Bradley Memories

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CHILDHOOD MEHORIES

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For those of you here who do not know it, I fancy ny chances of beconing a poet. T h o ' P A M A Y R E S' t a L e n t I s a d l - y L a c ? , There's just no way you'Jl hoLd me back! what chiLdhood menories have r f or Thursrlay cLub, Without rattinq on people that,s the rub! Soneone has threatened me if I kjss and teLL, W i t h o u t a d o u b t s h e ' L L d r o p m e i n i t a s w e l _ l!_ S o f ' L L k e e p t o n y s e l f t h e c h i l d h o o d pranks And l-eave someone e-Zse to fill in the blanks, My memories wil-l be pure and good, No tal-es of hanky panky in the Round Woodl, Do you remember your Friday' s penny? Miss Dodd's shop stocked sweets, so many, Gob stoppers , paraf fin, lucky baqs too , Sherbet and hunbugs to name but a few. Our pLayqround rn those days; were f iel-ds and the street, Under the lanp-post we alL used to m e e t . PLayed marbles , hopscotch, top and whip and tick, Made plans to go primrose picking To be chased by Fat Dick I Wtth cans we went down Barratts HiLL, To fetch the niJk, warned do not s p i J L , A sneaky sip, a swing over head, Get home, short measure, you,re straiqht

up to bed.

Favourite pfaces I l_ove to recaLL Are the Iittle stream, the batters and the haunted haLL, The waterfalJ, the graveL hole, Barratts BLuebel,l, wood, PaddLing in the AJyn whenever we couLd. Dear friends we have memories so happy, so free, We had a great childhood, I ,m sure you,JJ agree. And how do we know that olrr youth r.s alr. spent? WelL, our get up and go, has got up and went ! Now, we've reached second chiLdhood jt's been qreat to recall, our memories together at our cJub in the HaJr., Thougth our bottoms are crinkLey, we haven' t done badry, |n so glad r grew up in a vilJaqe caLLed BRADLEY.

I r e n e P r a t t , n e e W y n n e. February 1996

I am84yearsold. I cameto rivewith my parentsin old Bradleywhen I was6 monthsold, at thattimeI had2 brothersand2 sisters.we livedin oneof 2 cottages on topof whatis now calledtheRockyHilr. I don'tthink it is usednow. we only stayed i'herefori y"u.,, moving to Gwersyllt'of courseLhayen9 memoryof tiving there,but my motherusedto teil meof thehardships,thewaterhadto be fetchedfrom thi well on poni y capel hill. Sheusedto walk to Gresfordto do her.shopping at Meredith'sstores.My motherhadlargetubsoutside the cottageto catchthe rain water. EventuallyI marrieda man66 yearsagowho wasbom in Bradley, hepassedawaylast yearaged91. He neversroppedtarkingaboutBradley,often durirrghiJ lud;*. hewourd starttalkingandlaughingaboutsomeof his childhooddays,whicf, t kneworuy rreart,I,d heardthemso manytimes.He usedto sayeveryfield in Braotey *"rt uy Jirr"rentname. TheoneacrossfromAlyn HousewascaliedtheMaldwyn.The onewhere"I live wascalled thePenlanField:he knewthe nameof everyfield in Ttp Bradley. He usedto oftenlaughabouthischildhood,theyhadiomakeiheir ownfun andgames, . suchasa onegamecailedJackShowLight. Theyoitengot into mischief,iike someof the ladstoday,butwereallowedto begivenicuff onihe earfor it. His motherusedto keeppigs at thebackof theirhouse,theywerechasingoneanotherin ttr" oart, oneuoyhada newsuit on,it wasa Sunday,hewaschasedandjumlpedoverthe*"tt into ttr" pig you.un imaginethe laughterit broughteverytimeie talkedaboutit. ".'.rpoor, He lovedBradley,I think if he hadbeena miilionairehe would neverhavemoved, everyonewasfriendly.He useto talk abouta family in Top Bradreynamedrhomas,they wentby thenameof NedandCharlie'Patch'.Theyiived in a .ottug" ut trr" .id of th" lun" leadingro Pantmawrfield, They alsohada sisterlnd herhusbandfi"id;il rhem.They big hefty people. He used to visit them when he went to I"l" Ytty seehis brotherwholived in thelane'hesaidhewentthereonedinnertimeandtheyhad a rabbiteachon ttrei,ptater. They kepta donkeyandcartwith barrelson to bringwater from thewell at ponty Capel. Peopleusedto borrowit. If.you_gver saidanythingaboutHoilybushrerracehe hadto think about . it, because it wasthenHardingGriffith houses. Thesearesomeof the memoriesmy husbandtalkedabout so often. Pleasedon'treadit outof you th_ink I havepoachedon someone erse,smemories. I onry wishhewashereto tell you himself.

MARY JONES

I remember GrannyDoddpullingthenetcurtainbackformeto seethefuneralprocession movingoff. My5 yearoldsister,Maryhaddied.Thatis myearliestmemory. I was3 anda haltyearsold. I wasbornin 1,MossCottages, Bradley in 1915.TheyearthattheLuisitania wassunkbya German U BoatandFrankSinatrawasbom.I waschristened Marjorie CicelyVincentSimmons at HolyTrinity 'launched', Anne Church, Gwersyllt. andSusaniokethatI was notchristened. Bradley wasa smallvillage ofabout37houses, sutrounded byfields.Manyotthevillagers hadnicknames like'NedtheDonkey" who livednextdoorto Mrs.Watkins andMrs.Jonesthe'Butter Woman'who soldherbufterinWrexham market. (Howshemadeit , I don'tknow!)'Albertthe Mill'wastheploughman farm.SamandHarry at Barrat's Barnes didthemilkinganclJoeSpotlivedinthemttagesattheWre Mill,(originally thesiteofa WireMill). 'W.W.Wwason allthegates- SirWatkinsWilliamsWynn. pitlikemostofthemeninthevillage. Mytatherworked at Rhoscldu Hewastheioiner andundertaker of thevillage.I wonderwhathisnickname was!He madethecoffinsdownthegardenwherehe hada wolkshop. I remember meandFrankputtingKaUein oneofthecoffinsandstarting to sdewtheliddourn betoremotherstoppedus. I havelovelymemories of myyoungdays.Me,Katie,ElsieandMaryWatkins, Myfanwy Gritfiths, BessieEvans,GladysandAliceDavies,DorisAllenandlotsof ladsincluding RussellDaviesenjoyed playingmarbles, skipping andhopscotch in the Spring. IntheSummer wewouldgoto the'Falls'downthehillattheRiverAlyn( andveryoftenfallin)or - jamsandwiches, godownto DickieEdwards's tarmcalledtheWilderness lor a picnicwithourmothers cakeanda bottleofwater!Wealsousedto gootfforthedayto Caergwrle Castle.Elsie'sbrother Johnnie 'our ' Frank usedto buyhotcrossbunsandlemonade powderandwalkto Llangollen and tortheday! wewentto Llayac{ossPantMawrpastNedPatctr's Sometimes houseandAlanJones. Welovedgoing hillpastthetarmandintoBluebell downJackBarrat's Woodto picktheflowers. Wepickedprimroses in TopBradley inAlderman's Meadow andFatDick'sFarm.Elsie'ssister,Maryalwayspickedmoreco\^/slips thantherestof us.Weusedto takeourcansto JackBanatsFarmtorourmilkandoncea yearweused to seethemenin theirredcoatshuntingottersin the RiverAlyn.IntheWinterweusedto playa game theTin'.Oneofuswouldthrowthetinwhiletheotherhidtheireyesandthenwehadto called'Throwing goandlookforit.Welikedgoingto HannahPhoenix's hillforoursrweets. shopatthetopof JackBarrat's Shewasverydealandsodidn'thearthebellaswewalkedin sowe usedgraba freesweetbeforeshe sawus.MeandElsieusedto pickon Barbara Woolridge whenshecameto theshop.Weusedto poke finger through the our bagof sugarsheboughtandthenrunawaydownthehilt.Weusedto pray"God forgiveusjustthisonce"butwealwaysdidit again.Mrs.Dodd(Elsie's granny)alsohada shopwhere - Woodbines! wecouldbuyparaffin andcigarettes Weusedto tiea ropearoundthedoorhandleof the shopandMr.Jones'doorhandlenextdoorandknockloudly.Welaughed andlaughed astheybothtried to ooentheirdoors! Myfatherbuilta wooden shopatthetopofthe'Backroad'whidrsoldgroceries. Stran Daviesowned it . Wealsohada fishandchipshopinthefielclin thebackroad,runbytheJenkins. Eventually wehad a newwoodenchipshopatGlanLlynwhichwasrunbyJoeSpot.lt wasalwaysgoingontire.Thechips ( Gwen'scousin)toldJoeshewasn'tto eattoomanybec€ruse werea pennya bag.Margaret theyhad spotsandhairsonthem!| remember thatwe alsohada bitliardhallin thetieldin thebackroad. ponyandtrapwhichshe MymotherandAuntLizziewouldgoshopping to Wrexham inMrs.Dodd'S keptintheyardinthebackroad.BondyfromCaergwrle usedto visitBradley to collectthedeadhorses. Thevillagers wouldalsopay3dtogotoWrexham in'DirtyShirt'st€txi. Sometimes wewouldcatcha double at BrookStreetandgo for a ridedownVicarage deckertramin Wrexham HillandRuthinRoadto Rhos andback. havingcandles I remember andoil lampsin thehouse, andtoiletsdownthegarden.lt wasvery coldgoingfora weeintheWnter.ThatswhyI alwayshadwetknickers andneededthehottin bathon thehearth. Wehadfieldsat the backandfrontof the house.Thevillagerswereableto sow2 or 3 rowsof in thefrontfield.In theAutumn in the ootatoes we hadbonfires there,andwe wouldbakepotatoes

Atthefarendot thelieldwasthewallsunounding Hallwherethelrvintamilylived.We bonfires. Gwersyllt ihattheghostsofdogsranaroundtheParkwall,butweneversawthem.Wehadpigsties usedto believe atthebottomot ourgarden,andmeandElsie,KatieanclGladysDaviesusedto playinthem.Elsiewas andGladyswasalwaysmine,sheusedto spitallthetime.I remember alwaysKatie'shusband, thetime thegateswungintoKatie'smouthandshebithertongue 7 stitches atthehospital sobadlythatsheneeded in Wrexham. Ourdoctor'ssurgerywasin Rhosddu. Dr.WallacealwaysvisitedBradleyon hisbikeon Mondays, Wednesdays andFridays, although he wouldvisitanytimeif therewasa need. EverySundaywe usedto goto Gwersyllt Wealways Churchasa familyforthe11 o' dockservice. to talkto Dick'DeafandDumb'at thetopof theChurchHill.Hewasthegravedigger stopped wholived Then me, Katie Frank inSummerhill. and wouldwalkto SundaySchoolintheChurchSchoolfor2 o'clock. AuntyBeattie wasa SundayScioolteadreraswellasbeingthevillagepostlady.Shealwayshada pocket thedogsusedto followheraroundas shedelivered fullot sweets.I remember theletters. On WhitSundayall the childrenwoulddressin whiteandwalkroundthe churchyard, but I likethe c€lebrations bestol all.Motherwouldtakeus on thetrainto Liverpool to seethe Grotto.I Christmas remember oncegoingto LondonwhenI was 14 yearsoldwithAuntyLenaandMother.lwas so to seethepavementsreallypavedwithgold! disappointed becauseI expected Thevica/switeranthe Brownies. lt wastungoingtor longwalksin Gwersyllt andSummerhill. I wentto sctrool in Gwersyllt inthevillage.Mostofuswenito Gwersylh iustlikealltheotherchildren CouncilSchool.Mothermoved'OurFrank'andMaryfromthe ChurchSchoolto the CouncilSchool it wasnewandwellheated.lt wasa longwalkroundthefieldsandupthewoodto school.We because started walking at8.30a.m.tostartschoolat 9.00.Thenitwashomeforlunchofboiledonionsorthickened p.m. mushrooms andthenbackfor 1.30 Schoolwouldfinishat 4.00.Onoufwayhometromschoolon ( a tin shed)Wehad a treat a Fridaywewouldcallattheshopnextto Dr.Ghandi's Surgeryin Gwersyllt penny. ol 2 oz.ol sweetsfor 1 Sometimes we wouldcallat BillSuger'sPostOfficetoo. garden. I usedto callforElsieonmywayto s{fiool.Shehada beautiful Weusedto collecttreasures of buttons, beadsor shinystonesandwrapthemupin paperor hidethemin a holeinthebank.Weput a dodofearthoverthem.Wewouldcheckthemonourwayhomefromschoolto seeit anyonehadtaken them. I didn\likescftoolverymuch.Westartedwhenwewere5 yearsold andleftat 15yearsold.I only likedmokerywithNannyClark.Wewereallafraidof Mr.JonestheHeadmaster. Heusedto pokeusin thebackandpulltheboysoutbytheirearsandgivethemthreestrokesot thecane. Oncea monththeGreenNurse,NurseCornwall wouldvisitusin school.Wecalledherthe'Buggy wereO.K.I hadNellieColliein Standard1 andAda'BobNose'in Standard Nurse'The teachers 3 'Our and4 . Frank hada naughty habitot stepping onNellieColliestoesandflickinginkat herfromthe inkwell.I wasa'talker'andusedto havethecanea lot.lt didn'tseemto stopme! Wedidn'tcelebrate Christmas muchin schoolliketheydotoday,butI remember wearinga leekor daffodilon St.Davicl's Dayandhavinga dayoffin MaytorOakBallDay.Weusedto sing: 'OakBailDay The24thMay ff youclonTgiveus a hdiday We'llall runawaYt' I remember walkingto theCenotaph in Gwersyllt onedaywithschoolto seethe Princeot Wales (theDukeofWndsoo.Hewaspassing through the1926Coal onhiswayto Caernarvon . I alsoremember Strikewhenmostofthevillagechildrenhadschooldinnersfree. wasMrs.'Goody'or NainJonesasthechildrencalledher,Shelivedin the TheschoolcErretaker housenextto theschoolandshehad a littleladderup onesideof hergardenwallanddowntheother sideontotheschoolyard.Theboyswerealwaysmovingit ! Shewasreallynaggy.LittledidI knowthat onedayI wouldmarryhergrandson Owen. MADGE ROBERTSNCESIMMONS

