ATGOFION

1939-1945

The war had been declared 14 months before I was born, so my recollection is a
little sketchy some may be hearsay.

My father's car was laid up in the cartws for whole of the war and his only mode of
transport was a motorbike which ran all the errands and business. Father would
visit my grand parents, his parents in Aberaeron on his motor cycle with my mother
and me, the baby in between. I remember on one such occasion when we returned home
the back door of the house was open, which was locked when we left, due to a bomb
which was dropped in the Llangwyryfon area some five miles away.

My father was a Home guard in Llannon and practiced mostly on Sundays and in Llannon
school in the evenings. I later heard many stories from him of maneuvers they
practiced in Alltlwyd forest, Llanrhystud; in Capeli fields, Lampeter and of
guarding an aircraft which had come down in the Llannon area. The aeroplane had been
moved to Glanarthen hay shed, Cross Inn. By the next night the craft had been moved
to somewhere on Trichrug. It's wings had been removed to make transportation easier.

During certain times of the war we had a few evacuees staying here on the farm.
Namely, cousins Glyn and Gwilym from London who were here a lot of the time. Gwilym
loved the farming life so much he stayed and attended Cross Inn school together
with my cousins, twins, Gwenda and Margaret also from London, who after a while
moved to Panteg Nebo with their mother auntie Gwladys. auntie Gwladys kept a cow at
Panteg during the war. Their father, uncle Kenneth, stayed in London and kept the
dairy and café going throughout the war.My cousin Richard was born in 1941 in
Aberystwyth and remained in Dugoed with Dadcu Mamgu and Uncle Lewis, Uncle
Ifor,Auntie Olwen and Uncle Defi,nearly through the war and attended Llannon school
. His older brother Lodwick and Sister Lydia stayed with our Great Aunt and uncle in
Rathbone now Ardwyn, Buarth, Aberystwyth and both attended school in Aberystwyth,
the three of them returning to London and 30a Gt Sutton Street towards end of the
war .

Father had no tractor for help during the war, only horses. Evan Jones Cysgodion,
Gwynfor Rowlands Penrhiw, Dewi Hughes .Rhydlas Penuwch and Uncles Dugoed were
always at hand to help, by the way ( Dewi worked here for a whole year and never
raised one penny and left with cheque for one year work intact)

I also remember dentist T E Nicholas calling to extract teeth for Dewi and Father
and seeing the teeth on a saucer .

On 25th of March 1943 an Italian POW started working here called Luigi Marciano,
he lived in .He was only 18 years of age and was a good loyal worker, extremely
strong and was always breaking fork and broom handles! He could not read or write
and had very little spoken English. When he had letters from home father would read
them to him even though my father did not understand what he was reading. Luigi
seemingly understood it all. Very often on Sundays Evan would take Luigi on bike
rides around Ceredigion using my fathers cycle. This resulted often in the drive
chain being stretched or handle bars bent due to his enormous strength. On these
journeys Evan would encourage him to have wrestling matches with willing people
around the villages far and wide in Ceredigion.

During some of the war we had a Land Girl working here, Lillian Evans , I think she
was from the Abermeurig area she started on 15th June 1942 she stayed here until
end of Jan 1943.I have record of her helping with hay in Dugoed and thrashing in
Garnfawr.There was a large POW camp in Llannon and I remember POW's helping Farmers
with all harvests. I remember Jack Robinson and Tommy Hughes being their
co-ordinators. They would visit on their motor cycles. We also had a German POW at
the very end of the war. He came up daily from Llannon. He was a mason by trade and
he built a wall across the top of our rick yard, still there today about 80 ft long.
I remember Dad having problems in not having enough cement and that shows today.
Father bartered a swastika military badge and a home made solitaire from him and we
still have them today .

