The following is a page from an old programme for one of Pontypool’s rugby matches. Unfortunately it was not dated but I think it must have been written in the early thirties or soon afterwards.

It is written by someone named Retlas which, I assume, is a pseudonym for the person who wrote a weekly page in the programmes. I cannot trace who this person was so if anyone knows I’d be delighted to hear from them.  I tried to make enquiries on the Pontypool Rugby website but I could not leave a message without registering; when I tried to do this the registration was not working.

Cecil was the step-brother of Edgar Smith, the father of my friend Eric Smith, my one-time next door neighbour. Royce Pritchard was Cecil’s son and one of our playmates; he features in one of the Boys’ Brigade photographs earlier in this blog. Eric told me on one occasion that he was the only player that had played for Wales in every position on the field. There are various records claimed for him in the piece below, but, of course, over the years these might have been equalled or passed.

“Cecil Pritchard, one of the best and brainiest forwards who
ever played for Wales, is the subject of my sketch this week. Cecil
came to the fore just at the period when specialisation in the various
phases of forward play was beginning to develop, and he was one
of the first to be given the specific job of hooker, for which he was
selected by Rowe Harding, who captained Wales against England
in the game in which Cecil gained his first cap in 1928. His opposite
number was Sam Tucker, whom he beat to the tune of 24 scrums
to 16, thereby establishing himself as the Welsh hooker. Cecil
played for Wales in every game in 1928 and 1929 and so set up a
record for Pontypool by getting eight caps in a row.“Born on the Tranch on May 1st, 1902, Cecil was the second
of three brothers all of whom started with the old Tranch Rovers
and gained fame in higher circles. The oldest, George (“Cogley”),
played full-back for Blaenavon, Torquay, Barnstaple and Devon,
and in both Welsh and English trials. Royce, the youngest,
played for Blaenavon and Abertillery. All three played against
the Waratahs in 1927-28 season : Cogley for Cornwall and Devon,
Cecil for Pontypool, and Royce for Cross Keys and Abertillery.

“Cecil went to Blaenavon in 1923 and helped that club to win
the Monmouthshire League medals, playing with his brother
Cogley.   The following season he came to Pontypool.   In those
days it was a case of “first up, first down,” and Cecil shone in every
phase of the forward game, besides being quite capable of giving .
a good account of himself at centre or full-back in an emergency.
His playing career lasted just over twenty years, his last season
was with Talywain. He captained Pontypool in 1928-29, and
played five times for Monmouthshire.

“Cecil has no doubt which was the hardest and best game he
ever played in : it was the game with the Maoris on New Year’s
Day, 1927. Next hardest was that at Perpignan during Pontypool’s
first French tour.

“A prolific scorer, Cecil set up a club record in 1926 when he
netted 21 points against Edgware ; a try, six conversions, a placed
penalty goal and a dropped penalty goal. This record was later
equalled by Frank Beddington. In each of two other games he
scored 14 points—against Belfast Collegians and in a final Welsh
trial at Cardiff.

“For the best part of one season (1929-30), Cecil played for
Bamstaple, for whom W. W. Wakefield (” Wakers “), the famous
English forward, was at that time turning out occasionally. Wake-
field’s international career had ended the season before Cecil’s
began.”
—Retlas.

WEST MON COLTS RUGBY TEAM 1950 – 51

I recently received an email from Emrys Lewis, an old Westmonian who played for the school colts rugby team. He enclosed a photograph of the team which he thought some old visitors might like to see. I’m sure the photograph will stir up some memories for some people. Emrys is the boy holding the ball.

DO YOU REMEMBER PAUL JONES WHO PLAYED
FOR PONTYPOOL RFC IN THE 1960s?

Last week I had an email from Lucy Jones who lives in Newport. She is doing some family research and said:

“My father is Paul Jones, a player of Pontypool RFC in the 60′s. But his father’s family are from Llanelli and I wanted some help from him looking there. Anyway, meanwhile I began looking at my mothers side. I have done quite well using the usual websites and have some names and dates to build upon. I am looking forward to building upon these names and dates. I have a rich Pontypool heritage it seems.

“I was interested in the fatality of Henry Whitcombe in the 1939 coach crash. I have a Henry Whitcombe in my tree (my great, great Uncle), however as the report in your blog states this chap was 62 in 1939, it doesnt quite fit with the Henry whitcombe I have as being some 7 years younger and born in Raglan. It says that Henry lived with his son, William. I have another great great Uncle called William Whitcombe who WOULD have been 62 in 1939. So, I cant help being interested in this. My great great grandfather to whom this family links is a John Henry Whitcombe (also found as Whitcomb). He was a 49yr old railway platelayer living at 8 Park Street, Griff in 1911. My mother talks of Park Street, so this house must have stayed in the family for many years. If John Henry came to Pontypool, maybe his brothers did too?”