I was born on a Saturdaynight l6th February, 1929,to Seymourand FlorenceJones,at 22 Glanllyn Street (Margarine Street)Bradley, nearWrexham. I was the youngestchild, my eldestsisterEleanorwas five years older and Pauline four years older. Our mother, Florence died at the age of 32 when I was three years old. My father marriedmy mother'ssisterand we moved to 200 Glanllyn , and this is when my memories begin. I often think how lucky we were being children of that era,thercwasa world to exploreand we could do it with no fear for our safety.Explore it we did. On the top of Barran'sHill, to the left was the wood leadingto Gwenyllt Park, wherewe would play and sometimesproceedto the gatein the wall that used separatethe wood from Gwersyllt Park. We would climb the wall, the gatewould be locked to keep us out of the Park. Once in the Park we would hurry across just in caseJack Banatt would catchus. We would continuethroughthe Park, pastthe ruins of Gwersyllt Hall and carry on to Llay Hall Colliery, or Brickyard, where we would pick blackberries.I was afraid I would seea snake, becauseone of tle gang told me they had found a snakeskin. So I was not too keen on blackberrypicking. On the top of Barrau'sHill on the right was the gravel hole wherewe usedto play. At the side of the gravel hole there was the path leading to the Wire Mill which was fenced off from the seweragebed where Mr. Davies from 21 Glanllyn worked. There was a stile or fence we climbed over to get into the field which took us down to the River Alyn, and before the main Llay New Road was built in 1937/8we could walk to the Wire Mill houses.One of the houseswas occupiedby Mr. JoeWilliams who kept the fish and chip shop(JoeSpot's)in BradleyWe usedto ask Mr. Williams for some scratchings(piecesof batterfrom the fish) when we did not havea pennyfor chips,he nearly alwaysobliged or would tell us to comeback later. When walking up the path to the Wire Mill we passedthe gravel hole, further up on the sameside was Bem Chester'sfield wherewe would pick mushrooms,and catchbees in jam jars, illegally, of course. Also in thatfield thereusedto be a big black shedwhere Mr. Chesterwas supposedto haveslept because he worked nights at GresfordColliery. I rememberpeepinginto the shed,it was wall-papered, but never saw Mr. Chestersthere.He was killed in the Gresford Colliery Disaster.Bern Chestet'sfield is now the Old Mill Estate. On the Back RoadMr. WalterTilston lived, he savedcigarettecardsfor me. Next door the Howells family lived, further up Back Road was Benny Jones'Billiard hall, next was Jenkin'sfish and chip shop, then Ashton House,thenTommy Griffiths', known asTommy Badrock, he usedto slaughterpigs for my Taid in Rhosrobin.In the next houselived Mr. Emlyn and Gwen Miles, I usedlook after their baby son Colin. At the end of Back Road was Stan'sShop , it was a long greenbuilding if I rememberconectly. Back Road was also the back entrance to other houses.I was friendly with Hazel Penin, her father worked for Mr. Simmonsbuilding caravans,we would sit for hours watching caravansbeing built. We played in our gardens,gardensheds,in the woods, Park Gravel Hole, Wire Mill, also on the streetwhen it was top andwhip time, marbles,hopscotch,we would be told off for drawing bedsfor hopscotchon the road.We playedskippingin the rope,but noneof us ever wantedto tum the rope,but if you wantedto play vou had to takeyour tum. We usedto go down Barratt'sHill to get water from the well oppositeto the gateinto the grounds of Mrs. Pritchard'swherewe would buy a pennyworth of apples.

As we walkedtowardsBarratt'sFarmwe cameto the bridgeoverthe river Alyn, this wasanotherplace we played.We wouldclimboverthebridge,climb or slidedownthebankto theriverandunderthebridge therewasa rock ledgeandthis is wherewe would play. I rememberabout6 o 'clockat night thewaterwould rushdowntheriver andwe wouldsaytheflood gateshaveopened.Also I remembermenwalkingdown the river with otterhounds,I wastold they werehuntingotters,I did not seethemcatchany.Also along theriver bankMrs. Pritchard's sideof theriver thercwasa woodwhichwasvery manhy,andwe usedto walk,sinkingin all themudwhilstcollectingkingcupswhichgrewin themarsh,themwe wouldberinsing our shoesin theriver to getthemud off beforegoinghome. I attendedRhosrobinChurchSchool,thereforewe hada lot of religiouseducation.I waswalkingpast Banatt'sfarm,with otherchildren,I peepedinto thefarmyard,andI wasjust in time to seeJackBarratt slaughtering a sheep,I thoughtJackwasmakinga sacrificeto God,asAbrahamdid in the scriptures. We would walk on to Top Bradleyandwould havethreechoicesof directionsto take.The oneto the right would takeusalong thepath at the sideof the corn fields (beforeLlay New Roadwasbuilt) over to Pont- y -Capel,passingthebig yew treein themiddleof Miss Blackler'sfield ( now Bryn Alyn Boys'Home. We would havea roly poly down the bankat Pont-y Capelandthencontinueto Tom Tit's cottageon the river Alyn bank.Dependingon how tiredwe were,we wouldcarryon walkingpasttheClayholeor past WildemessFarm,acrossthefields to Dickie Edward'sfarm andfrom therebackto Bradley.At Top Bradley we couldtakeleft tum which waspastFat Dick's farm to Cefn -y- Bedd,or we could go straighton to Pant Mawr fields,feedthedonkeyandoverthefields to Uay. We did this sometimes andwerebraveenough 'Rec', to go to the if we managed to getin beforewe wererecognised asnot belongingto Llay, we would beO.K.,but mosttimewe werespottedandtheLlay childrenwouldnot let usin. If we managed to getin we hada goodtime on the slidesandswings.Miss Penlington,thepostlady,sheusedto call at the shop on top of Barratt'sHill to buy a halfpennyGipsy biscuit to feed the donkeywhenshedeliveredthe letters to Top Bradley.I would walk with her sometimes. ChurchandChapelplayeda big partin our sociallives.I attendedBradleyandOlivet Chapels.In Bradleywe usedto havethe 'Bandof Hope',I think the ladieswho usedto takeus wereMrs. tatham and Mrs. Blythen,andMrs. williams from No. l, Glanllynusedto play theorgan,shewasvery strict,I was afraidof her.Shewasthe motherof Megan, IreneandTommy. At Bandof Hopewe usedto recitean oath thatwe would not partakeof intoxicatingliquors,I did not know what intoxicatingliquorswere,but I recitedwith all the other children.I attendedOlivet Chapelmostly, as I can rememberbeing in the anniversaries andalwayswentontheOlivetTrip, whichalwaysseemed to beRhyl.Whenwe congrcgated outsideOlivet on theday,we would all be comparinghow mucheachotherhadto spend,mostlyit was 3/6d,but a few lucky oneswouldhave5/-d (25p)a fortunein thosedays,We all wantedto be on Frank Harvey'sbus,helivedatRhosrobin. We wouldall bepositionedat theopenwindows, wavingourhankies aswe drovealong.As we drovealongtowardsRuthin,we wouldhavegreatpleasurein countingall the bendsin theroadon theNant-y-GarthPass.We wouldanive in Rhyl at theMarinel-ake,oneof my treats wouldbeto havea doughnutmadewhile you waited,this stallwasat theentrance to theMarineLake.Our motherswould thentakeus to the PaddlingPool, put on our bathingcostumes(probablyboughtfrom Woolworthsfor 3d or 6d) We wouldthenbeditheringwith thecold,andthenventureinto thewater.No matterhow coldit was,we paddledandour motherssatandwatchedus.We wouldalsogo to havea ridp on thebikes.At teatimewe wouldproceedto pre-arranged Chapelschoolroom wherewe wouldbetreated

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to sandwiches,cake andjellies, providedby the ladies of that Chapel.I supposeour Chapel paid for it. Also, I think, probablyan offshootfrom Chapelwould be to sing in MosesEdwards'Choir. Most of the girls from Olivet were in the Choir. I went a couple of times, but not having a singer'svorce , was not encouragedto stay. On Sundayswe would be sentto Mr. Grady'sfor a bottle of pop to havewith Sundaydinner.Do you rememberSunday night fry-ups? That was the remains of Sundaydinner fried up for supper..The meat from Sundaywas scouseon Mondays,Wash Day. I usedto go to schoolabout8.15 a.m. Mother would be sortingthewashing.I would racehomefrom schoolfor dinneq and the scousewould be boiling on thefire. It would be scoopedonto a plate with a slice of bread,lovely. The washingwas still boiling in the boiler. Back to school,home at four, if it had been raining the washing would be folded into wet piles ready for drying in front of the fire at night. If it had not rained the clean washing would be folded or rolled ready for ironing.Mother would still be washingafter tea.How I hatedWashdays.Thanksfor washingmachines. I remembertaking the oven shelf wrapped in a piece of cloth to warm the bed. Dad always cleaned the flues of the fire grate on a Friday mornings when he came from work. How the grates used to shine. Everyonewas very proud of their firegrateswhen they were polished. The Co-op breadman usedto come twice or three times week , our breadwas kept in a big brown and yellow Buckley mug, with cloth over it, in the pantry. The Co-op order usedto be delivered,and I rememberon weekthethreeofus hada pair of wellingtonsdelivered.Divi Day wasalwaysgood,becausewe would have orangesand other treats.Do you rememberadding up the gum sheets? The family who lived acrossthe roadfrom us were Jonesthe Mill, they were calledthat becauseMr. GeorgeJones'family hadlived andworkedGwersyllt Mill since 1851,possiblybeforethen.Gwersyllt Mill was below Gwersyllt Hall Farm, (Dickie's) nearertlre river. In the 1930's,the Depressionyears,people were relatively poor. When we were in the schoolyard at playtime at Rhosrobin school, we would seethe men walking to Wrexham on Mondays, and Wednesday to sign on the dole, and on Fridaysthey would walk to collect the dole. Mr. and Mrs. Stevel,ewis lived next door to us in No. 199,they had daughterBessieand Mary. In. our front garden we had a privet hedgeseparatingour gardensand we children madea run through so that we could get to eachother quickly. We usedto exchangecomics. Mary had somecurling tongswhich were heatedon the fire and then testedon a pieceof newspaper to seeif they were safeto put on your hair without singeingit. Mary was quite expertin thejob and I was only too happyto be the model, this was on Saturdaynights when Mr. and Mrs. kwis would go out, and we would go to their houseor they would cometo oursfor companyandthe hair styling. I wasa bridesmaid when I was seven,and Mary performedon my hair for the great occasion,I was very proud of my wavy hair. Mr. Stevelrwis was killed , alongwith other peopleat Gresfordduring the war in 194O.Bombs were droppedon Gresfordthe previousnight, and the next morning a time bomb explodedkilling thesepeople. They had gone to seethe bomb craters. Our housewasnumber200,butthe housethe other sideofus was 167,andMr. and Mrs. Price Hughes lived there with family winne, olive, Bobby, Lilian and Gwen who was my age and anotherfriend and playmate.They latermoved to 189Glanllyn, I think. Then Mr. and Mrs. Bellis cameto live next to us with trvo little boysDavid and Gwilym. Across the road from our houseat the top of Barrat'sHill was the shopwhich was kept by Mr. and Mrs.

