Mrs Morgan. In 2005 the Dic Penderyn Society and the Merthyr Tydfil Heritage Trust erected a plaque on the walls of this property in commemoration of the birth of Gwyn Alf.

There was quite a large Spanish community here before the First World War. The Spaniards who settled here from 1900 onwards built Alphonso Street and King Carlos Street.

Alphonso Street. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

The exposed height of this area means that it is very vulnerable when there are any falls of snow. During the severe winter of 1947 a train at Penywern became snowbound for several days.

This village has undergone many changes in recent years; the Tre-Ivor Arms public house, now closed was once called the Ivor Arms. Penywern Chapel, was an Independent Chapel, but it was demolished in the late 1990s, and today modern houses are on its former site.

Harry Goodwin

Today marks the 150^th anniversary of the birth of another notable Merthyr citizen, yet someone who is quite forgotten – the first-class cricketer Harry Goodwin.

Harry Smyth Goodwin was born at Brynheulog Villa in Thomastown on 30 September 1870, the son of Albert Goodwin, a school-master originally from Monmouth. He was educated at prep school in Bournemouth before attending Rossall School in Fleetwood, Lancashire.

It was whilst he was at Rossall School that he first began playing cricket. According to records, in these school matches he batted in the top order, scoring five and 16 against Loretto School on 7 June 1889 while batting at three. He also took a five-wicket haul with his bowling though his bowling style is not recorded, and he did not bowl during his first class career. On 21 June he played against Malvern College and scored 72 and 15 opening the batting, but did not bowl.

Goodwin was bitten by the cricket bug, and decided to embark on a career as a cricketer, making his first class debut on 25 May 1896 playing for Gloucestershire against Sussex (a team which included the ageing but legendary W. G. Grace), where he batted and number six, making 10 runs on his first outing. He played again that year against Middlesex on 18 June at Lord’s.

In 1897, he played once again for Gloucestershire, enjoying his most prolific season. He played ten games, scoring 239 runs at 21.72 including a high score of 44 not out which came against Sussex on 2 August, overshadowed once more by a Grace century. He also made 36 against Somerset on 19 August, however he was unable to make any lasting impact and played only one match in the 1898 season: scoring five against Sussex on 30 May.

He did return more convincingly in 1899, playing five games including his career-high score of 46 made against Somerset on 28 August at Taunton, which was the highest score of the innings, and also a game against a touring Australian side though in this match he only made six. However, a batting average of 12.50 and only 100 runs scored in the season was not enough to secure a regular place in the Gloucestershire line-up. Goodwin managed only nine runs from his three games in 1900, and played only one match in 1901.

In 1902, he decided to give up his cricket career, and in May of that year, he joined the staff at the prestigious Christ’s Hospital School. Christ’s Hospital was founded in 1552, receiving its first Royal Charter in 1553. Although following the public school tradition, Christ’s Hospital has been, since its establishment, a charity school, with a core aim to offer children from humble backgrounds the chance of a better education. Originally situated at Newgate, London, when Harry Goodwin began his teaching career, the school had just moved, in May 1902, to a newly purpose-built establishment at Horsham, Sussex.

A tribute to Goodwin in ‘The Blue’, the official magazine of Christ’s Hospital, written at the time of his retirement describes one of his first teaching experiences:

“He was then appointed to Coleridge A as its first Junior House Master, and the ‘Prep’ was the scene of his first teaching activities. Some will remember his astonishment at finding in his form a diminutive cockney, who had never seen a cow. Accordingly the small boy was sent out to an adjacent field to inspect a herd grazing there. Asked on his return what he thought of the cow, he replied, ‘Please sir, it’s like an ‘orse with ‘orns’.”

The Blue, June 1930

In 1906, he returned briefly to cricket, again playing for Gloucestershire, playing four games that year. In 1907, however, he played six matches and reached 117 runs for the season and a best of 34 made against Essex on 5 August. His final first class match came against a South African side that was on an England tour, where he made a pair – two scores of zero. He was dismissed each time by South African Test cricketer Ernie Vogler. After this brief return to the world of cricket, he returned to his teaching career.

When the First World War broke out, despite his age (he was 43 at the time), he immediately volunteered for active service. At first rejected on account of his age, he eventually became a private in the Public Schools Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, soon being transferred to the Royal Fusiliers as a Lieutenant, quickly moving up the ranks to Captain then Major. Whilst serving on the front-line in France he was badly wounded in the arm by machine gun fire, and following his recovery, he became Director of Graves’ Registration and Enquiries until he was demobilised.

Following his demobilisation, he returned to Christ’s Hospital, and in 1920 married Ada White. He continued to teach at the school until his retirement in 1930. Harry Goodwin died at the school where he spent most of his adult life on 13 November 1955.

Christ’s Hospital staff in 1922. Harry Goodwin is at the centre, sitting on the ground at the front.

Many thanks to Christ’s Hospital Museum for providing the photographs and invaluable information for this article.

Thanks too to Mike Donovan for his help in researching Harry Goodwin’s family records.