If you are able to help Lucy in her search please either leave a comment on this page or email me and I shall forward your information to her.

On August 19 2008 I wrote a blog post about Pontypool’s big freeze   <  Pontypool’s big freeze of 1941  >  On February 5 2009 I wrote about Pontypool’s great snow of 1947    <  Pontypool’s great snow of 1947  > You might have read these.

I have recently received an email from Michael Taylor with some photographs of these events. I assume that the first photograph is of 1941. Certainly this is typical of what could be seen all over Pontypool and the surrounding areas. You can clearly see how the weight of ice has brought down the cables and has even pulled over the massive post.

The ice-covered cables caused them to crash to the ground

The other four photographs below are of the snow in Pontypool Park in 1947. I imagine these were taken after the first fall because they do not show how deep the snow was, in some places well over a foot with drifts considerably deeper.

Snow on Pontypool Park tennis courts 

Snow covered Pontypool Park

Difficult to see the paths

Snow-laden tree in the park

My grateful thanks to Michael for providing these photographs.

The cover

Page 1

page 2

I must point out that this copy is for the personal use of visitors and, under copyright law, cannot be sold or reproduced in quantities. I don’t know whether the song is still in use at the school or whether copies may be bought there.

But in Town School in the 1930s the entire stock of school books, rulers and pencils etc. was contained in two small, glass-fronted cupboards in the office of J.P. Lewis, the headmaster. The room was not large but also contained the headmaster’s desk and the inevitable tortoise stove.

I remember the two occasions when all the children who were about to enter the Eleven-Plus exam at West Mon and the Girls’ County School were summoned to Mr Lewis’s study. We were each given two brand new, sharpened pencils, a pencil sharpener, a rubber and a ruler. We were told that, if we were to break the point of one pencil, not to waste time sharpening it but to use the other one. It is because of these two visits that I know where the stock was kept. Needless to say, these items all had to be handed back the following day for future use in the school.

The funding of the school was based on the average attendance figures which is why, as I explained in an earlier post, the headmaster used to get so very annoyed when whole families went hop-picking in September, the beginning of the school year.

Consequently the staff would organise from time to time some sort of effort to raise money for the school. It was during the 1930s that the BBC started broadcasting for schools; these were received on the wireless of course. There was just one snag: schools were not supplied with wireless sets to receive the programmes. As a result they had to buy their own. As a result, the staff at Town School involved both themselves and as many parents who wanted to help, in the manufacture of oven-pads. These were knitted squares of any colour which would form some sort of insulation when handling hot items from the oven. Each oven-pad was sold for 4d. After a month or so enough money had been raised to buy the much-needed second-hand wireless set.

I recall the grand occasion when two classes were assembled in Miss Brooke’s room to hear our first BBC broadcast. It was a music programme about Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, also known as Fingal’s Cave. It takes about ten minutes to perform, but the broadcaster introduced it to us in small sections and explained what the composer was trying to do before we heard the whole piece right through. I really did enjoy it right through to the end when the seagull’s call is played on the flute.

The second broadcast we assembled for was on English literature: Shakespeare’s Julia Caesar, no less. The broadcaster told us that he had chosen just one speech from the play, the funeral oration by Mark Anthony which you’ll probably remember from your own school days. It begins: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears . . .” We were told what a clever speech it was and that after saying what an honourable man Brutus was, Mark Anthony repeated this with ever-increasing sarcasm so that the listening crowd realised that he didn’t mean that Brutus was honourable in any way and they rushed off with the intent of burning down his house. I was most impressed with this speech and thought what a clever chap this Shakespeare was. Later on, in form four, we read his “Merchant of Venice”. That was great too.