Edwards,with daughtenMyra andConnieandsonBinny.At thebackof theshoptherewasa big garden andbuildings,we playedthere,Binny hada hugerockinghorse,Binny let usall havea ride.He alsohad a very big teddybear,he let me play with it andevenlet me carryit whenwe wentfor a walk. Mr. NedGreenaway, a blackAfricanusedto cleanthewindowsin thevillage.He livedin a caravan at Poolmouth, Moss.He broughthisladdersona trailerwhichwasattached to his bike.On Sundays heused to comeall dressed up in his Sundaybestandpreachhis sermonsat the endof streets,we usedto go out to givehim pennies. Hewasalsoknownfor giving hisrecipesfor curingillnesses. My taidwasdyingfrom cancer,andNedgavemy dada recipeandI canremembermy dadmakingit in the morningswhenhecame homefrom workingnightsin uay Main Colliery.He usedto put yellow chickenfeedcom ontoa clean shovel,puttheshovelontothecoalfire andeventuallythecom would producepopcom(whichwe children wouldeat)anda brownliquidwhichdadwouldput in a bottlefor taidto drink.Taid did not getcurcd,but thepopcornwasnice. I rememberthe'Aunt Sally Man', hehada motorbikewith a kind of sidecarwhich wasthecontainer for the'Aunt Sally'(a cleaningsolution)The containerhada tapon it andwe would takea bottleto befilled. Anothercharacterwas'Charliethe Ragman',he frequentlycamearoundwith his horseandcart, shouting"Ragsandbones",I don'tremembertakingbones,but I do remembertakingold clothes,andhe reluctantlygaveus a pennyor a goldfish. I remember tle'Hurdy GurdyMan'withhis barrelorgan,andtheperformingmonkeywhichdanced on thebarrel organ,themonkey usedto be dressedin clothes.The manusedto wind theorgan with a handle,andthemonkeydancedto the rnusic.I usedto love that,andwe would give the manpennies. Two othercharacterswereJim andFred(Pop) Prydderch,I don't know why they werecalled'Pop' doesanyonerecall? It wassaidthat Mrs. Prydderchwasfrom a wealthyfamily andshemarriedoneof her family's staff, suchas gardeneror coachman.I canrememberasa very old lady sicing by the back door, with a shawlaroundhershoulders andwearinga ha! they lived in the StoneCottageswhichfaced up to theRoundWood, with gardens stretchingup to whereMisslrwis ( I think shewasa schoolteacher) lived oppositeMr. Ted Simmons,Glanllyn Farm.If I remembercorrectly,therewas small streamrunning alongsidetheStonecottages.Mrs. BlackwellandMrs. Shawalsolived in the stonecottages. PastorPomeroycameto the areaabout1935/6.He wassupposed to havethe powerto healpeople, anda lot of peoplethoughthecould.My mothercontactedhim to seewhetherhecouldcuremy dad'sasthma andmy asthma. Shewastoldto sendsomething thatcouldbepinnedontoour vestsagainstourchests.My mothersenttwo handkerchiefs, andthey wereretumedduly 'blessed'andDadandI hadthe handkerchiefs pinnedontoour vests.I neverhadasthmaagain,but poormy Dadanddiedfrom asthmaaged70. Throughthevisitationof PastorPomeroyto theareaa lot of peoplebecamereligious,someweresaidto have'Religious Mania.' We usedto walk downto Dickie'sfor milk, I ' /" d a pint (cheaperthandeliveredto thedoor)We wouldwatchthecowsbeingmilked.The cowswould be standingup to their anklesin cow manure,the flies wouldbe everywhere, outsidethe shippontherewasa hugesquareof manure.Dickie'sdaughters wouldhelpmilk thecowsandthencarrythemilk in to thecoolerwhichwasaboutfour feethighandthe milk wouldrun downthecoolerwhichlookedlike anold fashionedwashingboard,runninginto a chum underneath, thenshewouldscoopoutthemilk with a half pint ladle.Thenwe wouldgo home,twirlingthe canto seeif we couldwirl withoutspillingthemilk, I neverdid, but I wouldhavea drink on theway , so t0

I don't think there was any savingin going for the milk. As we went to schoolwe would call for thosewho went to Rhosrobin School,and would haveloads of fun aswe walkedfrom Bradley pastDiggory's farm down l-ea'sRoad.I assumeit was calledLeas'Farm becauseMr. Job Lea was living and farming Gwersyllt Farm l87l to 1891.Richard and Henry Birch farmedtherefrom 1851- 1861.I havelooked at old mapsbut the roadsarenot named.[ra's Roadwasfrom Diggory'sFarm , it continuedundemeathwhereLindop's Garageis now and theNew Road,now theprivate roadto Gwersyllt Hall Farm.Behindthe high stonewall thereusedto be a very big orchard,thenyou come to the stream.[.ea'sroad continuedpast a well which usedto overflow and run back into the stream,then therewas the sandhole where birds usedto nest in the bank and we usedto peep in to seethe the young chicks. Very often we would havethe canefor being late for school,all becausewe had played too long on the way. Coming homefrom schoolcould be greatfun. There was alwayssomethinggoing on at Dickie's farm We would sit on the wall and watch the sheepbeing dipped,or the little piglets being castrated,oh how they squealed. I rememberthe story of the Tithe Tax' trying to be collected from Dickie Edwards. Tithe was a tenth part of the produce and stock allocated to the clergy. Dickie refused to pay it and I can rememberbeing told put readingsfrom the Bible over the door of the shipponsand his property, the police were there.Dickie and his family went to the Welsh Chapelon RhosdduNew Road.I think it was called 'Moriah'That might havebeena reasonhe did not want to pay Tithe to the Church of England.I do not know the full story, but it wasoften mentionedwhen I was young. I do not know whetherhe eventuallypaid up or wherethe Tithe tax was scrapped. On lra's Roadthe roadusedto havea fork which we calledthe 'Y', left was for Pandyand right was up a steephill, when you reachedthe summit you went down a small hill and into Rhosrobin,the roadwas only the width of the grassverge on front of the bungalows on IJay New Road, by Star Cleanen (Rhosrobin School).From the 'Y' up the hill towardsPandy,where SpeedSix garageis , therewas a Whippet Stadium. I havebeentold that the Stadiumbuilding wasfrom a Football Club, eitherAbermordduor Caergwrle.My cousinPeterDavieswho lived at7 Glanllyn who was killed in the GresfordDisasterusedto racea whippet there,its namewas Black and White Muzzle. His brotherJohnny Davies who died Christmas 1995said the only time it won was at a Christmastime and they had a turkey and a bag of potatoes.Mr. Matt Knight was the Bookie there,he later kept a shop in Bradley. M y taid died in 1938 and my Nain came to live with us. Nain was bedridden so Mother and dad neededa housewith a parlourto usefor Nain's bedroom.So on the loth January 1939,we moved to Pandy when I was l0 yearsold and anotherera began,but I never last touch with Bradley.

SIBYL JONES

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hod no hot I wos born in an old hDo up htso dousn house in Blo'ck Lane, Moss. The house 'lDrrter had' a cellar hoLdto be botledJor bathlng and- usashtng up. The house r,rrter, so coal' Mg Mum and Dad uhere mg Mum dtd.the uashtng in an oldbrickbulltbollerJlredbg usent ou{one dag and mg sis te's usere leJtto do the uashing up' I fo;n tnto the kitctlenJust as mg sirster llfted the so'ucepo;no;f botllng uater Jrom the stoue- Most oJ ttl€ luD(rtefu)a's mg slsters spilt6uer mg irm os I crashed' tnto het- I lulos uearTng a uallenJumper-ullc-h immedratety putled ofi takirg my skin lll/xh it I uas teJt utth a scar ushlch I hoJe to thls dag. we motsedto Bradleg ushenI usas about three g ears old Mg irst memory oJ the tause tn Bradleg LDasa bo;ck gardenJull o;f poppiesIt ysis cotled. a'parlour house'. There uas no electr'rclty, ue hod gas llghts totth oery grate utth an ouen and an openite, and Jragite mantles tn them- we had a black leaded sulng lron platesJor kettles and saucepans. bur ,partour; utas empta. we couldn t $ford-Jurnibtre orJToor cooerlftg, lt .em..tf'"d thb usagJot some ttme' Foi pocket monel mg brother used. to collecthorse mo:nure tn a uheelbartouJor mg mg Tatd,s g6rden. One iqni mg Mum ard. Dad and me rehrned home Jrom a Dlslt to Auntie's. As use usalked through the door mg Mum satd '\Mhat's that au;ful smell?" ' She u.rassoon tofindout. Mg brother hadput hts uheelbanrous oJ manure into tlle Int'louf MgMumuentma.d. 'WeIl' sald mg brother, "lt l.;.llasro:intng and tt rttould spoll lf lt got ueL" TheJamttg usho lfrsed nert door uere catled Rogets, I usedto plag wtth the goungest daughtei. She roas catled Steilo.. Sodtg Shlela dted at a Dery earlg age' The other slde oJus liued' aJamllg called Dtckens. Theg had one son called Franlde' Guersgllt mooed tnJor Wten the RogersJamilg moued out" aJamilgJrom G{fiiths Rou.rtn 'MaSgY Bach' . Theg hod" a couple oJ ieetcs . One oJ the wo .i tn tie Jamltg uas called o noing goat tn the baik garden. We got up one mor'.lng and theg had disappeared, uhere to I dan't lcnou. I started schootat Gu:ersgltt church School uj hen I u:as oboutfwe years old. Mg uery uere bestJrtend. usas MarlonWtlllants. We userefierdsJor mang gears. Our other'rlends Bettg Cheetham, NancA Platt, Gladgs Williams, Connte Jones, to name Just aJew' We crll had greatJin pla1lng tn the Park and the ur,oods' We plaged m.o:rrAgo,mes tn the streets, s,."h as hopscotch, skipplng, marbles, wttches Kitchen and stahrcs. Tlme meant nothtrlg to us tur|en u)e u)ere engrossed ln plag ' Mg Mum used to slaut me I thoughtl heard' her caIIIrg, so Jrom the top oJ the road, to come homeJor meals. one dag oJ I trotted, uDid gou caII me?" I said . "No " sald' Mum' 'Oh I satd"' It musthot;e beenthe GresJord hooter I heard.u I uon't tell gou ushat Mum sald to that' Marlon had a lovetg doll's pram. It |tr/oLscoach butlt, black, ttstth ltttle rosebuds on argue black materTal ltntrg instde the hood. she uras the enDa oJ us all, and use used to uhose tum tt lu.os to Push tt we used to take newspapers to Joe Spot',sFlsh shop. I thtnk te usas called Joe spot 'scmtchings'( little blls oJ batter beca use he hcrd alot oJ uais onhtsJace. Hb u:ould- glue us rerospapers' One dag tnthe Summerholidags, Manonandl tork some ofrthejsh)Jorthe tn blg chalk ortd drelD ptctures oJ spotted,Jlsh oll ouer trte uoodenJTsh shop, and urote letters "BW JOE SPOT'S SpOffeO ffSll' Somebodg s n ttched on us and txe uefe banned 'Jor useeks $terusards. gour we had.etsacueesJrom Ltuefpool in the uillage during the uaf .IJ you hadroom in who house gouhad.to takein euacueis or lodgers. We h..d tf,ee menlodgtng atour house t?

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uorked at the o,mmunttTonsJactory. one |UJ,as aMr. ousers Jrom Angleseg. He used. to go home at weekends, and when he retrrned on a sundag ntght he brought back louelg pats oJ butter Jor us. sometime s there :u,o,sa picture oJ a mtlkmaid tutth the goke on her shoulders d,nd.sometTmea ptc']./re oJ a cotts. Mlss Dodd. usho liued ocross the road and had a smnll shop, had hto euacueesJrom Ltuerpool. one uas called Joe and the other Jtm. Jim usas onlg about fuso and- a haf gears old-and uas aluags snottg nosed and crytng. Theg soon settled tnand.had,ahappg llfe rrith Mfss Dodd. Jlm and. Joe toere Romtn cotholtcs, and Miss Doddusas in tToubte :ulath the priests one time ushen she olloused Jtm and Joe to go on the sundag school rrTp utth the chlldrenJrom the 'Llttle chnpel'dounthe road. Jim neDer u)ent back to Liverpool. He manled a local glrl and" nous liues in Guersgttt. we used to walk past the Park usall to school eoery dag. During the usar use ho,d the compang oJ the Yanks marchtrtg to the Mess tn Guersgltt ClubJor thetr breat{asts. There uere qulte a lot oJ Yonks bllleted tn the Druage. Mg Jrlend had. one staytng at her house; hls nc:fiLe was Joe La Plante. Mg Dad u)a.s a mlner, but he had to gtue tt up as he had. gangrene in hls;fingers through the coal dust gettrrg into cuts. He had the top oJ hlsJlngers afiwutated- through gangfene. Mg Jrrend. Marlon'sJather u;os a coo,l miner too, and" he also had to;irnish through tll heolth. Bradleg uas and still E a louelg uillage. I utll aluags remember mg chj/d'hood andchlldhood Jriends u-rlth uarmth and happiness.

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GWYNETH HOWELLS nee POVEY

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Asmostofyouwillknow,I wasanevacueefromLiverpoolintheyear1940.I remember thebombs gunningaswe usedto runto thesheltersfromschool.Wealsospentmanynights andmachine intheAnderson shelteratthebottomof thegarden,thatis whenI learntcrochetandothercrafts. Wecameto livein Gwersyllt andI havemanyhappymemories of theCouncilSchooland 'Curlytheteacher. Wewentto livewitha ladyweallknewas'AuntSally'inEwoodGrove.I canremember going to collectthemilktromthe'boy'withthehorseandtrap,thisboywasHilmer, whoI eventually married.I thinkthisis quitea coincidence reallyas I learntlateron thatAuntSallywaspresent at thebirthof Hilmer,andFatedirectedmeto livewithherandthenmeetHilmer. Doyouremember the'speedwells'and the'Girls'Guildry'? we usedto meetregularly, anclon someSundaymornings we wouldmarcharoundthe villagesof Gwersyllt, Rhosrobin and Bradley. Whowasleadingthem?Me,as I wasthetailest. Sundays werebusydaysattending Chapelthreetimes.Anniversary Sundays weregreat events,havingpractised for manyweeks- myMumusedto teachusthesongsandpoemsetc. TheChapelusedto betullto capacity, thesongsbeingenjoyedby all. PARRYneeBLOOM URSUT-A l3

