Connecting people and history
The Archives marked the seventieth anniversary of the 1941 blitz on Swansea with an exhibition in Swansea Civic Centre. Cllr Stuart Rice is pictured here talking to some of those who attended the launch. As we enter a period of restricted spending for public services, it is worth taking stock of how far archive services have been transformed in the last decade of relative prosperity. Not only has capital investment produced across the UK many new facilities that cater to contemporary needs, but a national consensus has developed amongst archivists and policy makers around our common direction of travel and about how we should measure performance towards our shared goals. In 2009, The National Archives and Welsh Assembly Government published Archives for the 21st Century, a
strategic vision for the archives sector which will underpin the work of the sector in Wales over the coming decade. This development work will no doubt take place against the background of standstill or reducing budgets: how to get more from less will be the primary challenge for the Archive Service for the next and subsequent years. That archives have a role to play, as outlined in the above report, in shaping our sense of community and personal identity was illustrated by the month-long Archive Service exhibition to commemorate the
seventieth anniversary of the Swansea Blitz, formally opened by the Lord Mayor in Swansea Civic Centre foyer in February 2011. The exhibition attracted significant press and media attention, with three separate recordings made for Radio Wales, filming by S4C and articles in the South Wales Evening Post. The Three Nights Blitz and the wasteland which it made of the centre of Swansea for the next decade or more formed part of the mental landscape in
which a generation of residents, now in their 70s and 80s, passed their formative years. . Many were moved to share in the exhibition comments book their own memories of the events of February 1941, while others recounted stories passed down in the family. These written testimonies have added to our collective memory. They will be preserved permanently in the archives and be put online on the People’s Collection Wales, where hopefully more stories will be added.
EXTRACTS FROM THE SWANSEA BLITZ EXHIBITION COMMENTS BOOK On the third night of the Blitz, we were sheltering under the stairs in our house in Manselton Road. Suddenly, in a lull in the bombing, a neighbour from the house behind us appeared shouting ‘Your house is on fire!’. An incendiary had landed on the bed upstairs and set the room alight but the neighbour and my father managed to extinguish the fire. Viv Denman On the 19th February 1941…the sirens went off and my grandmother carried me from Goat St to Castle St air raid shelter. As we turned the corner into Castle St, the sound of an incendiary bomb was directly above us. My grandmother went down on her knees and prayed – an extremely loud thud followed directly behind us. Miraculously, the bomb did not go off. Tony Pelosi I can remember going onto the common in Porthcawl and seeing Swansea ablaze. We were very worried as my grandparents lived in Swansea and we were unable to contact them. We had a car, and went to Swansea to see if they were alright; luckily they were, but many streets were closed and there was broken glass and debris everywhere in the centre. Philip Rogers In 1941 I lived in 31 Teilo Crescent, Mayhil. My Dad was killed there, our house was bombed, all we had was what we stood in, also my Mum and I were the only 2 out of 3 houses to come out alive, that was Thursday 20th Feb 1941. I was eleven years old on the 22nd Feb. Barbara Davies I was 9 yrs old in the Blitz. Mam worked the munitions factory at Bridgend. We sheltered under the stairs in our house in Cwm Rd Hafod. During a bombing the street was demolished and we lost our neighbours. I will never forget those three nights. Evelyn Farthing At the time of the bombing I was nearly 4 yrs old and living with my grandfather and my two brothers in Clarence Terrace. When the bombing started we all went into the shelter which was situated in the bus station grounds. When we came out in the morning only three of the houses were still standing. The others were all bombed, all walls standing but no insides or roofs. We were all evacuated to Carmarthen and lived there for nearly 2 yrs. C M Gibbins
Efforts have continued towards the goal of a fully searchable online catalogue based on the CALM cataloguing software which the Service obtained several years ago. Around 150,000 records are now stored in the CALM catalogue, which currently is only available to be searched by staff. In early 2011, software to allow the catalogue to be web published as a searchable database was installed. We are currently dealing with some technical issues but expect our Calmview catalogue to go live in the very near future.
Probably the most unusual request of the year was to assist author Richard Bullen-Whatling in the historical accuracy of his latest novel for teenagers, the first part of a trilogy which is based around a group of vampires in present-day Swansea who have been living in the town and city since the midnineteenth century. An introduction to Wrappers‌and Other Very Bad Things will reach the bookshops in late 2011 or 2012.
Publicly-funded archives in Wales meet together under the umbrella of Archives and Records Council Wales (ARCW). ARCW acts as a focus for collaborative projects which will benefit archive users across Wales, seeking external funding from a variety of sources. West Glamorgan Archive Service continues to play an active role in the organisation and indeed held the ARCW chair for a third consecutive year up till November 2010. ARCW maintains and is responsible for an online collection-level catalogue of archives in publicly-funded repositories across Wales, to be found at www.archiveswales.org.uk. In 2010, a CyMAL-funded project took place to geo-tag collections described on the website which had a specific geographic location, such as a school, church or workplace. This innovative project won a UK Archive Pace Setters Award. The cataloguing project Powering the World: looking at Welsh Industry through Archives continued throughout the year, more details of which are given below. In the autumn of 2010, ARCW submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund a Stage One application entitled Cynefin: mapping Wales’ Sense of Place, which seeks to place the tithe maps of Wales online as a seamless map, with a number of local projects using the maps as a basis to explore in different ways how the local environment has changed between 1840 and the present day. Preliminary discussions have taken place around a project looking at the way the landscape and ecology of Gower has changed over the last two centuries, which could help in the appreciation, preservation and management of this unique landscape and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We we would be keen to hear from interested groups, individuals and places of learning who might like to be involved in such a voluntary project.