A short while later the school was given a second-hand tricycle by a doctor whose son had finished using it. It was in excellent condition and, wonder of wonders, it had a chain to drive it just like a proper bicycle. Most tricycles in those days had a fixed wheel so that when you stopped pedalling you stopped moving. Hence they had no brake. With a chain you could free wheel so a brake was needed in order to stop. We were informed that the school was going to raise funds by raffling the bicycle. Naturally, we all wanted the tricycle so we rushed home to ask for money to buy tickets the next day. The selling went on for a couple of weeks and then, on the great day the whole school was assembled in the playground for drawing the number of the winner. The ticket was drawn and the winner was – Miss Lewis, sister of the headmaster. We all laughed at this as a more unlikely person to want a tricycle could hardly be imagined. Miss Lewis was my class teacher. She was short and dumpy and had no children to give a tricycle to, so, after the laughter had died down she asked that all the children who were in her class and had bought tickets should have their names put in the hat and the draw should take place again. Only twelve of us in her class had bought tickets. Our names were put in the hat and the name drawn out was mine! I could hardly believe my good fortune. I was the owner of a tricycle with a chain! The cost of these now is over £300.

The tricycle had been kept locked away in the caretaker’s cellar. The door to this led off the playground and when we were playing in the yard we sometimes peered down the steps into the cellar’s murky depths to see the caretaker bustling about amongst the piles of coal, coke and wood.

Mr Lewis announced that I was the winner and that I could now have a practice on the tricycle on my own in the playground while the rest of the school went back indoors. My family were delighted with my win and all my friends wanted to see – and have a ride on – my new tricycle. I spent many hours using it for the next two years or so until I eventually bought my first “proper” bike, a second-hand fairy cycle for which I paid the princely sum of 2/6.

Tricycles – red fixed wheel, blue chain driven

Monty has really gone into this matter and has researched all manner of documents including the Scotland Yard files. She also has the list of all those who gave evidence; strangely enough one of them was my old Boys’ Brigade captain, Jim Hamer. I mentioned him in a previous post.

Monty has recently emailed me to say that she has put a short video on Youtube giving a short introduction to the book. It is due to be published in September this year and I’ll put a special post on this blog when that happens. In the meanwhile you might be interested in looking at the video. Just click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwFcisWAW-A

From time to time I have briefly mentioned the fact that I receive emails and phone calls from various parts of the world, so I have suspected for some time that it must be from people who have moved from Pontypool to some other country. However, for the first time the good people at WordPress – the organisation which offers the facilities to run blogs – have sent me a report on my blog for the year 2011. I found it absolutely fascinating, particularly finding that people from no less than 24 countries have visited this blog during the past year.

I thought that visitors might be interested in the assortment of information which has been provided in this report, particularly as some of you are named in it.

The visitors from the various continents are treated as a separate entity as follows:

Europe

UK 94%
France 2.6%
Germany 1.1%
Netherlands 0.4%
Spain 0.3%

North America

United States 81.5%
Canada 17.7%
Cayman Islands 0.5%
St Lucia 0.3%

Asia

India 32.5%
Malaysia 20.3%
Indonesia 10.6%
Kuwait 5.7%
Singapore 4.8%

Oceania

Australia 81.6%
New Zealand 18.4%

Africa

South Africa 60%
Zimbabwe 20%
Kenya 20%

South America

Brazil 54.2%
Peru 25%
Colombia 8.3%
Ecuador 4.2%
Argentina 4.2%

Now you know what I mean when I say that Pontypool people are world travellers. I feel quite a small fry by comparison. Apart from two years living in Africa I merely moved to Cardiff and Newport.

The WordPress report was presented in an attractive and graphic way so I print the report in the following pictures:

Well, there you have it. That’s the complete report. If any of the visitors from the far-flung parts of the globe would like to write in with some of their Pontypool memories, I’d like to hear from them.

I was discussing this with my friend, Eric Smith, who has lived in New Inn for many years and he informed me that he knows Molly Lovejoy who was Snow White and that she is still living in New Inn a few hundred yards from his house.

No news about any of the dwarfs yet but there is still time.

 Molly Lovejoy as Snow White walking in the park with the
Carnival Queen, Marianne Gill of Abertillery and Ivor Jones the jeweller. 

 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I presume the adults
in the background are carnival officials or possibly
the judges of the Snow White competition.

 This photograph shows part of the float which was
entered in the carnival. 

If any visitor has any more photographs or information about this event please send them in for future publication.

 As Christmas is less than a week away I thought a “Christmassy” sort of posting might be appropriate. At this time of the year we all tend to think of the children and their presents, Christmas parties and so on. Personally, every year I have to be transformed into “Father Christmas” at four different functions where there are a lot of children present, so I have to get into the spirit quite early.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, I have many happy memories of family Christmases in Pontypool, many of them centred at Osborn Cottage. All this might be partly responsible for the fact that my favourite book is Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” which I have read eight times. I have three copies of the book, all with differing illustrations.

One favourite children’s character which tends to surface at this time of year is Snow White, so I thought I’d write about Pontypool’s Snow White in the hope that she and the dwarfs might read this, or that some visitors might know her or any of the dwarfs.