Having heard Mrs. Jones and Madge Simmons recall their memories also Joe ChalLoner, ffiy orrn childhood thoughts began to focus on one or two things I recall while living in Bradley. Like t,he time War was declared in September | 39 , At that time I Inras l iving in 4 Stone Cottages and next door t,o the Ellis Family and I recalI talking to Freda EIl is when the announcement can:e over the radio , at that age we knew it was serious but not how it would affect us. Then came the issue of gas masks, ident,ity card, the blackout and Anderson shel ters r these came into the house and were of a large steeL table-I ike construction with wire mesh into which we crawl ed when there was an air raid. Others r during air raids would spend the night under the bridge on the Llay road. There were also air raid shelters constructe'd i n the village, one was at the tgp of Barrats hill where the bungarow next parks to the now shop is situatedr dlso two or three more which were rnown as the pool. One particular event I recai.l regarding air raid shelters was the time my brothe r lvor and Geoff Thomasr whose father was in the fire brigade, playing w€r€ at cowboys and Indians when Geoff who had his fathers fire axe/tomanawk stuck it in the top of Ivor's head r needless to say the blood spurted everywhere, it was only saved by Joyce Robertsr mother who put her hand on top of lvor's head to stop the flow of blocd and senL for the district outrs€r who rewarded him later with a bar of chocolate for beinq such a brave boy. go We used to down worms for fishing and day Ryland Dawson feIl sweet when he came out

to the se$rage works at Bradfey for tomato plants r dod cn one particular in. Needless to say he wasn ,t very of it, hence the little rhyme

shippon "Cows stink in the pigs stink in the sty but nobody st,ank like Ryland When he feIl in the sewage pie" Another time which comes to mind is when the yanks came to Bradley. They were stationed up at Gwersyll t CIub and BilLiard HaLl in Gwersyllt. Tudor's Nearly every house in Bradley had a Yank or two, but not in our case because we hadn't the room. particular Four $ot ones t.hat, I remember were Stewart , Braoford, Gonzales and O'Neil-, who were stationed with Geoff Jones' parents at that time, and needless t,o say with t.hem around we were never short of chocolate or chewing gum and the adults weren't of short American Cigaret.tes. One of my favourite pastimes on a Saturday at that age was to go to the cinerra in Wrexhamr In those days there was The Glyn, The Empire, The Hippodrome, The The odeon and l ' l aj e s t i c . I"lore of ten t,han not we would have to walk there t4

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and back as our pocket money didn't stretch to getting the bus and going to the cin"*. as werl. There was usualry several of us who walked there and back to Bradfey and so it was quite and enjoyable walk providing that the weather was favourable. Lots of our spare time then was spent down by the Ri ver Alyn I with a bottle of water and a couple of sandwiches werd be down there r especially in the summer during our school horidaysAt \^/eekends we were always out somewhere playing and it was a job to get us home at night, not like the youth of today who get teiribly bored and [n"r, say they have nothing to do. rn those days, Iike e v e r y o n - cr e m e m b e r s r m o n e y w a s t i g h t and so the necessities and not the luxuries the things that were boughtr always r e m e m b e r m y "f iLrrs"t suit with long trousers when you h a d a s u i t i t w a s a r w a y s use,c as rsunday Best' and ai that time mosL of us went down to the I i ttr e chape 1 in Bradl ey. H o w € v € f ,r r r e m e m b e r c o m i n g from chapel on this part icular sunday and there was a game of Footbal-l going on on the L ray Road. r joined in this game as Keeper, only to go irving across the road and F.I take the knees out of uotrr trouser legs, r was so upset at doing this., knowing how my parents had saved to get me this suit ' which was a Brown Garberdene, that r rdouldn 't go home unti I my father had gone to work at g or clock , However r ds r was later to find out r this was of no consequ€nc€ r because when my father found out what had happened r was up and out playing on the road at 6 .30 the next morning , because r hadn't gone home before he went to work r ds then we had to be home by 9 o,clock or we were in troubl-e. Everyone seemed to have a rittle job to try and get a couple of b o b , l -i k e herping a t D i ; g o r y s F a r m and Di cky ' Edwards Farm ' r remember on one occas ion , when numerous types of buses ran down to the R. o.F at l"larchwiel r r was crossing the f ield to colr-ect Dougie, the old horse that used to take the mi lk f loat out got the halter ild over his head and as r was coming up the road r when the bus that was passing back fired ind in" horse started to c11mD tne tree. r hung on for grim death and we took off to where now is the Lindop Bros Toyota Garage and t,he poor horse got t'rapped on top of the weLl. It wasn,t long after that they had to have him put down which \^/as very sad, but the horse was getting on a bi t. r went wi th Eddie Diggory to the auct io-n_to get anot,her horse f or the mi lk round. He chose one called Nancy r a mare that was frisky and very lively, and when the aucLioneer was asked if she was a good natured animal as she would be around a 1ot of children on the mi lk round, he said she kras a v€rlr very docile animal , marvelous wi th chi ldren and as r walked around the back of the horse, he whispered to me ' watch out lad or she , 11 ki ck your head of f 'soon af ter t.hat we founo out t,hat as soon as she was in the shafts, her ears went back and she shot off li-ke a rocket. 1

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Later oo r at the age of r 5 , rike a rot of other peopre r was to leave schooL t"ly f irst job was with a Firm calred Ridgeway Engineering, who were based then on the l,larford Hill ' r wourd get to and fro from work by bike and most morn ings r wourd ride wi th t"lr Bob Jones who worked in Gresford, to get to my job in Marford. IvIywage then was 16 shillings for a 52 Hour week. Going back a little in time, the peopre who lived opposite me then were Mrs Boon and her two aaugnters Betty and Mary. sadly Mrs Boon and Mary are no longei with us. They had a leather stall in the market in wrexham and sold a Lot of it to the porish in the camp at penley. r remember they had a big red standard vangard saloon, and at that time there lras onry them r oll€ other and Ivlac Knig ht at the shop who had cars in the village. rt sticks out in nv mind as Mary and Betty used to 9et all the comics that were going wizard r Dandy I Beano r Hotspur and Rover r which we always u sed to swdpI this is one of the smaller things that happened in the days gone by. The house where r used in the kit'chen r orl€ upstairs ' For cooking open firer the mears h/e were out of this world the times we were living

to live had onry one cold water tap gas l ight downstairs and candres ih"re was a black iron oven and an wouLd have from that simpre kitchen and we lived very well Lonsidering in.

These are just a few of the memories r have of living in Bradley up to r953/4 when u/e left, they a r e v ery good memories ' L i f e w a s v e - r-yt i ms e im and uncomplicated sp . le and yet we were living in hard The type of life which we had th en stayed wi th us al l the w hi 1 e a n a i t g i v e s u s i d e a s on what is varuabre in rife, and for myserf stilr apply today ' The simple things , in" freedom to walk around the countryside, friends that you've always had and stay with you, the things that y?,, nring with you from your chitdhood and r hope wi 1r stay wi th me ior the rest of my rife.

GORDONWRIGI{|

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When I startedto think on thesethings, the first things I realisedwas how closeknit and insular we were. I could only think of a couple of things about Bradley. Fintly I rememberedthe real gypsieswho cameevery yearto the small croft wherethe PostOffice and housesarenow built, the horsedrawn caravansand the women going aroundthe housesselling pegs and flowers made from wood. Secondly,I canstill seeTed Simon'ssmall pony andfloat from which he measuredand sold themilk. The float was all dressedup with ribbonsand rosetteswith big cardboardplacardsaskingeveryonero vore for Dickie Edwards in the local election. Living by the Congregational Chapel, and attending the Church school, I well remember the impressivesight of a Hearse,all glass,drawn by trvo beautiful horses,followed by the hone drawn cabs which were in immaculatecondition, and also the large number of peoplewalking behind the cortegeto the churchyard. I recall the first soldier'sfuneral, with the firing of the gunsand the soundingof the [-ast PosL I remembergoingto schooland everyonelooking at boneswhich had beendug up when a gravewas being opened. The whole school went to church on Ash Wednesday and Ascension Day. It struck me how segregatedwe were between Church and Chapel, not a lot of difference to the Catholics aud Protestants in Northern lreland. The first occasionI went to church on one of tlose days, I was in the Infants at the time, I went home at dinnertime and told my Mother that there were 24 vicars in church - these turned out to be choirboys. The school,belongingto the church,made the Vicar the boss,and in the early daysif the Vicar and his son walked in, we all had to standup and say, "Good Moming, Vicar" and "Good Moming, Master Tom." An early recollection was being taken by my two brothers to Gresford Colliery yard on the Sunday morning following the explosion.There were hundredsof peoplethere,and many had startedcollecting for the DisasterFund. I can remember groups of villagers talking, and how the conversation stopped when a child approached.

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As a young lad of about 9 or 10 I went to Ellis's Farm during the holidays, where I witnessed,as a matter of course, the slaughterof about 30 sheep,a couple of pigs and a beastevery Monday. I well rememberthe formation of the L.D.V. (I-ocal Defence Volunteers), the forerunnerof the Home Guard. I rememberTom Harris and Harry Edwards, wearing forage caps and arm bandsand armed with brushstalessettingoff through the woods. There are many talesthat could and should be told about the Home Guard, and it would be nice if someonecould compile thesetales of our local men, if it is not too late. On Summer Saturdaynights when it was still light, my brother and I would be awake when they turned out of the Horseshoeand Wheatsheafpubs, and invariably a couple or a group of men would be arguingand eventuallyfighting on Badrock'scorner before they went their different ways. If we laughed out loud or made a noise,Mam or Dad would come upstairswith the strap, and that would be that. Do you rememberwoodwork and Mr. Manson?His bike had a long rear spindlewhich he stepped on to get onto the seat.One of his sayingswas "Any lad who has not got a mallet, a chisel or a plane,I'll smackhis arsewith them" - then on a Sundayhe would come along the CongregationalChapelto preach! I rememberthelovely long camival paradesat Wrexham,andvisiting the Royalty Theatreat Chester, sitting in 'the gods' to seethe Pantomime. I rememberthejazz bandswhich were around,going out for the day to CaergwrleCastle,Dan l-eno the Magician, baby and ankle shows, sheepdogtrials and the Rose Queens,run by the church and the Cricket Club. Can you recall the nicknamesfrom those days?Its greatfun to sit down and write a list.

HILMER PARRY t7

I util1 .'r*,el"u with the trthinroztStadiun at. pandu. The Stadiun rcated aopnoxinatelu one alundnedneople and the whiope taould be aaced on Satuzdau altennconA. Uhen the whinoet taeina e1.a.sed it tcvZ latet u5?d dA d nototcqcle tnd.chand the wll Qnou;n tthexhamnotott cucli,st lta Jaek Llilhinaon naeea theiL. I believe tln. tdilhinton alao aodein the IaIe 0;..l.tanT,T. aacet. Nn Ir)ilhinton had a motot-eqclz Shop 6 Gand.ozin trl\zxhan (on nanu uedit. Thz Stadiun ttenained unuzed (on a (ew qzant and finallq wat novzd to behind

c'utea,sult t uonbino MznsCrub, now the ccuncit oepot. Speedsix Gaaaae/slto,dr'.oona afte nou)on the StadiumSitz. The lintt time I aaw an azttoplane^u.a at Bot.t"oa. Thenewzae(ouz aeaoplane,t on the gnound,each painted in a di((eaent coloun, theq uune ournedbq the John CobhanFlqing Cineu,s.'l( tlou had 5/-d qou eould have a tide in the aenoplane. Nean to Eaad,leqwaa 9ichie Edunada, Fanm, llt- Edmtd,s u)aahnun a.s a hatd wn, anqone lound on hia land wene quite Azvenelq deaLt with. 1ne qean he had paoblzn,swith the Chuach, he ne(uaed to paq the Tithe Tax. He athed a (ew o{ thz lad's to go to the (anm on tlte datl the police wenz due to go theie to cotlect the Tithe Tax. rlhenun aftlived, thete wenetablet, on which wet.elotA o( eggA, and lttt Edunndatold uz to thttow the egga at the poIi.ce. tile thought it wad aneat to Aze arr the eag qolb- nunnind downthe nolice ttni(onn, a( tenunndt, oe had a ted. odntu. Ae had to pdAAth,Louahl"l4 Edtrw.t.dl,dannttd.ad to get to the nivet Alun, and oven the- Atone hnidqe to -q?t ovei the ven to the RlacLlz4'a Aide ol the aivea. qedrta, pae-uw In the the\e unl venq IittLe noneq, ao .sehootholidallA wefte apznt havino pienica on thz niven banh. Thea.ewould be na.nuchildnen with thzitt nothent, we would have loada o( dun,uoinnina in the tiven and plaqina oaneAon thz iiven banrzlield. l'!ot nanu Oad,,t cane to tit on th.z ttivza banh. Neat the !)ildeane,s,sFann, u,:adthe Clauhole, it wa.,sabout 1'90(t Ceep u:ith a Iah-e in the botton. Vouy;omen in thein teent wou!.ddive (zon thz top o( the Clatthote, a hain-taiaing aioht. uv.Ate(non G4ea(ondCollienu .