Building and preserving our collections
In 2010/11 the Archive Service received a Welsh Assembly Government grant through CyMAL of ÂŁ15,450 to clean and selectively conserve one of our most important collections, the Neath Abbey Ironworks collection of engineering drawings. The photo shows work in progress in the conservation studio at Gwynedd Archives. The records had acquired a significant amount of soot and surface dirt during the years they were stored in the works. The primary role of the Archive Service is to preserve our documentary heritage for the benefit of future generations, receiving additional gifts and deposits of archive material while maintaining and developing the greatest degree of access to the collections in its care. The archives are kept in environmentally-controlled strongrooms in Swansea Civic Centre, although a significant minority of the whole collection is still held in an out-store at Swansea Guildhall. During the year, we installed a wireless environmental monitoring system in the Swansea Civic Centre strongrooms with the aid of a Welsh Assembly Government grant through CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales. These strongrooms over the last few years have been extensively refurbished and now have mobile shelving where practicable, a new document lift and upgraded intruder alarm system. Furthermore a routine of cleaning, selective re-packaging
and other pre-emptive measures to preserve the archives is in place. With this in mind, we arranged for The National Archives at Kew to carry out a periodic inspection of the public facilities and strongrooms at Swansea Civic Centre and of the Guildhall outstore, the last such inspection having been held in 2006. KEY POINTS FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES 2010 INSPECTION REPORT • The [public facilities] have been refurbished since the last inspection, and West Glamorgan Archive Service should be commended for the final result. Both rooms are light and airy, and readers present were at pains to express their delight at the surroundings and the level of service provided. • There is an ongoing programme to change all the boxes into modern acid free packaging. All the strong rooms are immaculately clean and tidy. There is also an ongoing retroappraisal programme in place, which is freeing up potential space. • However, many of the same concerns [about the Guildhall out-store] remain as reported in the last inspection report. [We recommend] that the rest of the material be evacuated as soon as possible and the store be abandoned. • An alternative solution [to current arrangements for conservation work should be] procured. This instability is a concern in an otherwise excellent facility. During the year, Gwynedd Archives has carried out a large CyMAL grant-funded project on our behalf to clean and selectively conserve the Neath Abbey Ironworks collection of engineering drawings, 1792-1892. The Neath Abbey Ironworks have a part in the story of Wales’ contribution to the industrial revolution: their products of locomotives, stationary and marine engines were sold not just in Wales but across other continents, in a period when Britain was known as the workshop of the world. Over 5,000 plans have now been cleaned, and several hundred have been repaired or encapsulated. It is hoped that this conservation project will make it easier to promote and publicise this collection, and that it will also act as a primer to pursue other sources of funding for further necessary conservation work. Powering the World: looking at Welsh Industry through Archives is a collaborative cataloguing project running 2009-2011, co-ordinated by Archives and Records Council Wales and funded by the Pilgrim Trust and CyMAL. Eight Welsh repositories (including West Glamorgan) worked together through ARCW to obtain funding for the project. The collection put forward by West Glamorgan for the project was that of Yorkshire Imperial Metals, who acquired the historically important Hafod and Morfa copper works in their final years of production. This choice has been particularly appropriate in the light of the 200th anniversary of the Hafod works in 2010. The ARCW cataloguing project is about to enter a second phase from June 2011, funded this time solely by CyMAL, promoting the importance of business archives in Wales and including as an element the cataloguing of one more of our collections, a collection received from the South Wales Miners Museum, based at Afan Argoed. The Archive Service has continued to receive deposits and donations of archives from a variety of sources during the year. A full summary of these is given in Appendix 2 and we would like to record our thanks to all those institutions and individuals, listed in Appendix 1, who have placed records in our care in the past year.
Engaging new audiences
Pupils at Pentrechwyth School, Swansea, receive a lesson on school premises from the Archive Education Officer, looking at archive material relating to the Swansea Blitz (February 2011). Over the last few years, a significant increase has taken place in the amount of outreach work undertaken by the Archive Service. A major step forward was taken in September 2010 with the launch of a schools education service, on a minimal additional budget (found from other savings) but with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm from the archives staff. From September 2010 to March 2011, while a relatively small number of schools used the service, once aware of it each of them used it extensively. A total of 514 pupils and teachers were reached in the seven months, the most popular topic requested by teachers being the Swansea Blitz. A specific CyMAL-funded education project was undertaken during the year to create a walking trail around the Swansea SA1 development which would both involve schools and be of benefit in promoting tourism in the city. A leaflet has been produced for tourists to Swansea as part of the project, but the SA1 trail has also been designed with Key Stage 2 pupils in mind. It provides an opportunity for outdoor learning and for the development and practice of skills in a number of areas, linking to the curriculums for geography and history. We created a version of
the trail on CD specially for schools, with teachers' factsheet, resources to use while walking the trail, suggestions for classroom activities, and worksheets. All the resources are linked to relevant curriculum areas and skills. The CD will be distributed free to all schools in Swansea and Neath-Port Talbot. We have continued with our publication programme and this year two new books have been published. A Vision Fulfilled: the Story of the Celtic Studios and Swansea’s Architectural Glass Tradition by Maurice Broady, edited by Elspeth Broady and Alun Adams, was launched at the Welsh School of Architectural Glass on 15 December. This was closely followed by the publication of Neath: the Town and its People by Tony Hopkins the following day. Partnership is an important part of our outreach work and the Service has played an active part this year in two collaborative projects of note, both co-ordinated by Swansea University. The Global and Local Worlds of Welsh Copper and the Neath Abbey Interpretation Project might seem at first glance unconnected, but both focus on relatively neglected aspects of our historic built environment and both, as might be expected from the University’s leading role, are based on a solid foundation of scholarship and archival research.
Actress Ruth Madoc during filming in the Swansea searchroom for an episode of the BBC Wales family history series Coming Home, June 2010
Who is using the service? The graph to the left shows the distribution by postcode of our registered readers as at 31 March 2011. It is important to note that many researchers use our family history resources on a casual basis, without registering for an Archives Wales reader’s ticket. This particularly applies in Neath Port Talbot. Further information about our service use comes from our use of a voluntary diversity monitoring form which is issued whenever a researcher applies for a reader’s ticket. 58% of our registered readers are male and 42% female. This represents an increase of 4% in use by men over women compared to last year’s figure. The largest age group who have a reader’s ticket is aged 55-64 (31%), the next highest being in order: 65-74 (22%), 45-54 (19%), 35-44 (9%), 22-34 (8%), 14-21 (7%) and 75+ (4%). In comparison to last year, there has been a doubling of the percentage of 14-21 year olds using the service and a halving of the over 75s. While there was a significant 5% increase in use by the age range 65-74, use by the middle age ranges is more or less stable compared to last year. In a question about national identity which allowed more than one box to be ticked, 64% classed themselves as Welsh, 22% classed themselves as British, 18% as English, 1% Scottish and 3% as other, which included Irish and overseas nationalities. Our overseas users were overwhelmingly from the English-speaking world, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada. Apart from English, 4% put Welsh as their main language. 55% said they could not understand any Welsh, 29% could understand some, with 16% able to understand the language. These figures are roughly the same as last year’s. 2% of our registered readers are from a non-White background, up from 1% last year. 10% of our registered readers consider themselves to have some form of disability, up from 8% last year.
How we performed in 2010/11 The number of visits to West Glamorgan Archives during 2010/11 was 11,890. This figure is up by nearly 6% from last year, representing a new record and a third year in a row of recordbreaking rising use of the service. It is highly likely that this figure represents a peak which will not be surpassed next year, because cuts to our opening hours in 2011/12 will mean the end of Saturday opening in Swansea and a further reduction of our service in Port Talbot, down to one day a week. However, the record figures are an endorsement of the refurbished Swansea Civic Centre, the quality of customer service we provide and our energetic outreach work. Tuesday 17 August 2010 set a new record for use of the service, with a total of 103 visits on that day, 77 at Swansea, twelve at Neath and fourteen at Port Talbot. This statistic reinforces anecdotal evidence that recent poor summers have encouraged many holidaymakers to visit us on wet days to pursue their family history out of the rain!
Total members of the public visiting the Archive Service during 2010-2011: 11,890
Including: Swansea Neath Port Talbot Group visits
8,261 2,266 867 496
Figures for usage of the service are submitted annually to CIPFA, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. The figures which are published annually by CIPFA relate to use of local authority archives in the previous year, in this case 2009/10. Analysis of the most recent CIPFA statistics available shows that West Glamorgan Archive Service was the 24th busiest local authority service in the UK in that year (up from 27th in 2008/9), coming between Hertfordshire and Lancashire record offices in the table. Within Wales, West Glamorgan had by far the highest number of visitors in 2009/10, with figures 65% higher than Gwynedd Archives, the next busiest service. With 11,248 visits in 2009/10, West Glamorgan accounted for 26% of the 43,416 visits to local authority archives in Wales in that year.