Although Walt Disney made his famous Snow White film in 1937 it did not come to the cinema in Pontypool until the following year 1938. I remember going to see it with my mother. You might remember this poster which was to be seen around the town advertising it:

The original story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was well known all over Europe after being featured in the collection of the German Brothers Grimm. Jacob and Wilhelm were two German academics who collected folkore and published a number of collections of it with the title “Grimm’s Fairy Tales”. As the first edition was published exactly 199 years ago this very day (20th December 1812), this is another good reason for my choice of subject. I think we might see some big celebrations at the 200th anniversary at this time next year. The volume contained 86 stories. More were added, and some subtracted until, for the seventh edition there was a huge collection of 211 stories. You will remember the popular ones such as: Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Rumplestiltskin, and Sleeping Beauty. So famous did the brothers become that they were featured on the German 1,000 Deutsche Mark bank note.

Although many people think of “Grimm’s Fairy Stories” as a collection of stories for children, some of them were very dark and drear and were not really suitable for children at all. Consequently they were often edited when used in other ways such as Walt Disney’s film. In it the dwarfs were given different names and the story was altogether more cheerful and bright as were the illustrations.

The original Fairy Tales were illustrated by
Philipp Grot Johann. Here he depicts
Snow White in her glass coffin.

By contrast this is Walt Disney’s much
more cheerful depiction.

Because of Snow White’s great popularity it was decided to have a competition in 1939 to choose a Pontypool Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to make an extra tableau for the usual Pontypool Hospital Carnival which I mentioned in an earlier posting.

Out of all the children who entered the competition, 35 finalists were chosen, 15 girls and 20 boys, and the judging took place at St James’s Hall. The winners were:

Snow White – Molly Irene Lovejoy of 3 Clare Wain Estate, New Inn, aged 10.

The seven dwarfs -

Stanley Lucas, Glenside, Coedcae, Pontypool, aged 6.

Gilbert Gordon Robinson, Olive Cottage, Upper Cotcha, Blaenavon, aged 6.

Lawrence Llewellyn Watkins, 23 Chapel Lane, Pontypool, aged 7.

Ronald Clifford Davies, 101 Gordon Road, Talywain, aged 6.

John Sandbrook, 36a Railway Tterrace, Abersychan, aged 8.

Terence Atkins, Pineapple Inn, New Inn, aged 8.

Peter Davies, 2, Cenfedd Street, Newport, aged 7.

Molly Irene Lovejoy

Molly Irene Lovejoy, a blonde, was the only child of Mr Charles Lovejoy, a GWR fireman and Mrs Lovejoy. She competed for the first time the previous year in the Royal Gwent Hospital Carnival, but was unsuccessful. She was more fortunate the following year when she was chosen as a court lady to the S.W.M.F. May-day Queen.

Terence Atkins is the son of Mr Jack Atkins, the former Pontypool forward.

I would estimate that Molly would now be aged about 83 and the dwarfs in their late seventies or early eighties. If any of them read this blog and can give me any further details or memories of the occasion I’d be delighted to hear from them. And if they have any photographs of the event which they could let me have a copy of they would make a wonderful follow-up to this posting.

Since the publication of my book “Pontypool Memories” a year ago, apart from receiving emails from blog contacts, I now also sometimes receive telephone calls from people who have bought a copy of my book. Some have been from other countries from people who lived in Pontypool many years ago. I received one such phone call a couple of days ago from Dominic Hames of Oxfordshire who is researching the history of his father Aubrey Hames. I remember him well as the Mayor of Newport and he frequently had a mention in the South Wales Argus. As I know that some of the visitors to this blog lived in the Sebastopol/Cwmbran area, I am wondering whether they can remember Aubrey Hames as a child. I will quote part of Dominic’s letter below. It contains some significant pointers to possible recognition:

 “I am currently trying to research the history of my father Aubrey Hames who was born at 115 Greenhill Road in Sebastopol in 1923, and who I believed lived at 81 Commercial Street in Griffithstown until 1934 when his mother, Eleanor Maud Hames (maiden name Eleanor Maud Craven-Griffiths) moved to London with my fathers younger brother Russel (born 1925), leaving their father Arthur behind.  Arthur and Eleanor had moved to Griffithstown probably in mid to late 1922 with Arthur’s job, who worked for Great Western Railways.  Arthur probably stayed in Griffithstown another year after Eleanor left, before moving to Newport in about 1936.  Apart from these facts, the only other details I know about my fathers and grandparents time in Griffithstown was that they were members of the Baptist Church, and Eleanor played the piano at the local cinema.  I do not know what school my father or his brother attended.”