The Cla"uholeunA (illed

in a(tea the unn with

Anothea plaee o( inte^zAt tM.^ ttne. tliinl.mill,, l,ta Jcz UiXlian,t the Fi,sh/Chio nan (ivzd. He u,sedto pezl aII hia potatoet at hone, then whzel thzn in taclzt o.caoaahia bilze to hit thop in B4adleq. Thz LIo-u Ne.us Roadutvl not built until 1937/8, ao he woutd puth hi^ bitze (,ton hit houte bu lhe aiven, thiouoh thz nuddu lieldt until hz canz to the noad into Bnadl.eu. He netet lailed to open tLia .shop, in aII Linda ol urp.ath.en.tt)euaed to tahe a ba.sin lon the chipt, thintzino we had none than il lheq upte out intc a ba-a. 'l rtznenbzdu:hoh-o.d the bioazat ba,sin,but I utill not mention namel. Pona Cant.olltA ldthen t?zpt the Chip/ShopbeloneJoe lspotl trJillianA. r8

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Thenz unrLe (oun ,supplizna o(

miIh

in

Bnadf.z;t , Dieh.ie Edwand,s,DigaoiUA, had nilh. (Loata exeept Ted Sinmcna, clho madz a

Banaatt's, Simmona. Theu all 'sidzeat on uthich to at and tlrc u,Ln anci thia ltz attacl'ted to hid bihe Thz 0Id t.lill E'state wa6 a huge ! ield , ulhiel"t I uta.st old LLpAgiven to ?x dol-dizu nztudninq {nom the 1914/18 LNan,to atant allotmenta. In mU doA, it uJaA nQ-vei uaed (oa anqthing, exeent some eattlz, whieh Tommq l&addnoehl Gni({itlza {oohed a(tzn.

l.ltt Gni(ditha

u;onhzd aL a

Gwen.sqll-t. Theee (tal a gupAtl ca,ravanon the (izld, but theq neveft bothened anot one.

butchen at it

Baddnoehain

LaaAthene (on LJea4a,

il

Stanta Shtop,the Manha6 Speneen's o( Bnadleq. Aa aoon aa qou put tloutL{oot in hia thop, id qoutt mothen did not t,hop thene, Ulu Lxe,Le not weleome. Neanlq

I

eve,Lqone ahoppedat tlte Co-op at Gwundullt, whu, the tDivi' o(eou,Lae. l,4am, .s no. 5631, ou,L 291t.. I wonb_ed lon thz Co-on whiltt .stiLl at aehool and hnewu;ho

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Llenememben'5, ttte couneil HouaeauJenednomNo.l to 200. Elaiz Dodd h.zpt a 'shop on Top Road. I nenembenhen (athen, he utaaa (,at man and had di((ieultq in bendina and aettina thina,s {nom the hiah E lou; ahelttea. Tltett Qeot ttte baead in bio woodenbina and h? could nct qet thz bnead out. A.Lao, he did not tihe to aeive thz Da^a((in, beeauaehe had to oo out,sidz (on it. tle o(ten l'teandthz taIe.s o( the poot {,anmzn,s,the-ne L+'eieonlu (out eanl i.n Baadlzq untiL about 1136. The ou)ne^aLlene, GeonoeBannatt, Dichie Edutanda , Tom Ameniea Tom Ameniea, wat auppoaedto lnave made hia , and l'latt Kniaht. moneLtbq bootlzgging in ' Millionaine'

A.menieaduninq pnohibition.

()Je h.new him aa the

pzople to own l,tatt Kniqhta Shop uraa a (amilq catled Powzll (,nom Summeqltill, theq onlq ,staued a ahont while. lihen ll4. lviatt Knight eameto the a h o r s ,h ? w o u l d p i c h u 4 u r r o n o u r Lw a u ( n o m a e h o o l i ( i t w a a , r . a i n i n g ,a w o n d z n 1 u ! tel{.ow, but the.ne waa method in hia madnett, up tcou[d tpend cu4 moneq on The linat

\L}eetA {ttom hi's altop, not that ute lted mueh to tpend in thoae daqa. GzoqaeRobznta uaed to lLuna bua {nom Enadleq to Wdexl,r.am and tne waa ventl eood, ,sonetimeahe would pieQ ua urJon the NaU (,nomtelrooL. Evenqonehad coaL l,ine's n:henI waa uoune. l"It Jaeh ltlatQind, lmr,t,adad, uaed to |eII 'stich.a in bund(z.s, leettted hu tttbben band u,sl'ticlt he eut (,ton oLd ean tqne tube.s. l.!,a.Gaaduu,sedto mahz 'Poo' .

0n Sundaq'a Lcetuould ao thene (o,t a bottte oA

oop 2d. and have it

w'ith Sundaqdinnet, no Lili.ne in t!;oaz Cattl. f.leaBoote heat t!rc Pcat ct{{,ice, l,intttq, in the double {'ncnted houae on top ol llollq Buah.Teanaee , and th"zn in tlp new .shoytnext to J oe (*tilliam, t Chip Shop, r.ohieh ia noLut'nz 'Chineue'. A's a matte-t o{ intenzat, the Poat Cd{iee in Enadleu ha'srnoved{,ivz timea. Diaaonq'd Fattmi,s now Joeh Fettnani't SeeondHand Sl"iop. t9

The BaelzR'oadtnadBq-nnuJonz,s"s EiILand HaLl, next doon uJaaa Fiah 6 Chip Shop owned bq htanul.latthiaa , but it did not Laat . lltt Simmona,dathen o{ l,langeE Katie una the und,entaLz.ea and, the-qe Laa6a aian in thzin {nont qanden. T[te Shop at thz top o{ gannatt's HiLt, Luaalzept bq Mtt 6 Mna Edwand,,s,notrJan '0{,1\Lieenez' . Benn che'stenah"ept the {,anmneatbq. T trtzne uazd to be big aatzd into GweusqlLt Panfz, j uat inaide tlienz waa 1rc Lodae, the gate.s wzrLa.alwaqa eloaed and i(, qou ,aent in the people { nom thz Lodge would cone out and a,sh_Ltoun buaineaa to be tltenz. The people I nememben I'ivina thenz w8.48-,l.latiltiaa, Panna, and.DooLeqa. The enictzet (izld, uted.to be mueh (uathen up the PatQ than whene it ia nou). Tltz Chuachalwaqd hetd thein Fe.te'a on the eniclzet {ieI d . Anothzn noted eLtanaet.zno( the vilf.aqz waa Geonqe t'ne miLl, a ni!.itant1 looh1na nan with' a waxed mouataehe. He alcoaqd uJone. a (awn eolounzd.u,w.:rehoude oveaaLl , 'a.(op' uthich tu^eeaLX.eda I nzven aawhim weai.antlthina elae.. , The onlu Lada cohohad bibea in nu dau we4Q.the Enand,.s. Thein daC dttot,e {oa the {)nexhamTnanaycontCo., and u-,hen he tooh tnirtd to Rht1l, he wou[.C,baino baeh c(d bih-ed to nepaia u:hieh lrc bouatnt ( nom thz eqcLinct tnaeb. I thine t4e aI I LLtenton the euelina tnaek tultenuJeu:ent on thz Sundau Sehool Tnip to Rhtal. ,,t)e had to maLze oun ou)nbih.ea, {,nom. otd {namzawitlt p,Iamwhzela 'Poolt T he aa it ouaaealled, uaed to havz a amal-l pond, tuhenit (noze u)e would. alzate on it. It waa lilled in with ne(uae brl a chap eaLled. Tedd.t4 Jenhin,s. (tJhenL'JewenQ-in aehool 4omeonethnew thz gatea into , the pond. Tlte policz eane to achool , at L the Iadd tDe^q-ealled into thinh thzq evelL 6ound out who did it . The'Rina'

!'-adtaif.inad anound it

the Head.nadteusSt.ud,tl , I d.on,t

be(orre the LNarL, theu Lt;zrLe nemoved d.uninatlp

war. {on thz wai e({ont. Br-ottie Pznt inaton

the

poat ladq , / ive {eet nothi na . She muat lqave u-alhed thoutand's o( mite-t in hzn time. She alwaqa Laoftzlaeed, boota up to hen hneea. T he ('untheat d-elivetu *^ould be tlp houaea nQ.aaPant f,lawn Fielda et Top SnadIeu.

llow to mention, mll eoutin,

SamChal{onet, thz amanteat clne-aaec! man i.n B,tad/zq. He uJcut'.rQaiina Red 6 Gn.eentuita in the 1930,a u,henevQ.nuone elae had blaelzo\ navLtb(ue, !',Qal'so had nleatt in hit ja.ehet, dltene ale ,:till Aone men tazaftina jaekzt,t tcit[i ttnote ytlenta in todau.

20

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A.Lzc, at thia time, aamemen in BnadLettLaone'P(ua Founa', th.eu thouoht ttneu u t e 4 qt h e ' B z e a K n e e a .' I nzmemben aoinq to Gqe.,s(ottd Colliztu aiaten' 's ludband loat hia ti(e

thz dau o( thz zxnlo'sion.

l.tq (niznd'a

ttnene. L)n the pit banlzthene uxenehundnedac (

peoplz waiting (on nuu)ao( tlein neLatived. A (zlLow bq tlqz namz Fn"edLatLtarnatantzd a Jazz Band in Enadlett. tNz C,id not have anq inattumentd , a0 he got ua aI"l tc qztherL, wz ;ae,Legiven a comb witlt tiaaue papa-,1ovQ-rLit, and manehedto Gandzn ViLLaae and Acton, Flr-zd told u4 did that id whene ttte 'to((a' lived and wz would colteet moneq{nom thzm. WQnot q?t mueh, ao that waa thz end o(, the Jazz 1and. Tltz Jazz Eanda anound the Pzntne a,rLeawene call-ed t'Colenao" Bnopbo, "B{.uQ.bindd"- Moaa, 'tr;lltite Haftt" Bnouahton. Ttte aignatunz tune's u)e-fte- "Colznao" Lt'aaBI-ue BeLla L'JeGathen. ,,The Bluebinda,, waa Thz }Ld !,liLI_Stneam - ttSunmenhil.I." ove-ftthe waa Whenthe mooneomq.A Mountain .

I JOE CHALLONER

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Some recoi.lections

of ny Ii-f e as a boy growlng up in the ,Ors. IrE sure tineslrere harrl. for nost people, rhere were a Lot of unenlr cyed netl, and. even the rni-ners who were working, i.rel:e on sh ort ii.ee . As children, we wele not oanmereri with lots of toys etc., so the ganes we played were vsry basic. We were very haDDy playing -cal1 ganes, top and. whip, skipping, an. nany streets vere narked out in chatk in valious shapes for hopscotch. Sone boys also hail bowlers, vhich was just the bare netal rim. of a bicycle wheel, we ran around vith this, guid.ing it with a stlck sliding in the groove. Although it was just a piece of sclaF I valuerl nine greatly, so that whenever it was not in use, I vould park it against a wa'l with the stick placed carefully td lest in the groove. I woulil not dreaE of letting it fal1 flat on the road. or even in the garden for fear of danage. f knew of no-one in those d.ays who had a real. childrs bicycle. We had to improvise with a scrap frame and two pran vheels. rf we r-ifteai up the frane the wheels fell off, and rre c oul.d. onLy ricle doyn hill-! Our only chance of a real bike rirle lras on our father.s if he had one./ Iecause we were too sna1I to reach the sadclle, we had to rid.e with ou! riglt leg through the frane and often ended up wj.th very oily socksl -4.slearner rid.ers this was o.uj.te a tricky task but with great skiJ.1 and deterrnination we succeed.erl anil .noved. on to a nuch raore d.a:rgerous manoeuvre. As we trew, we reached. the pedals by stradciling the cross_ bar and wobbling our body frorn sid.e to sirie. r shud.der to think of the danage we nay have d.one to our manhood! i.io_one warne
perioil,

I nust mention .the terribl,e

Even as a child 22

this

disaster

was a particularly

at sad tj.ne,

s o many pe ople

in

Eradley

some way or another. in

and the

For oays it

the unenployed j.t)

(aS we called

tlontt

know where

have already

they

The roen would recognise

and often

one o!

r recalr

vividly

the change was oramati.c. f ac t ories

opened at

inpend ing

be lls

in

their

and as shifts

weathe!.

vas

Tonny Eel1is a ton

inforn

as f ears

then not

to

grew of a s ec ond

of men jus t d.isappeared. overnight.

hooters

and munition

were blown to warn with

house.

startetr

to si.t

the church

still

black

you c ou*l

hear

coal

then clatteling

to work in coaL d.elivery

which,when

to

with

lorries

on and a canopy overhead. for

Often you would

own having

faces

one of nany who nrovi.d.eci this

of coal

bucket

servi.ce.

d.elivereri, was dronped in see women folk

this

ton

of

assisting

coal

bad

fron

iii.ners

a heap if

not

the road. into

c oal-house. I renember funeraLs

two horses. fol1ow

dlfficult

-

the coffin

A11 the rnourners,

in a procession

internent. 3reai

uasto

but

The c orliery

the pits,

forms

their

group

Soue were transported

on their

it

had a

tlro minutes

There was a Dig f or Coal camlaign,

which r,rere adapted with

sorely

colliery

a.s I

the lJew year .

the street.

outsid.e their

lach

, they were als o b I own together

sone wore clogs

were alLocated

tine.

road

of the vij-Lage.

The nurobers varied,

the sound,

how the

Miners cane hone fron dust'

the

. A . sn a n y a s

point

would blow for

of poritics,

l{arehwiel .

air-raid.s

t o ring

other

toD of

on the f oll owing shi.f t ,

As child.en we knew nothing world. warr

the

of the
d.ays.

nj.ners were on short

d.urati on.

up f or work

issues

at

vas the centra]

on wet

hooter

turn

consregale

the

each d.ay, it

gathered

rnentioned,

to

discussing

d.istinctive

in

were affected. in

was common to see women openly cryine

roen used

probably

20 or nore would. be there

of

districts

the street. l':any of

I

surround.ing

In

walking

the winter qetting

At veekends it

i.nclud.ing

in

the

inoeriiate

WatI

months when the roads

vas connon to

being more conspicuous

park

up the

up the hill

their

j.n a hearse

was carried.

to

fanily

to Gwers;rllt ,ere

slippy

rrrawn by wouJ.d Church for the horses

the Ohurcn.

see youns men and wonen, the latter

lons

dresses,

uarking

d .o l r n l a r l e t t s

Hilr

had.

the Fant i'iawr fields

and. then across

to

a d.ance at

irrhether tney cane the sa:ne tvay back,

Llay.

have been well

of the year for

to the seaside.