During the summer of 2010, the Archive Service once again took part in the self-assessment process organised by The National Archives, in which 102 local authority archive services participated this time round. This self-assessment takes a broader look at service performance under categories of governance and resources; documentation of collections; access; preservation and conservation; buildings, security and environment. Because self-assessment measures the service against all aspects of the public task of an archive repository, it is a more considered judgement on how well we are meeting that task. The Archive Service moved up to 23rd from 40th position in the league table and for the first time received the maximum four stars,
an achievement it shared with two other Welsh local authority archive services, Glamorgan and Gwynedd, who were in fifth and fifteenth place respectively. The detailed 2010 results for West Glamorgan Archive Service are as follows, with the scores from 2008 in brackets for comparison: WGAS score
Average score in Wales
Average score of comparable services
Average score in the UK
Section 1: governance
92.5% (71.5%)
62.0% (57.0%)
76.0% (73.5%)
66.0% (62.0%)
Section 2: documentation of collections
66.0% (63.0%)
61.0% (59.5%)
69.5% (66.5%)
64.0% (59.0%)
Section 3: access and outreach services
68.5% (57.0%)
56.5% (48.5%)
68.5% (64.5%)
62.5% (57.0%)
Section 4: preservation and conservation
72.0% (66.0%)
67.5% (63.5%)
78.5% (76.0%)
69.0% (65.0%)
Section 5: buildings, security and environment
80.5% (72.5%)
65.0% (57.5%)
73.5% (71.0%)
68.5% (64.5%)
Overall score
75.5% (65.0%)
61.0% (55.5%)
72.5% (69.0%)
65.5% (61.0%)
The full results for local authority archives in England and Wales can be seen online at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/self-assessmentresults.htm SOME CUSTOMER COMMENTS IN 2010/11 Just a short note to say thank you to all the archivists I dealt with during my recent visit to the Archives whilst working on the Tennant papers. All were so welcoming and helpful, and create such a wonderful atmosphere in the Archives. (Niamh O’Sullivan, by post May 2010) I am planning a visit to Swansea in November, but I am not sure where to start looking (Parish records haven't helped - I think they were nonconformists). I have seen the [West Glamorgan Archives] You Tube film, and have accessed your website. Very impressed. (Sarah Turner of Warrnambool, Australia, by email June 2010) And for the new education service… Thankyou so much again for your visit – the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and learnt so much from your input. (Pentrechwyth School, by email March 2011)
In July 2010, West Glamorgan Archive Service was recognised as achieving the Investors in People standard. The key strengths of the Service noted by the assessor were the committed and professional workforce; effective planning, monitoring and review mechanisms; the application of performance appraisal and the strong commitment to learning and training maintained despite training budget restrictions. The assessor also commented on the well-defined team structures, team meeting cycle and the use of service improvement teams to focus on continuous improvement. He supported the framework for the use of volunteers alongside paid staff and also commented favourably on the archive trainee scheme, which provides paid pre-qualification learning opportunities and experience for a graduate wanting to enter the archives profession. It was suggested for the future that the Service should focus on setting more measurable objectives for learning and performance, developing our approach to the evaluation of learning. Further work should be done on refining a common set of competencies for all staff and in particular the competencies required of managers.
Staff changes Senior Archivist Rhian Phillips left us in February to take up another post at Glamorgan Archives in Cardiff. Rhian’s enthusiastic contribution over the last five years has been a great help in improving the management of the Archive Service. In particular, she forged links with many voluntary and working groups from across Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. Much of this work was a vital prelude to the establishment of an education service in 2010 and her contribution to our work preparing for the Investors in People assessment was crucial to its success. The Archive Trainee for 2010/11 is Rhiannon Phillips from Swansea, a graduate of the University of Glamorgan in History and Drama. Rhiannon has obtained a place at Aberystwyth University for 2011/12 on the postgraduate archives management course. Volunteers during the year have included James Angel, John Curtis, Steffan Dennis, Sarah Ellis, Christine Febbrero, Kirstin Hawkes, Emily Hewitt, Sadie Jarrett, Paulina Lawniczak, Paula Ryan and Lucy Soper.
Acknowledgements One of our most long-standing partnerships is with the Neath Antiquarian Society. As usual, I would like to pay tribute to the Society’s current rota of volunteers, without whom we would be unable to provide a service in Neath: Christine Davies, Robert Davies, Clive Evans, Martin Griffiths, Philip Havard, Josie Henrywood, Annette Jones, Peter Loaring, John Marston, Hywel Rogers, Gloria Rowles and Janet Watkins. We were all deeply saddened by the death in early January of Mrs Joyce Havard, long-serving Secretary of the Neath Antiquarian Society, member of the West Glamorgan Archives Committee and volunteer at the Neath service point. Her enthusiasm for the history of Neath was combined with admirable organisational and communication skills. The credit for setting up the joint service point in Neath Mechanics institute belongs jointly to my predecessor, Susan Beckley, and to Mrs Havard, whose determination to involve professionals in the care of the Neath Antiquarian Society archive collections led to the successful partnership we have today. In this as in preceding years, the Ethel and Gwynne Morgan Trust has made a generous donation to the work of the Archive Service. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the chair and members of the West Glamorgan Archives Committee for their interest and support of the work of the Service during the past year. ……………………………………………... Kim Collis West Glamorgan County Archivist April 2011 ……………………………………………... This report has been printed on 100% recycled paper and is distributed to a selected mailing list. It is published online in English and Welsh at www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives
West Glamorgan Archives Committee As at 31 March 2011 Chairman HM Lord Lieutenant of West Glamorgan D. Byron Lewis Esq. CStJ, FCA Vice-Chairmen: City and County of Swansea Councillor K. E. Marsh County Borough of Neath Port Talbot Councillor D. W. Davies Representing the City and County of Swansea Councillor M. E. Gibbs Councillor J. T. Miles JP Councillor H. M. Morris BA, BSc Councillor R. Ll. Smith Representing the County Borough of Neath Port Talbot Councillor D. K. Davies JP Councillor M. L. James Councillor W. E. Morgan BSc Councillor J. Rogers BEM, JP Representing the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon The Venerable R. J. Williams MA, BEd, BD, Archdeacon of Gower Representing the Diocese of Llandaff The Reverend Canon S. J. Ryan SBStJ, MA, FRGS, Rector of Neath Representing Swansea University Dr L. Miskell FRHistS Representing the Neath Antiquarian Society Mrs J. L. Watkins City and County of Swansea Head of Culture and Tourism I. Davies MSc Neath Port Talbot County Borough Director of Finance and Corporate Services D. W. Davies BSc, IPFA