There was rationing during the war; mother made butter; we slaughtered pigs,
chickens, rabbits and sometimes calves. We did not suffer a great deal and we gave
our ration books to local shops Gwalia Stores and Glanarthen Stores. As we never
claimed milk, meat, bread and butter, other local people benefited from our tokens,
so, therefore we could have little more of luxury items like sugar. When I went to
Aberaeron Grammar School in 1952 there was still rationing of sweets and the only
shop we could get sweets was Hattie shop in the market street. I suppose she knew
Mamgu.

I remember going with mother to welcome home concerts at Cross Inn school and
remembering seeing boys in Army uniform on stage, I understand they had the proceeds
of the concerts , Miss Bessie Anne Jenkins Gorsdalfa composed a lot of the penillion
for recitation and singing to the boys there were a lot of local boys in the war
and sadly eighteen young men and women from the parish of Llansantffraed lost their
lives in the war.

I vaguely remember the plane crash in Hafodfawr on 29th Feb 1944 I was out on the
yard with Dewi Hughes Penuwch who was working here at the time. We heard the crash
and thought the plane had crashed nearer home than it did. Father was in Lampeter
mart at the time of the crash, he went over after coming home and brought two pieces
of the craft home with him. Five Canadians lost their lives in the aircraft. In
those days if you wanted to go to market you would hitch a lift with a local lorry
and travel in the back with the animals. In this case the lorry was owned by Rhystud
Edwards Garnfach.

I well remember the blackouts. There were blinds on all front room windows. I well
remember going around the rabbit traps with father in late evening and hearing the
German Planes on their way to bomb Liverpool it was very scary. Father would have a
small torch for this purpose .

During this time of austerity we had very little presents for Christmas or
birthdays maybe an orange and an apple and sometimes clothes we needed, we also had
parcels of food and parachute cloth for mother to make clothes, from her sister and
relations in London . Enclosed photo copies of my mother's records at the time will
show what I and my sisters had for Christmas and birthday presents and also what we
had for calennig == mostly money.

Elsbeth and I started Cross Inn school in 1946 the same day as Beti Davies then
Pantfallen and her sister Nora was with her. I thought she was her mother as she was
much bigger than us. There were no writing books only slates and they were at best
cracked ,we wiped them clean with spit and cloth !!!!! Our sister Anne started
school very young later in 1946 only about three .

Another matter I should mention is the fact that on one occasion when my father
visited his parents in 2 Greenland Terrace Aberaeron , during the darkest days of
the war , who happened to be there visiting her auntie was his cousin, Peggy
Laurenny,Peggy was one of 8 top secretaries going into 10 Downing Street daily , and
of course the conversation turned to the war and father concerned that the war was
going badly and we looked like loosing , her response was ,If only what I know , we
have nothing to worry about , she knew the support President Roosevelt had
committed to give P.M. Winston Churchill and Britain.

Soon after the war ended our Hillman car was brought out of the cartws and Evan
Edwards Rhosfach who was a local self taught engineer came to help get the car
going. It had laid idle for five years and it was full of dust and grain from the
grannary above which I suppose mice and other vermin had carried into it. Elsbeth
and Anne my sisters and I had spent a lot of time playing in it. We kept the car
until 1948 when we had a new van. Evan Edwards was the only local person to have a
telephone during the war as he kept a taxi during this time.

My mother was one of the fortunate housewives and mothers to have cold running water
and a manual clothes washing machine in the house at this time and it is still here
today see photo.

The last matter concerning the war efforts I remember, was witnessing the
Fingerpost at Cross Inn being re-erected after lying in a local field throughout
the war years looking very rusty and then being cleaned and painted by council
workmen to its former glory.

Lodwick Lloyd Adsolwen Nebo.

 

Letter from King George V1 to all school children, photo War newspaper, Two gas masks and parts of doomed aircraft crashed Hafodfawr and notes from my mothers book which she made notes during the War eg list of gifts I had when I was born and list of my First birthday and Calennig , gifts Elsbeth had when she was born and ariel photo of P.O.W. camp Llannon

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