J-ike a ghost villate, Rhyl,

taking

wouId.

us was the annual Sund.ay day Erarlley was

because as many as seven coaches woukl leave for the Nant-y-G.arth pass and Euthin

through

via i4o1d. George Roberts could only spare f our of his

coaches because he ran the bus service rest vere other proprietors.

gave it

fron Bradley to }Jrexhan, the

one yea!,

we should. go to Southport, children

knowr 3S it

I shouro inagine on this

the scenic route

and returning

I d . o n rt

in

:Dasr ny bed.tiine.

One of the highlights School trip

the l.-iners Uelfare

soneone decid.erl for

not being able to find

the thunbs d.own and reverted

a change that

the sea there,

we.

back to sunny Rhyll

As boys in those clays, we were more or less allowed to ranble at wil1. Alon6 with Flying

othere I ualked, to :or1:as Airf i.e1d to see Alan Cobhan's

Circus.

I was very inpressed vith

of the cockpit

and waLkerl on the wings of the bi-plane

0n thisoccasion

flight.

given a free flight

Nurse Olrenis (the district

for correctly

c o m m e m o r a t eE m p i r e D a y . HilI, This

the other

side

was in liay I9)9

over c ertain

seeing them f l-ash past, One nore nenory

very

that

Edwards farm cver paying to

raise

road stage

from

the money and there the

tulning

or platforn

youngest d.efiance,

d.aughter,

for

in

Tythe

to

No-one obviously 24

aerod.rome. and. they

f lew

at

tire runway.

rarked the

all

farn.

It

Dickie

the vay down the fn

was as sone forn made a bitl,

at

was some forn

Ed,wards was prepared This

to

our thriIl

Inagine

the Church.

Pandy
naured Alwena.

Spitf ires

ny mind was the dispute

were cars

on r.rhich Dickie

I su?pose.

c ountry.

to

rode to Tern

was a nuch larger

had three

1ow, along

sticks his

this

the

Display

3 shows there,we

RAF only

aerod.romes around

held an nir

seeing

of Whitchurch, when the

in

to which the

cn our bikes

and rode

RAJ'Stations After

stiIl

chinney.

on we becane more adventurous

Sealand Aerodrome when all

whilst

Nurse) husband.was

€uessing the height

snoke rose fron Gresforii Colliery Later

a roan got out

one stunt,

the

yard

to seLl of

of SaIe old

was a his

gesture

of

as she becarne ny school

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slreetheart just

and she was ind.eed' a b l a c k - h a i r e d

a coincioence

ihat

i

have a iaughter

beauty.

Perhaps 1t

is

not

named Alwena.

TEGWYN LEWIS

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Amy in Amy Watkinsand I werebornon this villagemanyyearsago,me in 1921,and worse' 1924.We have seen many changes,sornefor the betterand some for the Bradleyhad no Councilhousesthen,just old housesand plentyof fields. We had Whenit was timeto go to school,we bothattendedthe CouncilSchool. haveto come to walk aroundpast Diggory's farm and throughthe wood. We would would gypsies the homeat dinnertime and witx backagaintor tlgo p.m. Sometimes of terrified go to the Wauns.We usedto be be therein the openingwhereyou co--uld w9ek,and them.Joe Spot,sChiilShop we remembir well. 1d fish and chips in the Not 2d fish on a Saturday.lt you took newspapersyou wouldhavea bag of chips11""'black the far awaywas the Chapelwherelvy wiight us6o to preach.Mr. Greenaway, My Sunday, a on man used to clean our windowsand ilso preachbdin the road them to GrandadWatkins,Amy'sDad usedto sell sticks. Me And Amy had to deliver would we mates the shopsin Rhosrobinand Gwersyllt.lf we met any of our school pretendit wasn'tour truck.Timeswerevery hardand not muchmoneyabout' lf the Gresfordhooterblew,that meantno work. My dad usedto come home fire with the from work all black,so we usedto have a tin bath on two chairsby the had left any if he waterfrom the boiler.We usedto fight over the snappingtin to see buttiesfor us. the For manyyearswe only had candlesand paraffinlamps,earthtoilets,and marbles RadioTimesto wipeyour bum on. Eveningswere spentplayinghopscotch, and skippingunderthe lamPs. Our We used to go for walks aroundthe Wildernessand aroundthe woods. spent picnicwouldbe a nbttrcof water and jam buttieswhich we would enjoy.we at the was manyhappyhourspaddlingin the riverwith otd shoeson . DickyEdwards from the farm as we went aroundine witderness,so we used to pinch his apples it' orchard.Theyalwayssaidhe put the bullin there,but we neversaw

F F tl

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iLLiAIVISNCECHESTERS EDNA,'AI

.)<

Myfatherwasbornin Gwersyllt, buthadlivedin Bradleyall hislife.MyMotherwasfroma large familyandtheylivedat HollyBushFarm,whereJock'ssecondhandshopis now.MyMothers' parentswerefarmers,andbelorecomingto BradleytheylivedbetweenRhosandPenycae. My Fatherwasa blacksmith by trade,andworkedat variouscollierieslocally.Myparentsdecided to leaveBradleyto keepa publichousein MineracalledTheVictoriaVaults,andthisis where mybrother GeraldandI wereborn.NotlongafterI hadstartedat Mineralnfantsschoolwemoved backto Bradley, asitwastheDepression andbusiness inthepubhadgonedownbadly. Welived nextdoorwasa MissAliceLewis,a teacheratthechurchschoolwholived in4 WillowCottages, withherelderlymother.MyGrandmother andmyUnclelivedin Number1,theendcottage.Next at GlanLlyr FarmwasMr.andMrs.TedEdwards., Acrossthe roadfromus livedtwobachelor TedandHerbertSimmons,I thinktheywereunclesof MadgeandKate.Theyhada brothers, hugeorchard withappleandpeartrees.Theorchardrantromtheirfrontdoorto wherethehouses Totheleftof ourhousestoodthree arenow,andasfaraswherethePostOfficeis nowsituated. theShawsandthePrytherch's, oldhouses, theBlackwell's thelatterwerecalled'Pops',I don't knowthereasontorthis.Ourhousewasa twoup ,twodown,withanoldblackpolishgrate,coal fire,anovenanda boilertheothersideforourhotwater.Wehadnobathroom, sowehadto use fire. tin bath in front of the a I attendedGwersylltCouncilSchool.The teachersweregreat.Mr. Joneswas the Headmaster, theteachersI remember beingMissFfoukes, MissTaylor,MarthaRoberts, Jenny MaudThomas,DickHughesandCurlyRoberts.I alsoremember NurseBosworth, we usedto callherNittyNora,becauseshewouldlookin ourhair,earsandneck.We usedto likegoingto woodwork lessons, astherewasalwaysa nicebigfireinthegrate.Mr.Manson wasthewoodwork teacher. Helivedin Rhosddu andusedto bikeitto school.Hewasa nicemananda bitreligious. Onedayoneladsmearedglueoverhisbicycleseat,andanotherpeedin theglue.Heusedto chaseusaroundwitha malletor chisel!. Aboutthistimemybestfriends wereGlynEdwards, DonaldPlattandEmrysLewis.None ol us hadbikesin thoseda)rs,we usedto playmarbles,ballandtopandwhip. Weseemedto have hotsummers andwe wouldgoforwalksdownpastDickyEdwards's andplaybytheriver. As I gotolderI wouldhelpoutat myuncleandaunt'sfarm,HollyBushfarm.OnSaturday andSundaymorningslwouldtakelotsof cansof milkto deliverbyhand,butinthecoldweather thecanusedto cutintoyourfingers.I likedit betterwhenmyuncleandI delivered the milkby horseandtrap.Sometimes itwasawfulasthehorsewouldbreakwindsomuchitwouldblowyour hatoff ! At thattimetherewasa wellat thebottomof thefield.I do notknowif it is stillthere. I remember mybrotherGeraldbreakinghisthighbyjumpingovera ropeby Mr.Knight'sshop. Hewasin hospitalwithhislegin tractionfor quitea longtime. Soonafterthis timethewarstartedandso didthe rationing, butwe neverwentshortat home,as mymotherwasa goodcookandkepta goodtable. OnSundaysourfamilyattendedGwersyllt Church. gasmasktrainingat school,theUayNewRoadbeingbuiltandCrosville I alsoremember busesrunningon gasbecauseof petrolshortages. Myparents boughtme a pianoandI wentto Mrs.EdithPridding for lessons, shestilllivesin the samehousein Rhosrobin. Lateron I continued the pianowithMr.TrevorEvanswhotaughtat theoldchurchhousein RegentStreet,Wrexham. I leftschoolat 14 andundertooka7 yearapprenticeship withMr. Kaltonthe Dentistin RegentStreet.Mypaystartedat 5 shillingsa week.At the endof myapprenticeship I did my National ServicewiththeRoyalArmyDentalCorps.at Aldershott. moreor lessinthe I remained -sameprofession untilmyretirement someyearsago E R I CN I G E LR O G E R S 26

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The first memories I have as a child living in Bradley are lying in bed in the early hours of the morning and listening to the colliers walking past our house' the clogs on their feet making an echo on the road. They were going to wait for Tommy Bellis's lorry to take them to the pit. At ten to five in the morning a hooter would sound, and again at five o'clock. Most of the men and boys worked in the mines then. A common sight was coal dropped by the gates of the colliers and very often the wives would barrow it into the coal house. My sister Kitty used to want to go out to play around the gas lamp by Granny Chester's house,this is where all the young ones seemedto gather.There would be Tecwyn Lewis, Jack Roberts, from by the bus ring, Mary Lewis and one other girl, I think her name was Elenor, but poor Kitty would have to tag me along. She would sit me on granny Chester'swall, or they would go down to Joe Spot's chip shop and leave me with Jack's young brother sitting on the fat boxes in the chip shop. we had a very happy time at home, my brothers owen and Geof along with my dad would play darts or snooker, we had a small table and I recall all the furniture being pushed to one side for them to play. My mum frequently played the piano and we would gather round her to sing. The War startedand things changed.The first year of the war my Dad insistedwe sleepunder the stairs at the Council school in Gwersyllt. My grandmother was caretakerthere at the time, and they thought we would be saferthere if bombs were dropped. Some other people usedto take their farnilies to sleepunder the bridge on the Llay New Road,especiallyif there were warningsof air raids. Shordy after my dad got killed, not by bombs, but bY a bus. I rememberthe railings that went around the village circle by the bus stop being removed for the war effort, alongwith any iron that could be collectedfrom gates,etc.We usedto haveblue stripsof masking tap€ criss crossedover the windows to saveglass splintering in any blasts, and of coursewe all had to have blackoutson the windows. The double deckerbusesusedto have a trailer with gasat the back, becauseof the petrol shortage. This usedto smell dreadful. They also had what looked like a venetianblind over the headlightsto stop the light rays shining upwardsto attractenemy aircraft. During the war everyonehelpedeachother.My mum would exchangeour sugarrationfor soapwit} Mrs. Harry Davies. Most people had their own chickens, so you would exchangeeggsfor some other commodity. Then therewere the regularconcertsin the old billiard hall. Mr. Knight would come to our housewith a trailer to take the piano to the hall. My mum would play it, and Mr. Knight would do monologues,a favouritewas'BurlingtonBertie'.Mary Taylor would play herviolin, and Violet Meacockwould sing. She had a voice like Judy Garland. Rationingbroughtlots of problems,and in particular if your feet grew quickly and you needednew shoes.About every six monthsa personfrom one of the Departmentswould come to school to measure ourfeet.Ifthey hadgrownfastyou would getextracoupons.Mum usedto sayto me "Pushyour feetforw ard so as to qualify, but I was never lucky enough,I'm only a size 3 now. Muriel Wynne' my friend, always got them. Most days I played with Muriel, and something that sticks in my mind is sitting watching Muriels' Dad in the gardenshedcutting men'shair . just started We would go for picnics down by the little streamon the New Road.One day we had

paddlingandmakinglots of noisewhen Dickie Edwardsappeared from underthe bridge,he shouted "Wheredo you think you are,in bloodyBlackpool?"We wereso afraidof him we ranfor our lives. Otherfamiliar sightswerethe navy blue fever ambulancearoundthe village. Scarletfever and diptheriawerevery commonthen.Also a Mr. Edwardsfrom Rhosrobinusedto comeroundtwice a week to collectanddeliverwetbatteries for thewireless.Thiswasbeforepeoplechangedfrom gasto electricity. Then therewastlte window cleanerMr. Greenaway.I wasa bit dubiousof him becausehe was colouredandcolouredpeoplewerevery uncommonthen.TherewasMr. RooneyandMr.Povey theroad men.You wouldalwaysseethemwhenyou werewalkingto school.Theyalwayshada wordwith youas you passed. Miss BeattiePenlingtonwasthe Postl,ady all throughmy childhood.Shewould walk up to Top Bradleyanddownto thewiremill andit was a long way carryinga heavypostbag. AnotherhighlightwastheBradleyChapelAnniversary.This wouldtakeplacethelasttwo Sundays in June.All thechildrenfrom theSundaySchoolwouldtakepartrecitingverseandsinging,andwould be dressedin theirbestclothes.Thentheywould be rewardedwith a SundaySchooltrip to Rhyl. NurseBoswellwastheNune, I think shedid all of theareaasclinic nurseandschoolnurse.Nitty Norashewascalled,poorwoman,shewasn'tin thefront line whenlookswerehandedout. ThentherewastheSchoolBoardman.If you wereawayfrom schoolfor morethanfour daysyou wouldgeta bluenote.Failureto respondto this would resultin theBoardmanbeingaround. He would put thefearof Godinto you. Therewerelots of girlsin our road,Mary andConnieEllis thetwins,Mary andBetty Boon,Beryl andMargaretChallinor.We all usedto play in the road.It wassafe,nobodyhadcarsin thosedays.We would play hopscotchandgetinto troublefor chalking on the pavement,andtop andwhip. We would see whocouldmakethebestpatternontheheadof thetop whenit wasspinning.It wouldgavea kaleidoscope effect.Skippingwasanotherfavourite,chantingrhymesaswe skipped.We playedball on thewallsuntil we drovemy mumcrazywith thecontinualthumpingyou couldhearin thehouse. Wehadhve shopsin Bradley.TherewasDodd'sshopaswe calledit. Mr. Doddwasa naggyold devil. I remember Ceof my brothersendingmy otherbrotherGeraldin for a pennyworthof creamedturnips.I cantell you he cameoutfasterthanhe went in! 'Ned Fart'ashe calledhim chasedhim with a stick. StanDavieswasanothercharacter. If you hadn'tgot theright money, he wouldn'tserveyou. Mrs. JonestheTop Shopsoldeverythingyou could think of, from knicker elasticto paraffin oil. She wassonosyandwouldgrill you aboutall your family beforeyou left theshop. I wasa memberof theGreenwoods. I think it musthavebeensimilarto theGuides.It wasthejunior part of theGuildry.Mrs.Edwardsfrom theMansein Gwersylltusedto takeus,alongwith Mrs.Griffithsfrom the Mold Road,Gwersyllt.This wasattachedto the Congregational chapel.