West Glamorgan Archive Service STAFF As at 31 March 2011 West Glamorgan Archives Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea Tel. (01792) 636589
Fax (01792) 637130
Email: westglam.archives@swansea.gov.uk Website: www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives County Archivist................................ Kim Collis MA, DAS Assistant County Archivist .............. Andrew Dulley MA, MSc (Econ) Senior Archivist................................. Vacant Archivist............................................. David Morris PhD, MSc (Econ) Archivist and Education Officer....... Katie Millien BA, MSc (Econ) Archive Trainee ................................. Rhiannon Phillips BA Production Assistant ........................ Anne-Marie Gay MA Family History Centre Supervisor.... Elizabeth Belcham MA Archives Reception Assistant.......... Rebecca Shields BA Office Manager .................................. Don Rodgers MA Records Manager .............................. Rosemary Davies BA, DPAA Records Assistant............................. Andrew Brown Records Assistant............................. Linda Jones
Neath Antiquarian Society Archives Neath Mechanics Institute, 4 Church Place, Neath Tel. (01639) 620139 Archivist............................................. Michael Phelps BA, DAA Supervisor ......................................... Liza Osborne
Port Talbot Family and Local History Centre Port Talbot Library, Aberafan Centre, Port Talbot Tel. (01639) 763430 Records Assistant............................. Lynwen Davies MA
Port Talbot Civic Centre Records Manager .............................. Rosemary Davies BA, DPAA Records Assistant............................. Lynwen Davies MA
Oral history: preserving voices from the past
Archives have something of an image problem: in the popular mind, an archive is ancient, leather-bound, and dusty, recording business transactions and official decisions. True enough, records of official business provide the most reliable historical evidence, but the official record is only half the story. For example, a little over seventy years ago, Swansea suffered three devastating nights of bombing. The official reports clinically record which buildings were damaged and how many people lost their lives. While we can easily imagine the effects of the devastation, we inevitably bring our modern preoccupations and preconceptions to bear upon it. Nothing can bring history to life like the memories of people who lived through it. Oral history became popular as people took stock of the massive changes that had taken place during a person’s lifetime during the 20th century. At the same time, tape recorders were becoming more portable and affordable. 1975 was European Architectural Heritage Year, and during the discussions that took place in Swansea as to how best to mark the year, the idea of recording oral history was mooted. This resulted in the creation of the Swansea Tape Recording Local History Project under the auspices of the City Archivist John Alban and Dr Hywel Francis. A number of elderly local people were interviewed, most of whom were born around the turn of the century. Their memories of life in Swansea, Gower and the Swansea Valley cover a variety of topics. Inevitably most mention the two World Wars and the bombing of Swansea, and the interviewees, with poignancy and humour, give a unique insight into the social structure, landmarks and daily routines of a Swansea that few of us recognise today. Schoolboys, steel-workers, railwaymen, soldiers, housewives and maids all tell their tales; churches and chapels contrast with pubs and music halls, all against the background of smoke from the works and a forest of masts in the docks. Ideally interviewers, like good Victorian children, should be seen and not heard. Sometimes, though, the interviewer becomes an important part of the interview, and it is the banter and discussion between the interviewer and his subject that gives life to the interview and carries it along. Mansel Thomas was a founder-member of the Gower Society and long-time resident of Gower. He loved its people and the distinctive nature of the area, and began making a series of recordings of conversations with various elderly people he knew. This was not the result of a corporate decision, but one man's interest: he knew the people and understood their world, and was thus ideally placed to get the best out of the conversations he had with them. The
recordings are clear and crisp, and the occasional background noises simply help to set the scene that is set: two people chatting amicably about the old days. The world that is revealed is fascinating: shades of old Gower remain today if you know where to look, but for most people Gower is a place to camp, ramble or surf. Its vistas and chocolatebox villages belie the tough lives of the people who used to live there. The recordings depict hard-working, self-sufficient communities. “For about forty years,” recounts Jack Bevan of Rhossili, “Betty Ace acted as an unqualified GP. She collected herbs and boiled them and steamed them and crushed them, and the villagers thought that what she didn’t know about humans and beasts was not worth knowing.” Will Harry of Cilibion was talking about life on the farm: “There was more fun to the job then,” he said, “We used to chat around the fire in the evening, or sometimes, if there’d been plenty of beer flying, we’d have a bit of a concert. Men would come from other farms, and start up a dance. That used to happen even more in the days when we used to cut and tie the corn by hand.” In many ways the voices themselves are just as interesting as the content of the discussions. The distinctive Gower accent can still be heard today, but true Gower dialect is rare indeed, and these recordings have captured some outstanding examples. “I happen to be one of those chaps,” says George Tucker of Horton, “That have kept the habit on, of talking in the Gower way. When I was a boy, you’d hear all the old people talking like that. Since that time I suppose we’ve been ‘educated’ out of it … I still like to turn to the old talk when I get half a chance. Very little left though.” And he acts out an imaginary conversation with a friend in the Gower dialect. Mansel Thomas died in 1979, leaving his project unfinished. He had interviewed thirty-four people, born between 1886 and 1920. It was his wife Gwendolen who finished the task by publishing edited transcripts from the tapes in her book Yesterday’s Gower (Llandyssul, 1982). Copies of the tapes were deposited with Swansea City Archives. Both these series of recordings are in excellent condition: they were recorded on good quality reel-to-reel tapes, and there seems to have been minimal degradation over three or more decades. Over the last few years, they have been transferred to CD and MP3 formats, using modern methods to make them available to researchers in our searchroom. The two series highlighted in this article form only a part of our oral history holdings. We aim to continue the work of collecting oral histories, indexing and making them available. They have been used to good effect in the delivery of our education service during the year, and are an invaluable resource. ……………………………………………... Andrew Dulley Assistant County Archivist West Glamorgan Archive Service ……………………………………………...
Archives Records held at West Glamorgan Archives, Swansea TH1-75 (Swansea Tape Recording Local History Project); T3/1-36 (Mansel Thomas recordings) (Note: advance booking of equipment is necessary to listen to the recordings).