I notice that Aubrey Hames was born the same year as my eldest brother, John, who attended West Mon. So if Aubrey entered the West Mon exam and was successful, there is a good chance he started there the same year (1934, give or take one year) as my brother. Unfortunately my brother is no longer alive so cannot be asked about this. It’s possible that a visitor with some West Mon connections might remember something.

 ”If there is any help or advice you could give me, or even know anybody who knew him, or may have known him as a child, I would be extremely grateful.  I would also be looking for information about his parents (for example, why would Arthur have moved to Griffithstown).  In return, I am willing to share anything that I find out about him with you (I have a few photos of him as a young boy probably taken in Griffithstwon, and these are enclosed).  I would also be more than happy to come down to Griffithstown sometime. On a final point, I was looking through the Pictorial Memories of Old Pontypool Volume 2 yesterday, and on page 48 there is a picture of five houses that they say “are now numbered 86-90″.  Further along is number 81.  Does this mean that number 81 Commercial Street now, is not the same as number 81 in the 1920s?  If so, do you have any idea which house would have been number 81 in the 1920s?  I assume number 115 Greenhill Road is the same?  If so, that would be a shame as this house no longer exists.”

Here are the photographs referred to above:

With Russell

About 1925

Aubrey about 1925

About 1926

Aubrey about 1927

About 1928

Aubrey and Mervyn about 1928

If anyone has any helpful information please either send a comment or email me and I will pass on the information to Dominic.

Hello Pontypool!

Arriving in Pontypool

Town School junior section

Tragedy at West Mon (Revised account)

Pontypool Boys’ Brigade – 9th Eastern Valley Company

Comics, magazines and other literature

The “Scholarship Class” at Town School

Pontypool in wartime: the start of rationing

When the sirens sounded in Pontypool

West Mon’s “Spitfire”

Osborne Cottage at Pontnewynydd

The good people of Pontypool help the war effort

Pontypool’s big freeze of 1941

Murder most foul in Pontypool

West Mon forms six and seven

The war ends, and Pontypool celebrates

Going to the pictures in Pontypool

Pontypool’s “Dad’s Army”

Fire at Wainfelin, and the slaughter of animals.

The Gregories of Cwmffrwdoer

Pontypool park for fun frolicks and fairs

The Grotto in Pontypool Park

Park Terrace Methodist Sunday School Pontypool

Climbing the mountain with the help of Watkins the tinsmith

Franketti’s Fish and Chip Shop

Christmas time in old Pontypool

World War II shipbuilders in Pontypool

The games we used to play in Pontypool

Pontypool’s great snow of 1947

Pontypool’s Secret Society

Drama in Pontypool

Tragedy at West Mon 2. Words from a key witness.

High Days and Holidays at Pontypool Town School

Pontypool Personalities

Two Broadways: Pontypool and New York

Decline in West Mon boarders

A great revelation on Haden Street

Accidents, Fatalities and Diseases

The book of the blog

Town School Centenary booklet 1938

Parts of old Pontypool that have vanished

News of Gibson Square

More nws about Gibson Square

Old photographs of Pontypool

Surprises in disguises

Old photographs of Pontypool carnival in the park

Information and a request

Old photographs of the Clarence area

More about the Robin Hood pub

Old photographs of Pontypool’s shopping centre

The Fowler family of Pontypool

Two interesting comments

The Queen’s Ballroom Pontypool

Fairfields of Pontypool crops up again

Is this how you remember the Donkey Steps and Gibson Square?

Donkey Steps & Gibson’s Square – a revised sketch and more information

A request from Pontypool Museum

The Parrot Public House Pontypool

Emerging information about about The Parrot and Gibson Square

Murder at The Parrot Inn and some old photographs of Pontypool

Photographs and more information about the Parrot Pub

A word map of Pontypool 1881

Further information on the Robin Hood, the Gregories and playing marbles

Further information on the Robin Hood and its proprietors

Ragtime comes to Pontypool

Tragic Peakes’ Coach Accident – two men killed

Photographs of Peake’s coach crash scene

Introduction to my Pontypool blog

Pontypool Home Guard on Parade in the Park

Do you remember Aubrey Hames?

Ponypool’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Three photographs of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Pontypool people really seem to be world travellers

See the video: “Who killed Dripping Lewis?”

Ponypool Town School’s great raffle

West Mon School Song

Severe Pontypool weather in 1940s