JOYCEHANMER neeROBERTS

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I attended the Infants' School in Gwersyllt known as the Council School. The only teachers I remember there were Mtss Maloney and Mlss Belton. If it was ratnlng hea\5/, and I must adrrit it rained a lot Ie Wales, my mother would keep me at home , then on going back to school, Miss Maloney would call me up and say "He must be a sugar baby - afraid of the rain!". Certatnly I must have been well looked after, because I had to wear leather legglngs whlch were fastened wlth a row of small buttons up the slde, and a rubber ralncoat complete with sou'wester. Occasionally I must have got illto trouble at school, because I remember getting caned wtth a ruler across my hand by Miss Belton, the Headmlstress. It certainly hurt. In this school we had a brass band - at least we had the lnstruments. They did not teach us muslc, but as a member of the band I played the qrmbals and really enJoyed lt. They also had a ma54role whtch would be set up inside the school. We would then have to dance around it makfng patterns with the tapes until they were plalted around the pole. After chapel on Sundays the whole village seemed to go for a walk - normally throug;h the Round Wood . Ifyou as chtldren were on your own and got a llttle boisterous, as we sometlmes dld, someone would always call in at home and report you. You were always asked at home what the text was for that service and you were expected to remember it. At the chapel Anniversar5r we would normally have to reclte ftom memory long passag;es of scrtpture, or stng a hymn or song. At a rehearsal for one of these Anniversary Servtces there was a glrl called Dtlys Vaughan Hughes who had a lovely contralto voice .She was shglng when three of us boys Jolned in with her to stng a klnd of descant. It obvlously sounded good as tlley all wanted us to do it at the Servlce, but we must have been really awkward because we said nol A special day was Whlt Sunday, when we always had somethtng new to wear, and Heaven help you tf you got your clothes dlrty. I was wearing a new pair of boots one day, and that same day I went down to Dlckte Edward's farm, and helped them get the cattle fur for mtlklng. I was standtng Just outside the shippon when some cows came rushtng out, and I stepped back, havtng forgotten there was a drop there of a couple of feet tnto the area where the cow muck was thrown from the shtppon. I went into lt and was stuck. The manure came up to my knees, everyone was laughlng and I was hauled out, stlll covered in manure. I scraped ofi as much as I could, but lt was qulte obvlous where I had been as you could smell lt as well as see it - I was ln trouble again! As a boy I had no partlcular hobbies. I llked readtng and also enjoyed maklng games with wood, that is bagatelle and draughts. During the day I would pl,ay wrth friends, they would be immedtrate neig;hbours at first, then as I got older the clrcle spread to further parts of Bradley, then to the next vtllages. In school, howwer you played wtth dlfferent ones. Boys dld not normally play wlth the glrls, certainly not at school where you were strictly segre$ated for plaJrtrme, There were tlme however when boys and glrls dtd play together, wtth sptnning tops in thelr season or with hoops, these could be just hoops of iron or bicycle wheels whlch were wlth or without spokes. You would propel them along with a stlck and run wlth them. The sklll was trytuxgto hrrn corners at speed without slowrng down. Normally the girls would play thelr own games; skippfng, tag, ball, house or even hospital. The boys would be playtng football, cricket, cltrnbin€ trees, and then the tag would go on all svgl the vtlage. You had other games whlch came ln their season, like conkers and marbles. One game we played and pa.rttcul,arly sulted to the blackout during World War TWo was called 'Sound Your Echo' One boy would run offand then shout' Sound your echo'. Ttre one who was 'tf would then try to track them down by shouting out and then answerleg. It was a game that could go on for hours. A lot of memortes go through the war. The day it started, I was walking along the

road towards Gwersyllt, e4pectlng to see the Gerrrans come over in an aeropliane, whlle our men stood on the ground with rifles fuing at the planes - eight year old boys had very funny ideas! They built an alr rald shelter across the road from my home, now the chip shop. It was a blast shelter really. Then everyone was issued wlth gas masks which we were oq)ected to carry at all ttrnes. There were identt$r cards , and I have noUced that the number you were given on that card is now our Naflonal Health number. My father was a member of the Home Guard. He had been in the T.A. until l93g as a corporal, because of thts they made htrn a corporal in the Home Guard, mainty , I think because he was the only one familrar vrith the Lewis Gun. He brought home wtth hirn all his training pamphlets , and having read them that often I knew them off b5r heart. There was a tale of one man who was shot and lctlled b5rone of the Home Guard patrols. My father refused to talk about ttrls and we heard nothing more. All the men who were not ln the services were expected to jotux some part of the cMl defence. I remember seetng some of the A.R.P., especially at night when they came around checking that no ligf,rts were showing, but the group I remember most were re Home Guards . They had one of their flrst parades opposite our house, and tt rea$ dtd look llke Dad's Army! They were in denlms which always looked awful, they had armbands which satd L.D.v. - Local Defence Volunteers, but no weapons. They came later as did the unlforrns, they also changed their name to Home Guard. Regular arrry instructors came to tratn them, but ttrese old boys in the Home Guard were elther too old or were unfit and they did not Ilke being chased over flelds and assault courses. I heard qulte a few grumbles about these instructors chasing old men over the fields. some people in the vlllage appeared to b€ more important then others. These were the local shopkeepers, Mr. Matt lfuight, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Jones and Mrs. Boot, the local policemen, Mr. Jones, farmers Dickie Edwards, Mr. Diggory and Stan Chesters. Then there were the teachers, the Minister and the Headmaster, Frank Jones. The Headmaster was the only one you called 'sir', because he lnslsted on it. He was also the officer tn charge of the Home Guard, and when lt came to p.T. tlme at school he would take all the boys and give them drlll. At one tirne he also pointed out that not on\r were we to call hirn sir, but lf we passed hirn in the street we were to salute him (shades of Dad's Arml) My father found out about this and went mad, I was gtven strlct instrucuons not to salute the Headmaster, and I think the whole thing died a death. On the day they announced that the war in Europe was over there were great celebrauons in the village. They all seemed to gather on the juncflon opposite Knight,s shop. Someone brou$ht a radiogram onto the street, and everyone started danclng aJrd singrng. The whole village seemed to be having a great ttme. Food was broug$t put and sometine it wasjust cake or some cheese rolls, others brought out drinks and lemonade for the youngsters. Then a little later the Blackout restrlctions were llfted and shops were allowed to have neon lighting to advertise thelr businesses. I remember going into town one evening and thought lt most unusual to see some of the shops lit up. The neon lights at the time were very simple, but to me they seemed wonderful.

LT. COLONEL J. ROBINSON - COLCHESTER

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I wasbornonMay30th1933,theonlydaughter of JaneandRobertHughesandchristened Dilys Vaughan Hughes. Vaughan wasmymother's maidenname.Mymotherwasaged38whenI was born,andmyfather5 yearsolder.We livedat 22 GlanLlyn,Bradleyat thattime. Mymotherwantedto namemeGwynneth, butpriorto mebeingbornshewasworkingin service inBolton. Whiletheresheattended chapelandmacte friendswithUlyJones,whoseparents came fromCefnMawr.OntheactualdaythatI wasborn,Lilycameto visitandsaidto mymother. ,'lf youcallherDilys,I willbuythepram."Needless to say,mymothertookherup ontheoffer! I wasfourwhenwe movedhouseto 181,Glanllyn, nowno.9 Heol- y - Wal.I canjust remember thiseventandbeingveryexcitedat theprospect of havinga largegarden,complete withfruittrees blackcurrants andraspberries. Looking back,I can'tforthelifeof meunderstand whywe hada largegarden,becausemyfatherwasa veryreluctant gardener, infacthe hated it !The loveof hislifewasfishing,usuallyin theRiverAlyn.ln facthewasknownin thevillage As soonas he gothomeafterworkinga shiftat UayMaincolliery,he as'BobtheFisherman'. wouldbeofffishing,notretuming tillit wasdark.Asa childI canremember lyingawakeat night, - I waswoniedincasehefellin.Wealwayshadplentyof troutinthose listening forhisfootsteps days. I attended Gwersyllt Councilschool.Myfriends wereBettyFisher( wholived2 doorsaway) BerylLloydandAliceMayWilliams.Onmyfirstdaylwastakenthereby BerylLloyd'smum,I don't knowwhymyownmumdidn'ttakeme! Atterthefirstdaywewereonourown,noschoolshuttle serviceinthosedays.MissMaloney wasourteacherinthe'Babies' classandt dislikedherfrom dayoneI I waswalkinghomef romschoolonedaywithmyf riends,andwegotasfarasthecottages whereNigel andGeraldRogersoncelMed.Therewasawall infrontof thecottageswhichhad spikedrailings, weusually climbedupandwalkedalongthem.Onthisparticular day,BettyFisher slippedandtellontooneofthespikes,it wentintoherarmpit.I ranastastas I couldtofetchher Mum,sheinturncalledforMr.BobJones,theambulance man.Shewastakento hospital to have it stitchedandshesufferedbadlyfor fewweeksafterthat I attended Bradley Congregational chapel,SundaySchoolat2 p.m.andEvensong at6 p.m. TheSuperintendent wasMr.FredJones.All hisfamilywereinvolved. SonCyrilanddaughter Fredaplayedtheorganandthe piano.Approximately onehundredchildrenattendedin those days,because for regularattendance at SundaySchool,youqualified for a freebustripevery year,usuallyto Rhylor Llandudno. We hadan Anniversary Serviceeveryyearwhenwe entertained the congregation with songs,poemsscripture readings etc.Wehada makeshift stageforthisevent.The'baby'chairs wereat thefrontof thisstage, largernext,thenformsat thebackfor thetallestof us.Allvery unstable! Theboyswhostoodon theformsbehindus, in particularGordonandlvorWright, JimmyRobinson andRonRoberts usedto pushusto makeourformwobble,hopingit would collapse duringtheservicel We hadan annualScripture examination too,it included allthe Wrexham areachapels. Forthesewehadscripture lessons twicea weekto slartwith,thenevery nightastheexamdrewcloser.Wewerereallykeento passbecausewe didn'twantto letMr. FredJonesdown.HeandMr.GlynTrevorgaveupmuchof theirsparetimefortheChapeland thechildren of Bradley. I stillhavea bibledated19€ forpassing thisexam.lt is inscribed'The Denbighshire Sunday SchoolScripture Examination.' Therewasa manlivingnearus calledWilliams wasFarmer.Oneday buthisnickname whilstplaying inthestreetwithJohnnieLewis,SylviaEdwards Fisher, andBetty theballwentinto hisgarden. I wenttothedoorandasked, "PleasecanI havetheballback,Mr.Farmer?" Hewasnonetoo Dleased andtoldmeto -B---- Otf." Mymumanddadthoughtit washilarious, butas a kid,I surewasscared! Myfather'sbrother,Frankmarrieda ladycalledMin.Theyhadthreedaughters; Betty, Minnie andMona.Theyalsohada littleboy,Frankie whotragically diedattheageofthree.Auntie Minwasdevastated andneverreallygotoverthistragedy.Shewasa wonderful Aunttome,sadly

shediedelevenyearsage.Wehadlovelypartiesat herhouse- oneof herfavouritegames involvedbobbingfor applesin a bowlof water.Wecameintothe roomoneat a timebut prior herhandswithsootfrom upthechimney. Thenshewouldcover tothisAuntieMinhadblackened oureyeswhilewetriedto gettheapplewithourmouths.Wewerethensentto a darkroom.This happeneduntileveryone hadhada go.Wewerethenbroughtintothelightedroomscreaming withlaughterat otherpeople's' blackeyes, too innocentto realisethatourswerethesame! I thinkthechildrenin Bradleyhada goodlife;somebetterthanothers.As an onlychild, I thinkI didverywell,neverseemedto go shortof anything. Oh happy,happydays!