The annual reports of Glamorganshire Reformatory School
The Glamorganshire Reformatory School was established at Hawdref Ganol in Baglan in March 1858. During 2010, the West Glamorgan Archive Service purchased a volume containing the annual reports of the School for the period 1859-1898. The annual reports contain the rules and regulations; details of diet; list of General and Management Committee members, donors and subscribers; details of income and expenditure as well as the names, educational state, term of imprisonment, date and details of discharge of boys admitted. It is interesting to note that in the early annual reports the boys’ names are published in full, whereas in later years only their initials are shown. The purpose of the annual report was to prove how money had been spent. The reports can be compared with the Poor Law Union annual reports which record similar information, including the names of paupers. Before Victorian times no distinction was made between criminals of any age. As a result young children could be sent to an adult prison. In 1856, nearly 14,000 boys and girls under 16 years of age were committed to prison in England and Wales. Victorian reformers began asking questions about how children who had broken the law ought to be treated, since locking them up with adult criminals could lead them into a life of crime. A step towards the different treatment of children was the Juvenile Offences Act of 1847, which stated that young people under the age of 14 (the age limit was later raised to 16) should be tried in a separate court from adults. From 1854, reformatory schools were set up for offenders under 16 years old. They were residential, where clothing, food and lodging were supplied
whilst they were trained and taught. These were tough places, with stiff discipline often enforced by beatings. The rule of sentencing was as follows: children were admitted to reformatory schools when a conviction at the Assizes or Quarter Sessions of an offence punishable with penal servitude or imprisonment was issued. The child was sentenced to 10 days imprisonment (dropped by 1893), after which he could be further sentenced to be detained in a reformatory school for not less than two and not more than five years. The long sentences were designed to break the child away from the bad influences of home and his surrounding environment. Industrial schools were also set up during this time, for lesser crimes and younger children. Glamorganshire Reformatory School was designed to take an average of 40 boys at any one time. Initially the school was intended solely for offenders from Glamorgan, but the Management Committee soon realised that from a financial point of view they would have to take in boys from other counties too. As a result boys were soon admitted from Carmarthenshire, Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Attached to the Institution was a farm, covering an area of 250 acres, which was to be cultivated by the boys and act as part of their training. During the first year the Management Committee realised that in getting the boys to work the whole 250 acres, “the boys would necessarily be so scattered as to render it impossible to exercise the necessary supervision and control”. By 1863, the school had succeeded in letting to the Cwmavon Company all the land which they did not want to occupy. Under this agreement the school retained just 35 acres of land immediately surrounding the house, of which 6 acres were used as a market garden and the rest for pasture and the growth of hay. The Rules and Regulations stated that the “boys shall be accustomed to the routine of farm life” and when the weather was bad “they shall be occupied in the School; or in tailoring; shoemaking; or in other employment”. Schooling was considered as a secondary matter in comparison with regular hard labour out of doors. The Committee were satisfied “if every boy who leaves the school can, read, write and work the first four rules of arithmetic”. By 1864, a total of 103 boys had been admitted since the opening of the school. The Committee were only aware of seven re-convictions. Fifteen of the discharged boys became sailors or boatmen; four entered the army; fourteen were engaged in the iron, tin or coal industries; six went back to work with their parents; a few were engaged as private servants; four were never heard of again; one was removed to another school and one died. In 1873, the decision was made to move the school from Hawdref Ganol. A number of reasons were given for the move: it was an old farmhouse; it was located over four miles from Neath with poor access by narrow lanes, across a mineral railway and a deep valley. The relative inaccessibility deprived the school of ‘interested persons’ such as magistrates and clergy.
The annual report for 1873 refers to two ‘evils’ following on from these circumstances: the lack of friendly visitors to take an interest. “The visits of kind and sensible ladies are of the greatest use. Boys will not uncommonly open their hearts to such visitors, while they are sealed to everyone else”. The other ‘evil’ was that the inaccessibility limited the choice of masters. In 1875, the school was moved to Ty Segur, Neath, where it was continued according to rules and regulations approved by the Secretary of State. The formal opening of the new school building took place on 31 March 1875. In his address, the Inspector of Reformatories referred to the “wretched state of the former buildings at Hawdref Ganol” adding that the school “had now been removed from a pigsty to a palace”. The new site consisted of nearly 40 acres of land and was situated only ¾ mile away from Neath on the Eaglebush Estate. The old buildings on the land were seen as unsuitable, so a new building was erected at a cost of £4,398, subsidised partly by grants from the Quarter Sessions. The building was a well-built structure of stone, with blue brick dressings, pleasantly seated on the slope of a hill overlooking the town and valley of Neath. Over the next few years new accommodation was added for the tailoring workroom, farm buildings and two rooms for the Superintendent and his wife. In 1886, the Managing Committee decided that the institution would henceforth continue without the aid of voluntary subscriptions, due to a surplus fund gradually accumulated from the profits of the working establishment. The final annual report in the volume for the year 1898 reports that the average number of boys in detention was 55. There were 17 admissions, nine of which were from Glamorgan, and 17 boys were discharged. Of those discharged, seven were employed at collieries; two joined the army; four went to sea; one absconded and the other three variously became a tailor, milk seller and farm servant. ……………………………………………... Katie Millien Archivist West Glamorgan Archive Service ……………………………………………...
Archives Records held at West Glamorgan Archives, Swansea Glamorgan Reformatory School records, 1859-1984: annual reports, 1859-1898 (GCC/E GFS 14/1) (Note: Data Protection Act restrictions apply to other records in this collection which are less than 100 years old)
Appendix 1: Depositors and Donors The Archive Service is grateful to the following individuals and organisations who have placed local and historical records in its care during the twelve-month period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. A Adams; D J Adams; J Bendle; Ms P Buss; Ms J Butt; D Channon; Ms D Checkland; Mrs M Clough; M Coombe-Tennant; Mrs A Cooze; Mrs W Cope; L Couch; P Cullen; J Curtis; D Davies; Mrs G Davies; M Davies; O Davies; G Dodd; A Dulley; Ms F Edwards; Mrs M Elliot; C Ellis; D Evans; G Evans; M Evans; D Factor; G Gabb; M Garrett; D Gill; H Griffiths; Mrs J Griffiths; Mrs A Grimble; Ms J Gruffudd; P Hall; R Harding; Prof C Harris; E Harris; P Havard; D Hawkins; Revd T Hewitt; Miss C Holland; W Holley; J Hughes; Miss P Hurry; W Hyett; J James; H Jenkins; J Jewell; Mrs J John; B Jones; H Jones; Mrs W Kennett-Brown; R King; Dr B Loosmore; M Lovelock; J Mainwaring; T Marsh; H Mathews; L Mayers; W Meredith; K Moore; J Morgan; B Morris; J Nielson; M Norman; Mrs A Owen; Mrs V Patrick; G Perry; M Phillips; Mrs J Plummer; Ms R Poucher; Ms E Pugh; J Rapado; C Reed; G Rees; Mrs A Rees; Mrs O Rees; R Rees; Mrs L Ribton; Ms A Rolph; M Rose; M Rush; D Shopland; P Sillick; J Sims; Ms M Slater; M Smith; S Smith; R Snelling; A Stewart; B Stokes; T Stradling; A Taylor; B Taylor; Ms S Taylor; D Thomas; K Thomas; P Thomas; V Thomas; Ms G Thorogood; D Tovey; L Treharne; Mrs H Ungoed; Ms D Vanags-Butler; A Vollans; Revd Dr and Mrs D Walker; M Walker; P Watkins; Dr M Waymark; K Wheeler; A Williams; J Williams; K Williams; T Williams; A Wood; Revd L Woollacott. Amman Valley Railway Society; Arfryn School; Brynteg Independent Chapel, Gorseinon; Cefn Coed Colliery Museum; Ceredigion Archives; Coastal Housing Group; Communication Workers Union; Cwm Primary School; Cwmafan Junior School; Dyffryn Clydach Community Council; Ealing Library and Information Service; Ebeneser Independent Church, Gorseinon; General Register Office; Glamorgan Archives; Llangennith, Llanmadoc and Cheriton Community Council; Llanmorlais Primary School; London Borough of Bromley Archives; Longfields Association; Loughor parish; Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority; Mynyddbach Chapel; National Waterfront Museum; Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council; Neath Port Talbot Methodist Circuit; Pentrepoeth Infant School; Rhossili Community Council; Sketty parish; South Wales Miners Museum; South Wales Mountaineering Club; Swansea Astronomical Society; Swansea Bay Port Health Authority; Swansea Canal Society; Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts; Swansea Hebrew Congregation; Swansea Metropolitan University; Swansea Registrars; Swansea St James parish; Swansea Valley History Society; The Library of the Congregational History Society; The Penllergare Trust; Wales Women’s Network; Waunwen School; Welsh Assembly Government, Fisheries Unit; Women’s Archive of Wales; Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr
Appendix 2: Accessions of Archives, 2010-2011 The archives listed below have been received by gift, deposit, transfer or purchase during the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. Not all items are available for consultation immediately and certain items are held on restricted access.
