Tag: Taf Fechan Water Supply Board

Below is the conclusion of the article about Andrew Wilson which is taken from the marvellous website http://www.treharrisdistrict.co.uk and is transcribed here with the kind permission of the webmaster, Paul Corkrey.

War Pensions

During the First World War 1914-18 Andrew Wilson became very involved in war pension work and he became secretary of the local war pensions committee for the Treharris Ward. Until two whole years after the armistice the men of Treharris Colliery contributed through the colliery office 3d a week, this raised over£6,000 for the dependents of those serving in the war. Everyone in the district gave their services for free and many benefited from the fund, Andrew was a member of the North East Glamorgan War pensions committee for 31 years.

First Chairman of the Water board

Before the First World War Andrew became interested in the question of water supplies in South Wales and supported the Merthyr Parliamentary Bill for the construction of the Taf Fechan Reservoir near Merthyr.

The Taf Fechan Water Supply Board was formed, and at its first meeting in April 1922 Mr Wilson was made the first chairman of the board; at the end of his first year of office he was appointed chairman of the finance committee, a position he held ever since.

He also had the honour of laying the last granite set of the overflow shaft on behalf of the board during its construction. In view of the valuable work that he did since its inception it was decided that a portrait of the first chairman be placed in the board room.

Justice of the peace and proud miner

Andrew Wilson was made a Justice of the Peace in 1918; he was also the chairman of the Labour Party for many years. Apart from serving on many committees Andrew worked at the Deep Navigation Colliery for 55 years, of which 37 years were underground, and 18 years on the surface as a checkweigher. He finally retired in 1946. Andrew also completed 50 years service as a member of the Merthyr Tydfil Council, and to mark that achievement he received a cheque from the Borough trades council and the Labour Party.

A family man

It is very obvious that Andrew Wilson was a great man and a wonderful servant of the people who kept voting him into office. He was so well respected and often chaired the organisations he was involved with but he was also a family man and he and his wife Maria were parents to nine children, one son and eight daughters, one of which was my grandmother Gladys Wilson. They were married for 57 years and lived a full and happy life.

Both Andrew and Maria were members of the Trinity Forward Movement Church in Perrott Street (now demolished), and Mr Wilson was an elder there for over 40 years.

In April 1953 the borough was shocked to hear of the death of Andrew Wilson at the age of 78, hundreds of tributes poured into the family home from some very important people of the time that would have been a comfort to the family in Treharris. Further sadness followed just two days later though when his wife Maria also passed away at the family home in Brynteg Place, they were both buried in a huge funeral at Beechgrove Cemetery, Edwardsville, right behind the graveyard church. I have paid a couple of visits to the cemetery to pay my own respects to a remarkable man of Treharris.