DILYSBITHELLneeVAUGHANHUGHES

I was born in Railway Terrace, Gwersyllt ln 1926, and moved to Bradley when I was about four. My dad wasFrank Hughes and my Mum was also called Minnie. There were three of us glrls, Bett5r, Mona and myself. Dad worked in Llay Matn Colllery. He used to travel to work ln a lorr}r, as did the other mlners, lt was owned b5rTommy Bellls who was a coal merchant and llved on the Bottom road next to the stone brldge in Gwersyllt. The miners used to be allocated a ton of coal, I thtrk it was one every month. The coalman used to Up tt by the gate, then the men, after a hard day's work would have to carry it to tJre coal house. My Dad had two brothers and four slsters who all lived ln the vilage. I used to play 'with my cousln Lucy Davles and Margaret Davles , slsters Winnle and Eva Bromham and Evellm Crump who lived across the road. Evelyn's dad was ldlled tn the Gresford Disaster in 1934. She was the eldest of four chlldren he left. I was eigfrt at the ttme, but can remember tt was an awful day , so many local men were kllled. We used to have good times playmg dressing up, hopscotch , marbles and skipptrxg. We'd play tn the wood by the Waens. In the Bluebell wood we'd ptck bluebells, cowslips and violets, you don't seem to see those ln the woods these days, and to ttre Round wood where we'd roly poly down the Batters. My mum was from Bradley and so was her friend Hetty Jones, she had a son Lee and a daughter Glenys. We would walk to Caergwrle Castle and have a pic-nic, sometlmes we would go on the train, that was a real treat. We'd go for walks through the Wilderness and down to the Clayhole, you'd see all the famtlies there on a Sunday. We moved to No. lOO, to a blgger house, as my dad's si,ster was living wtth us. Nerrt door llved Mr. and Mr. Hestly, he worked at the R.O.P. garage ( I thXrk that stood for Russian Oll Products) It was later bought by Tommy (Transport) Roberts. 32

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TWo doors away lived the man we knew as ttre Aunt Sally rnan. He used to sell tfiis liquid soap. He had a bike with a trailer on which he had a tank wrth a tap. You'd take a bottle and he'd ffll it. It was very popularstuff. we used to go to Bradley chapel in the week to the Band of Hope. we had to put up our hand and promise not to touch any into5cating liquor, I'm afratd to say I've broken my promtse. we would go to church on sunday, as we as we went to sunday School up by the Park Wall we would sometimes meet the men comlng home from the Club. We would say "Hello Uncle- whatever their name was" (they weren't all relations) and they would give us a few coppers, then we'd call at Barker's shop just over the stone bridgle on the Mold Road, or to Ted Swap who had a shop on the Bottom Road, and buy sweets. The vicar was Aurellus Jones . He and his wife used to have fetes in the Vicarage in Summerhlll. They had a lovely garden, and used to grow a lot of grapes' Mlss Dodd was Supefintendent of the Sunday School and later Sally Blackwell who had a shop in ChaPel street. Mr. Herbert Powell was with the boys. He was later secretar5r of the Welsh Football Club. Mi,SsAda Penlington was our teacher, as was her sister Beatue who was also Post lady. They had a brother Tom who lived on the Mold Road. I was in the G.F.S. ( Gtrls Filendly Society) It was held in the church hall. Mi,ss Club and Miss Myra Williams used to have trips out, usually to Llangollen. Mtss MSna later married Curly Roberts who was one of our teachers at the Council school. There used to be a fete at the park, and there would be a cricket Queen. we were all pleased to go itr that. Mrs. Emlyn Jones and Mrs. Blackwell used to run lt, it was a big day for us getting dressed up. we had whlst drives and dances, my friend Audrey Edwards used to play whist, so we were allowed to go wtth her, she would play whlst and we would go to the dance. Joe Hoknes used to have a band, also Hector Allen, so lt was great, especlally if my dad came for us, as he could dance, and he would show us some of the dances' We were preparing for the war and we had to have practlce what to do in an air raid. If we were in school we were not allowed to came home to Bradley, we were given houses we had to go to. I was to go to Rhosrobln, but when the supposed siren went I ran home so of course I was ln trouble. We had to carry gas masks everwhere and pmctise puttfng them on, they had an awful rubber smell. We had a lot of evacuees here from Liverpool, it must have been awful having to leave their families. We made ftlends vdth quite a few of them, some didn't stay long' but one of them, Jirn Chester who lived with Miss Dodd never went back, he married here and Uves in GwersYllt. we had a happy chtldhood, everyone seemed to have the same, we knew everybody in the vtllage, tt was like one big family' IJ I uson the Lottery I u:ould still rrant to l1,oein Bradleg, that's mg home' MINNIE HUGHES

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tJhen I

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Gwersyllt

at

wiro was a ieacher

there.

Church School

She had. two sisters,

can I t remember the nane of tire other, The Parry famil1' lived

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he was e Llay

Eunice

Parry

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and a brother

and Auntie

now Vicar

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and Joe

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n o v e d , f r o i n H eo l - y - w a i to

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had on a kniited

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Auntie

Alice

of Gresf ord Church,

next

Clif f ord. Jones (Ci:ippy)

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call-e d ?,en,

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one was Eunice Parry

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Alic e and i oe had three

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and their

*

pints , but

€ienerous lady If I

Irene think

if

parents

Earrettrs

that

i'iother served. us we asked. f or 1 pint

she was ,she f illed

d.id.'nt c one with he fancied

our milk

cans to

farm for

t o ask f or

s erved. us r we were t old by our Iiothers his

kept a shop

(iwersyIlt.

Irene Wynne, Connie and. rnyself went to Jackie when iack

was the Cricket

Alma Orens was lady-in-

ringlets.

called. Sylvia

the bottom of the Iiirdir,

mi Ik,

!/e used to practlse

Jean Elwyn from Summerhill

ALna had a sister

waiting.

Sueen fete.

OLwenJones, Rosemary Jones and Gwyneth Shone were also

Gwersyllt. in

the Cricket

the

and beins

the

top ! I

us and Jack served. us r he always asked. f or her,

her!

tlhen I was seven I was at ny Auntie Gladys anduncle Ern's house when they vere d.ecorating. on a tabIe,

and I was sitting

uncle Ern was vhitewashing on the floor

liynn Book I'Thete is a Green Hill fours

the ceiling,

starrdinS:

und.erneatb, singin€' frcm a

Far ;wayrrras f crawled' out on all

Uncle Ern jumoed down cn to ny arn and broke it:

ili,!lt:,r!,

I

t t t t t

r t I

r I I

t I

a r r

next

d.oor to us ) Alma Dawson and. I'lurie1 Wynne

hao. a Sale in my I'iumrs back yard saie now (without

iire car)

I hao s ome bright snell- it

harc,

i', oried. cn their

think

the bottle

-'rad.Iey

the only house in

The Wynne f ani 1y had a buo.gie which in

with

in an oxo tin

woo1 Fut it

cotton

,, cross and l-ittle

d.ecided.to dig

i,.uriel Wynne and I ashes!

It

and all

its

was still feather

whole,

it

it

d own.

to get into

I

to Llay

d.are not

i^arion Wil1ians,

itrs

One day, weeks af ter,

Rec.

haC turneo to

it until

i

picked it

s tree ts

go h orne on my own. was a decent

in

uf)

sister)

in

over the i'lain Door,

Llay

I

and.

ripped.

with

ny c oat

I had. been warned. not 6 g a b e r d . i n ec o a t .

used. to to

potatoes

We boiled

ivy

(Joe's

As I went down the slide

a wond.er we d.id.rnt have f ood poisoni.ng.

c oach,

a Srave which was marked

in

Challoner

Gwyneti: Fovey and I

c oat cf arns under the

.['.r. Wynne wrapped. i t

looked. so lovely

ano this

Park to play.

Gwersyllt

dcwn the

to my hands.l

stuck

an./ trouble

it

had a reC lool

up to see if

nad.e me go uD anC d.own the

ny c oat and they hanging

in

our house to conplain

and enptied

d.ied..

round. it.

A n o t h e r t i m e C o n n i e \ , l y n n e, C h r i s s y I went on our bikes

that

buried

stones a1i

thiswas for.

have nushed too

I nust

l,-rs. h'ynne came to

temper took

pop ano

a n o A l n a D a w so n a s k e d t - f s h e

llynne,

nosesf

a car boot

tea,

C a n r t r e m e r n b e rw n i c h c h a r i t y

atid so d.id iluriel

to ny l{urn, and. she in her 'vlewere

suppose they would cal-l it

red nai 1 varnish

coulo

1oo.

I

ano mi' l:um and Auntie Gladys sold

cakes through the back window.

il

I I

(who iived.

0lwen iones

to

old tins

the

01d.iiaIl,

and ate then

The liall

had a love1y

there

was a1s o an o1d.

I wo n d . e r w h e r e t h e y w e n t .

I remember sleeping

at Gwyneth Poveyts house.

SchooL t oge'uher, a1on5: with

Alice

Ve went to Grove i'ark

i ' i a i r l ' ; i l l j - a m s, i ' i a r i o n W i l l i a n s

, and

Prank F.oberts (t:lclcey). Af ter

attend.ing Gwersyllt

Church on a Sund.ay night,

Wynne and I used to go to neet C..'ril who lived boyfrlend.),

we took fright

halfway J)

in Llay

I r e n e r Co n n i e (fr" was Conniefs

and when we gct halfway

between the

banks up the

of our vcices

top

against

on the Llay

the hill

t oP of

New Roadr we would sing

I A 1 1 o f a s u d . d . e n) C i r t y

the walLl I

tn i nk

I

zr11.r6t" hao

if

at

black

pudding went plop

heard

us r they

the

w oul -a have

run e nile. Lawn ano Bobby Davies,

lie used to make snow nouses on our f ront Fiyland lavies t t

In

0.own.

p1ace.

Some of

ilollis,

r-ravid Griffiths

around. there

the f arnilies

arid broti:ers,

Raynond.and. Robert jones, Jones,

G1yn, Enid. and Clifford.

Norman Dawson is

R y l a n d a n d N o r m a n D a w so n .

meeting

were the lJatkins ' Tommy

Connie,

(tne ehil-oren of I.1r. ;i i'lrs. Bob Jones), Ahna,

was our usual

was a wid.e oavement and. it

to knocl:

around the

Ue p layed

our s tree t we had. ;;rea*, f un.

there

lanp oost,

vroula come and. throw snowbails

and a few others

now the f rad.Ley

P os tman , When ny Grand.ma, wiro lived

in

her.

I

look after

stayed there

to

f ron there.

A teacher

th nk she travelled f or her,

it

was in

and I'iiss Jones, tc warm in

f ront

days) I hated it

caIled

fron a bun.

the latter

for

Picked. me up in

Itiiss Ell-is

she used to

Other teachers

I

and have never liked

milk

only

whieh had been put heating

in

those

since.

passed. the

Grove Park because there was a spare

me comb her hair

they were never my good.

and spelling

lly Mun always said. I

milk

(tto centralhot

let

her car r I

remember were l"iiss Rogers

m a d . em e d . r i n k h o t

of the huEe e oal f ire

r we

to school in Gwersyllt

travelled

Cueensferry,

Please exeuse my writing points.

Cef n-y-bed.d Srnithy , was ill

seat

scholarship

that

f or

yeal!

GLADYS JONES nee WILLIAI{S

36

t

t il I

t I

t il I

t il

I

t rf rl rl II

I rememberstartingschoolaged5. we left at 15 in thosedays. We would alwayswalk to andfrom school- no bus or car ndesfor us. Eachday we wouldbe grven2d peruries?) tius was oursto spendrn Miss Jones'sshopon the hill oppositethe (remember vou couldonly have four customersin thereat any onetime. so small Chapel. It was For our 2d we would be abieto buy 6 sweets.When we camehomefrom schoolwe were allowedto play outsidefor aboutan hour but we alwayshad to be in bedby seveno clock. I usedto take a torch to bed with me eachnig:irtwithout my Mum knowrng(l think). From an early ageI lived ir my presenthouse- 40 l{eoi-y-Wal, at the back of the houseis a wood andwe look out over the River Nlan towardsJack Ba:rattsfarm. Gladyslived next door to me andwe would oftenslidedown the nearbygrassybankon piecesof cardboard, manya time we were sentto bed earlydue to the holeswhich had somehowappearedin our pants. We alsousedto enjoymakingmud pies,howeversincewe werenot allowed any water we did the next bestthing andusedwhat Nature had givenus - I'm sureyou can guesswhat that was. When we were about 12 we would all walk to CaergwrleCastlefor a picnic,it was safeto go without adultsin thosedays. We would alsolove to go to WildernessFarm down by Dickie Edwards. A gul who was in schoolwith us was very popuiarindeed- her motherkept a shopur Rhosrobrnso therewere lots of sweetsfor her friends. Anothershopin Rhosrobrnwas calledAgnty Ethels.It rvason the top of Little Hell and if rve helpedher gettingthe potatoesandvegetablesin sherewardedus wrth OXOs which was greatin thosedays. We were a happyfamily, my Mum, Dad and my two older sisters. My dad worked down the pit at Llay Main and my mum was always at home for us when we arrivedback from school, sheusedto makeher own breadand pies and when shemadeher weeklytrip to the CO-OPshewore Pondscream. Therearea lot morememoriesthat I hold dear,startingmy fust job at Rogers& Jacksons in Wrexham,SundaySchooltrips to Rhyl on the first Saturdayin Juneeachyear - those werethe dayswhen Chapelwas threetimeseachSrurday.This was a tin Chapelin Bradley wheretwo housesarenow built next to the old Fire Station. I rememberso well my Dad cominghomefrom hrs shift at the pit andhaving a bath in front of the fire - he was covered in marksfrom wherethe coal had fallen on him. He used to take his Snappintin to work eachday and mum would put exta sandwichesin {br us girls - they alwaystastednicer afterthen trip down the pit. My mumdied when I was only 2l and I still miss her, shegaveme andmy sisterssuch a happychildhood. A few weeksagoMinme and I lost a dearfriendwho had lived by us all ou livesandwho we saw everyday, and althoughwe missher we still rememberher.

il

tf

I

OLWEN HALLAMBY neeJONES

No one can take our nxemoriesaway 5 l