PUBLIC RECORDS SHRIEVALTY Declaration of Rowland William Parry Jones as High Sheriff of West Glamorgan, 30 Mar. 2010 (H/S W/37/1) POLICE AND FIRE AUTHORITY Swansea Constabulary records: Chief Constable's reports, 1937-1967; abstract of accounts, 1929; interim report, 1960; local Acts, bye-laws and general orders, 1938; Borough bye-laws. 1958; photographs, 1960s; police notebook, 1960s; newspaper cutting relating to Mr Richard Jones, Inspector of Neath Borough Police, 1906; Special Constabulary certificate of service, 1919; indexed record of Special Constabulary, 1930s-1940s; record of General Annual Licensing Meeting, 1942, 1929-1967 (D/D Con/S and D/D Con/N) Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority: Annual Action Plan, 2011-2012, 2011-2012 (D/D FA 12/3) HOSPITALS AND HEALTH Swansea Bay Port Health Authority: annual report, 2010 (PH 1) Plans of Cefn Coed Hospital and Hill House Isolation Hospital, 1913-1931 (D/D H/CC 43/1-21 and D/D H/CC 44) Photograph of surgeons performing an appendectomy in the main operating theatre at Swansea General Hospital, 1960, and photographs of army medical personnel, 1961, 1960-1961 (D/D Z 780/5/1-2) PETTY SESSIONS A History of Aberavon and Port Talbot Petty Sessions Division by A.D. Stewart; Borough of Afan justices year book, 1983; lists of justices 1948, 1962-1964; Neath magistrates handbook, 1994, 1996, records of Crime Prevention Panel (Afan/Neath) 1990s, 1948-2010 (D/D Z 653)
WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee/Welsh Assembly Government, Fisheries Unit: Records relating to the activities of the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee, including minutes, reports, species files and correspondence files, 1970s-2010 (D/D SWSF)
RECORDS OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND PREDECESSOR BODIES UNITARY AUTHORITIES Neath Port Talbot County Borough Electoral register, 2010 (CB/NPT RE) City and County of Swansea Chief Executive's Department, Resilience Section: Historical notes made by an Emergency Planning Officer on the West Cross Anti-Aircraft Operations Room and the South Wales Mines Gas Grid, 2008 (CC/S X 27) Electoral register, 2011 (CC/S RE 30-31) Prospectus for the new 'Ferrara Quay' apartments at Swansea Marina, 1985 (D/D Z 811/1) COUNTY COUNCILS West Glamorgan County Council Records relating to events attended during the period the donor was Chief Executive of West Glamorgan County Council, 1970s-1980s, including a box of records relating to the links between the Council and HMS Glamorgan, 1970s-1980s DISTRICT AND COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCILS Gower Rural District Council Resin cast of coat of arms of Gower RDC, and menu for commemorative dinner including explanation of the arms, 1974 (TC 69/6/2-3) Neath Borough Council Neath Borough Council: Papers relating to payment of Council employees serving in the armed forces, 1940 (D/D Z 687) Swansea County Borough/City Council Records of the former Mayor of Swansea, Alderman W. J. Davies including: 5 photograph albums; Swansea Council Year book; Mayors and Aldermen of Great Britain; Mansion House visitors book; 2 press cutting books; Sketch of Guildhall; Volume entitled ‘A visit to the Council Chamber’ by Delabeche School, 1934-1935 (D/D Z 823) Photograph of Swansea Mayor, members and chief officers at Brangwyn Hall; Photograph of the Prince of Wales at the Freedom of the City ceremony for the Welsh Regiment, 1989 Swansea County Borough Council: volume containing plans of schools in Swansea 1915-mid 20th century; plan showing district boundaries in Glamorgan post 1974 Assize of Ale in Swansea, 1791; an 18th century copy of Oliver Cromwell's charter to Swansea, 1665 (D/D Z 797/1-2)
Specifications and schedules of work for the following: Maesteg Estate, Swansea; Old Guildhall, Somerset Place, Swansea; School on Gors Road, Cockett, Swansea, 1923-1937 (D/D Z 812/14) Swansea Rural District Council Report on the conversion of Swansea Rural District Council to an Urban District Council, 1928 POOR LAW UNIONS Swansea Union Yearbook, 1910-1911 (D/D Z 828/1) CIVIL PARISH/COMMUNITY COUNCILS Dyffryn Clydach Community Council: 'Ymlaen', the newsletter of Dyffryn Clydach Community Council, 2010 (P/242/12/9-10) Rhossili Community Council: General correspondence, April 2001-June 2006 (P/121/6)
EDUCATION RECORDS Arfryn Primary School: log books, 1959-2010; admission registers, 1959-1973; school photographs, 1971-2010; Memories of Arfryn School, 2009, (E/S 38) Clydach Primary School: Infants Department log book; newspaper cuttings; reports by HM Inspectors; Clydach War Memorial Hospital order of service; Clydach School Centenary, 18621962, 1966-1992 (E/W 5) Crynant Primary School admission registers, c. 1910-1955; Creunant Primary School, 1983 onwards, 1910-c. 1980s Cwm Primary School: log books, admission registers, punishment book, stock and inventory book and school photographs, 1863-2010 (E/S 37) Cwmavon School: admission registers, boys, 1874-1949, girls, 1879-1889, 1892-1949, mixed, 1945-1965 (E/PT 7) Danygraig School: class photographs, c. 1919-1932 (E/S 6/2/1-2) Glamorganshire Reformatory School: Reports, 1859-1898 (GCC/E/GFS 14/1) Llanmorlais Primary School: Log books, Admission registers, Stock books, Detention book, CD Roms and school photographs, 1893-2010 (E/W 18) Pentrepoeth Infant School: Log books, admission registers, school governors' minutes, photographs and other records 1880-2010 Pontardawe Grammar School: Y Bont, magazine of Pontardawe Grammar School final edition with articles relating to school war memorials and Mary Hopkin; correspondence relating to Pontardawe Grammar School war memorials at Cwmtawe Comprehensive School, 1969-2002
Tirdeunaw School, admission register 1953-1959 (E/S 27/2/1) Townhill Elementary School: bills and quantities for construction, 1923 Townhill County Primary School: HM Inspectors' report, 1951 (E/S 28/8) Waunwen Primary School: admission register, punishment book, school returns and extracts from log book, late 19th-20th century (E/S 31) Swansea Grammar School magazine, 1924-1926 (E/BG Sec 13/4a-d) Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr: photographs, Llyfrau Cyswllt, development plan, commemorative book, ephemera, c. 2008-2010
ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH RECORDS Loughor PCC minutes and annual reports, 2008-2009 (P/112/CW/149-150) Margam and Port Talbot St Theodore Parish magazines, 2005-2008 Sketty Bell ringers minute book, 1904-1988 (P/316/CW 250) Swansea St Mark Marriage register, 1995-2005 (P/332/CW/) Swansea St James Cash book, church account books, church magazines, material relating to scouting and miscellaneous receipts, 1929-2011 (P/335/CW/53-58) Facsimile copy of Oystermouth parish magazine, Feb. 1922 (D/D Z 95/103)
NONCONFORMIST RECORDS Baptist Mumbles Baptist Church, centenary pamphlet, 2010 (D/D Z 827/1) Calvinistic Methodist Annual reports for Gorffwysfa CM church, Skewen, 1961-2008 (D/D CM) Capel y Tabernacle (CM), Cwmavon: baptism register, 1923-2001 (D/D CM 27/1) Independent and Congregational Brynteg Independent Chapel, Gorseinon: minutes and Sunday School register, 1907-2005 (D/D Ind 35/71-75)
Canaan Congregational Church, Foxhole: Building Fund ledger, 1863-1945 (D/D E/Cong 12/1) Ebenezer Independent Chapel, Gorseinon: annual reports, chapel history and commemorative orders of service, 2008-2009 (D/D Ind 25) Mynyddbach Chapel, Swansea: Rolls of honour of chapel members who served during the First World War, 1916; chapel photograph, 1865 (D/D Ind 24/51-53) Eglwys Annibynnol Soar, Blaendulais: annual report (D/D Ind 26) Tabernacl Newydd Independent Chapel, Port Talbot (also covers English Congregational Church, Victoria Institute, Port Talbot): church magazines, 1905-1912 (D/D Ind 44) Methodist Neath Port Talbot Methodist Circuit: records of Cwmavon Methodist Church, including registers, minute books and other administrative papers, 1847-2010 (D/D Wes/A 61-77) Cwmavon Methodist Church: marriage register, 1975-1998 (D/D Wes/A 78) General Chapel annual reports and Cymanfa Ganu programmes for the Cwmafan area, 20th century.
