ISSUE 7 WINTER 2014

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Nadolig Llawen i Chi Gyd!

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The above photos are by John Finch and have been made into Christmas cards. They show Blaengarw, Pontycymer, Llangeinor, and the Lakes.

65 pence each, or 4 for £2.20 They can be bought in the Library at Pontycymer Leisure Centre.

see back page for paperweights and mugs with local views, also displayed in the Li-brary. They would make the ideal Christmas present!

@garwheritage

This edition sums up our busy year, some “Garw Gleanings” and a story of a parrot who ruffled some feathers other than his own.

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IN FORTHCOMING ISSUES.....More Garw Gleanings, World War 1 Garw soldier stories and sport in the Garw Valley and the

story of Capten the Pit Pony.

" PARROT SWORE AT POLICE" " BLAENGARW CLUB RAID INCIDENT"

The following story comes from the South Wales Echo of 7th /4/1937. A parrot, which was alleged to have been kept in the bar of the Blaengarw Workingmen's Club was stated to have sympathised with the members of the club when Police raided the premises, and to have sworn at the Police. Following the raid, application was made to the Bridgend Magistrates today for the club to be struck off the register on the grounds that it was not being run properly; there was frequent drunkenness on the premises, and that persons that were not members were habitually admitted.W.M. Thomas solicitor, of Bridgend prosecuted for the Police and Mr Forbes, barrister of London, instructed by L.J. Davies & Son of Pontyclun, defended.After dealing with various objections about the club, Mr Thomas stated that the management committee of the club appeared designed for one object only - the sale of beer. On Saturday the 30th of January the day of the raid there were alleged to be only 61 men on the premises, but none of them, according to the subscriptions book had paid their subscriptions for that quarter. The raid was carried out by Inspector David Richards of Ogmore Vale and 8 or 9 police officers who were posted at various points in the club. When Inspector Richards walked toward some of the men in the bar, they became offensive.Mr Thomas added that a parrot kept hung in the bar seemed well trained in the atmosphere of the club. It did not conceal its disgust at the Police who raided the club, but expressed its sympathy openly with the members - for every time the police passed the cage, the parrot said "Bugger you".Mr Thomas stated that the secretary Mr David Hughes was sent for, and he appeared to be very much under the influence of drink. When the warrant was read out to him, he asked "Who is this Inspector Richards? Where is he?" after the Inspector told him, he said "Well let’s have a pint before we start then".Mr Thomas stated that the Police then took possession of the club’s books, which showed that the total bar takings for the year 1936 were £2,659.9.2p There were 56 gallons of beer on the premises at the time of the raid - and the books showed that the average consumption per member for the past 6 months was 17 pints per week, but that did not include the amount consumed by casual visitors.Mr Thomas said that there were no newspapers on the premises but there were 370 books, all covered with dust, and with the exception of one book called "The Maid of Cefn Ydfa", there were no other books being read at the time.The Club avoided being struck off and the police application failed, but the club was placed under close observation for 12 months. The parrot got away scot-free.

Excerpt taken from “Blaengarw Workingmens Club 2, The First fifty Years” by Arthur Davies

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LUTHER STEPHENS: LLOFFWR ARALL

Luther Stephens was born in 1888 in Llanelli. His father was a Brewery Dray man. Luther became a student teacher and got a job as an assistant teacher at Blaengarw Boys School and took lodgings at Victoria St, Pontycymer. At the outbreak of WW1 he was the regular Garw Correspondent for the ‘Glamorgan Gazette’. Under the pen name Lloffwr Arall, he had his own column called ‘Garw Gleanings’ which gave out news and humorous local gossip. These items provoked many a comment up and down the valley as everyone tried to guess, if they didn’t know already, who the miscreants were! During the 1914-18 war he also recorded the losses of the men from the Garw. Here are some of the more light-hearted ‘Gleanings’; perhaps they relate to a member of your family?

Terror at the Cinema? A realistic moving picture of lions that was shown at the Hippodrome the other evening gave one young lady in the audience such a terrible fright that she clasped the young man next to her in a tight embrace.

The Germans Have Arrived! A young man had such a fright at three o’clock in the morning that he was heard to shout loudly, “The Germans have arrived.” What happened was that the legs of his bedstead had given way and he was left in the middle of the room with the bed having turned turtle.

Our Brave Police Sentry. It is freely stated that that one of the police men on sentry duty near a powder house in a local colliery had an exciting experience the other evening. He heard a noise and after

challenging three times, “Who goes there?” with no reply, but still hearing the movement, the police sentry fired his gun. On examination he found his dead alien was a SHEEP.

Blaengarw Whistling Competition. The winner of the whistling competition in Blaengarw was awarded a packet of birdseed.

Increased Ticket Sales. There has been considerable increase in the sale of 1d. platform tickets in Pontycymer. Most of them being bought by young men. Is this due to the new young lady selling the tickets?

Husband Wanted. Who is the lady who emigrated to the Garw Valley tin search of a husband? If it is true she comes from a neighbourhood where there are a number of eligible bachelors. She must be hard to satisfy!

A Disappointing Ending. We sympathise with the local shop assistant who wore his new overcoat and hat to visit a local performance in order to sit near a certain young lady and was absolutely refused permission to escort her home.

Prohibition For The Garw. A local gent said he was in favour of total prohibition.Of course he was fully justified in having the courage of his conviction but why was he carrying a a bottle of beer under his coat?

The Longest Day. A young scholar of the Garw upon being told by her father on Monday was the longest day of the year replied, “I thought we were a long time in school today”.

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MUGS AND CRYSTALS FOR SALE - IDEAL CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

Free delivery to a Garw address, postage

elsewhere on application, tel. 01656 856091

£8.50 £3.50

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE GVHS. July 2014 saw the 6th AGM of our Society, and since we are often asked what we do apart from collect old photos and memorabilia, you might like to read of some of the projects we have been involved in over the last 12 months.We started with making plans for the WW1 commemorations that were going to take place countrywide in 2014 and onwards, and decided on a series of exhibitions and a booklet, but concentrating on Garw Valley people. A Heritage Lottery Fund Grant was applied for and received, and work started, culminating in the first exhibition being held in Bettws in April- see website for details of others, and for booklet. The Roll of Honour, the names of those who left the Garw to serve, was updated, as the British Legion’s list was incomplete, and a Roll was designed with the names listed of more than 200 Garw soldiers who left for the war and did not come back. The Bridgend Digital project has had a great deal of input from our members, archives and photographs: our Society has helped put the Garw on the map, literally! We were featured in the Glamorgan Gazette in October, and even been mentioned in the House of Commons when MP Huw Irranca-Davies asked for some of our Garw stories to illustrate his speech on WW1 commemorations. The National Library of Wales now has all our publications for their archives, and posterity. Overall the view is that for such a small society we have done well in promoting the Garw Heritage, and hope for many more years in carrying on the work for future generations to enjoy.

Booklet cover

HAVE YOU VISITED OUR WEBSITE?

Ful l o f photos f rom our archive and local stories and memories, the Garw Valley Society website is building up a collection of local stories of past events and personalities. It has a growing gallery of photos from our archive, and even a forum where you can chat about the Gar w ’s heritage. Most photos can be ordered at a cost of £4 for A4 size, plus postage if they need to be posted.

www.garwheritage.co.uk