OTHER RELIGIOUS RECORDS Swansea Hebrew Congregation collection: Twelve photographs of the former Ffynone synagogue stained glass windows (now installed at Cockfosters and N. Southgate synagogue), 2009 (D/D SHC)
WOMEN’S ARCHIVE OF WALES Deborah Checkland papers: information leaflets and other material regarding services for vulnerable women in Wales, late 20th-21st cent. Joanna Greenlaw Papers: files relating to planned publications; lecture slides, late 20th century (WAW 31) Paulette Pelosi Papers: papers relating to her nursing career, 20th century (WAW 7) Ursula Masson Papers: photographs, postcards, 20th century (WAW 4) Wales Women's European Network: minutes and other records, 1991-2006 (WAW 12/33-34)
SOCIETIES, ASSOCIATIONS AND THE ARTS Longfields Association: Photographs, minutes, year books, deeds, correspondence, annual accounts, diary, 1952-2009 (D/D LA)
2nd Pennard Guides: scrap book, 1986-1991 (P/109/20) Amman Valley Railway Society: The case for a new light guided transit system for Swansea, c. 2010 (D/D AVRS 1) Communication Workers Union: minutes, 1970-2005 (D/D CWU 1/7-16) Gorseinon Appeal Committee for the National Eisteddfod held in Swansea 1982: minutes 19781980 (D/D Z 817/1) Llety Ivor Lodge Friendly Society: papers, 1920s (D/D Z 815/1-5) Ostreme Community Association: minutes of committee meetings; magazines; the original score and composer’s notes for 'The Bells of Santiago'; recordings on tape and DVD of 'The Bells of Santiago', 1973-2010 Penllergare Trust: Penllergare Valley Woods: Project News, 2009 (D/D PT 34); Conservation Management Plan, Oct. 2008 (D/D PT 35) Resolven and District Operatic Society: minutes, programmes, accounts and other papers relating to the activities of the society, 1939-2007 (D/D RAOS 3-6) Skewen and Tonmawr Ladies Choir: posters advertising concerts given by the choir in Belgium, 2002 (D/D Z 709/13-15) South Wales Mountaineering Club: signed poster of 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner, Cardiff City Hall, 2010 Swansea Astronomical Society: visitors' book, 2003; photographs, 1980s-2000s; papers relating to the Swansea Astronomical Society, 1980s-1990s (D/D AS 13/1-7) Swansea Canal Society: additional records relating to the Swansea Canal restoration at Pontardawe , 1980s-2000s; photographs, c.1900; copies of material relating to Gilbertson Steelworks, 20th century; article on 'Maintenance on the Swansea Canal' by Clive Reed, 4 Sep. 2009 (D/D SCS) Swansea CND: newspaper cuttings, posters, newsletters, c. 1980s-2005 Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts: programme for the 2010 Swansea Festival, 2010 (D59) Swansea Valley History Society: newsletters, 1978-2009 (D/D HSV 90-91) Treboeth Bowling Club: photographs, 1930s (D/D Z 819) Ynysforgan Bowling Club: minute book, 1937-1951 Ynystawe Horticultural Association: minute book, 1942-1949
ESTATE AND LEGAL PAPERS Baglan Estate: account book (including rental payments), 1896 (D/D Xl 3. Lonlas and Brithdir Estates: sale particulars, 1905 (D/D Z 834/1) Tennant Estate: estate records and papers relating to the Tennant Canal collected by Winifred Coombe Tennant in 1929, 1790s-1940s (D/D T 5364-5457) Ynyspenllwch Estate abstract of title of the trustees of H.N. Miers to freehold property situated at Clydach, 1959 (D/D Z 825/1) Pre registration title deeds relating to 10 Mysydd Road, Landore, 1875-1942 (D/D Z 804) Pre-registration title deeds of 4 Gower Place, Mumbles, 1871-1999 (D/D Z 813)
INDUSTRIAL, MARITIME AND RAILWAY RECORDS Flour bag from Weaver and Co. Ltd Swansea Flour Mills, c. 1950s; newspaper cuttings regarding the Weaver's Building, 1981-1984 (D/D Z 794) Plans of the Mumbles Railway produced at the time of electrification, showing sub-stations and electricity poles etc, c.1929 (D/D Z 809/1) Plans of Swansea Docks, 1865-1894 (D/D Z 810) Richard Thomas & Company Limited: detailed balance sheets and statement of combined assets and liabilities, 1933-1934 (D/D An 1/1-2) Plans of underground colliery workings in South Wales, 19th-20th century (SWMM Pl) Great Western Railway (Swansea North Dock Abandonment) Act, 1923-1928 (D/D An 6/1) Dredging plans and time sheets, Port Talbot Docks, c. 1946-1956 Planning records relating to the proposed Margam Drift Mine, 1980s (D/D Z 830/1-5) Colliery papers of Herbert Griffiths, 1867-1947 (D/D Z) Minutes, personnel records, circulars etc. connected with railway goods yards in Swansea and the people who worked there, 1960s-1980s (D/D Z)
PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED WORKS ON LOCAL HISTORY ‘BP Memories’ by T. E. Stradling: a history of BP Llandarcy, 2008 (D/D Z 338/45) Essay entitled ‘Adelina Patti and Craig-y-nos Castle’, 1982 (D/D Z)
Clive Reed Papers: ‘Yr Egwlys yng Nghymru: Nerth yr Eglwys', produced for the National Eisteddfod, Swansea, 1964; 'Yr Onnen', magazine of the County Secondary School, Clydach, 1963-1967; 'When I'm 64', a booklet produced on the 64th anniversary of Cwmtawe Lower School, Clydach, formerly Clydach Secondary Modern, Clydach Senior School and Clydach Boys' School, 1989, 1963-1989 (D/D Z 80) Copy of ‘Country Quest’ magazine, including article about Glyncollen House, Morriston, Swansea, 1973, and copy photographs of Castle Square, Swansea, during the post-war redevelopment of the town centre, 1950s (D/D Z 803) On a summer morning (Mametz Wood 10 July 1916) by W. V Thomas & A. J Thomas 2007 and Racing the threat (Crynant 1939-1945) by W. V Thomas, 2009 The Mond Nickel Company Limited promotional volume, including details and photographs of the Clydach Refining Works and the company's village at Clydach, 1918 (D/D An 5/1) History of Christ Church, Swansea, 1872-1997 Clydach casualties of World War Two, 2010; Clydach War Memorial Hospital, c. 1950s (D/D Z 628)
REMINISCENCE AND ORAL HISTORY ‘Memories of a Swansea Jack’: memoirs of Peter Dover Wade, 2010 (D/D Z 349/10) Reminiscences of Flight Sergeant Johnny Jones, Royal Canadian Air Force, stationed at RAF Fairwood Common during World War 2, 2010 (D/D Z 717/17) Memories of life in Swansea during the Second World War, including the Blitz, by William Meredith of Llansamlet, 2011 (D/D Z 826/1) 'Kerry's Children' by Ellen Davis, telling her story of her departure from Germany on the Kindertransport during the Second World War and her life following her arrival in Swansea, 2010 (D/D Z 717/21) Biography of Mervyn Matthews of Cwmtwrch, 1989 (D/D Z 835/1) Elaine Kidwell's recollections of the Three Nights Blitz; Grafton Maggs, 'A Schoolboy's Days in Mumbles Home Guard', a first hand account of his experiences and life at home, 2010 (D/D Z 717/19-20) DVD of the last Royal Mail Train to leave High Street Station in 2003, including interviews with staff, supporters and users, 2003 (D/D Z 717/5)
PERSONAL PAPERS Items relating to 'Y Bwthyn Bach', 1930s; programme for a reunion of members of the Nicol Quarter Century Club, 1964; Programmes for performances at Plasmarl 1905; Sunday School leaflet and Ystalyfera School programme, 1899, 1920, 1899-1964 (D/D Z 819) Commemorative certificate issued to Mrs Dulcie Vivian in gratitude for giving accommodation to wounded soldiers, 1915 Photograph of Margaret Eliza Slaughter with biographical information, c. 1918 (D/D Z 801 1-2) Personal papers relating to Mr Iorwerth Clee of Ystalyfera, singer, 1940s-1984 (D/D X 125/89) Slides of flower shows and locations in Swansea and Gower, 1976-2003 (D/D An 4/1-17) Letters between correspondents in Swansea, Austria and Italy, 1941-45 and miscellaneous notes, c. 1940s (D/D Z 316) Papers relating to John Oliver Watkins’ service in the Friend’s Ambulance Unit including 3 medals, c. 1914-1919 (D/D Z 429) Picture of John Jones Jenkins (killed in action, 1918) and biographical information about him and his brothers, 1918, 2010 (D/D Z 815) Order of service and order of proceedings for the grant of honorary freedom of the City and County of Swansea to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, 2010 (D/D Z) Photographs and other ephemera relating to Pam Taylor née Trollope, 1940s (D/D Z 524/73-78) Letter from Bryn Morgan, ARP warden, to his brother relating how a high explosive bomb fell near to their home in Gendros, 1941 (D/D Z 818) Fishing permit for the lakes on Oxwich Marsh, 1922 (D/D Z 727/14) Papers relating to the rebuilding of Penyrheol School, Gorseinon, after its destruction by fire in 2006, and to a campaign against an Asda superstore in Gorseinon, 2000s (D/D Z 756/4-5) Letters in Welsh and English relating to the ministry of the Rev. John Lewis, Baptist minister in Porthmadog and Craigcefnparc, 1940s (D/D Z) Letter of commendation issued to a fireman Samuel Williams, with copy of newspaper account of the incident, 1941 (D/D Z 829) Wartime diary of Mauro Rapado of Abercrave, 1940 Report book of T. Maldwyn Davies at Swansea Grammar School and sporting photographs, 1928-1930s (D/D Z 763/1-3)
Clive Reed Papers: additional papers relating to local history, 1960s-2010; photographs of Pontardawe, c.1925-2000; papers relating to W. J. Davies, Ironmongers, Pontardawe, 19421944, c.1925-2000 (D/D Z 80) Newspaper cuttings relating to a proposed development at Mumbles, 1986 (D/D Z 836/1) W. C. Rogers collection: miscellaneous plans of the town, suburbs and buildings in Swansea and surrounding area; also a drawer of index cards, 18th-20th century (D/D WCR/Pl)
PICTORIAL AND FILM DVD recordings of civic events held in Swansea during 2009-2010 (D/D Z 717) VHS copies of cine films of Langland Bay and Swansea, 1950s (D/D Z 814/1-4) DVD recording the mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St David, Cardiff and unveiling ceremony of the Welsh National Memorial commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the sinking of the Arandora Star, 2 July 2010 (D/D Z 717/18) Photographs of the following: Underhill, Mumbles; Caswell Bay; Mumbles Head; Princess Way; Fisher Street, 1930s-1960s (P/PR) Postcards showing unidentified First World War servicemen, taken by Port Talbot and Neath photographers, c. 1914-1918 (D/D Z 821) Photograph of Earlsmoor Residential Home for the Aged, Bryn Road, Brynmill, c. 1973 (P/PR L) Copy of postcard of first Aberavon to Mumbles Swim, 1928 (D/D Z 824/1) Photographs of the post-war rebuilding of Swansea including Princess Way, Castle Street, Dilwyn Street, Kingsway and College Street, 1940s (P/PR) Swansea Blitz photographs, 1940-1941 Swansea Valley History Society: photographs of the construction of the Swansea Valley Link Road from Pontardawe to Ynysmeudwy, and of St Peter's Church, Pontardawe, 1991-1993, c. 2009 (D/D HSV 95/1-19) Photograph of William Stubbs, gamekeeper at Margam Estate, c. 1860s (D/D Z 25/174) Photograph album of Swansea and Gower, 19th century (D/D Z 805/1) Photographs of visit by Welsh miners to Russia in 1935, including the donor's uncle, John L. Rees of the Pheasant Bush, Trebanos, 1935 (D/D Z 789/1) Photographs of Woodfield Street, Morriston, 1989 (D/D Z 788/1) Photograph of the Swansea Board of Guardians, 1922-1925, 1925 (U/S 88)
Photograph of Swansea and District Male Choir outside Exchange Buildings Swansea before a concert in Fabians Bay Congregational Church, c. 1932 (D/D Z) Photographs of the Kilvey area of Swansea, 20th century (D/D Z 820)