Llandeilo, Dyfed

Llandybie as a child

I was born in Llandybie in 1945 at number 9 Woodfield Road.  My mother and father were Bronwen and Harold Owen and I have two sisters and one brother.  The only neighbours names I can recall are Mr and Mrs Tudge(?) although I don't remember them.
My father was a miner in the Pencae pit as was my grandfather Tom Owen of Pentregwenlais.
Across the road from the house was the playing fields and the river where apparently I spent quite a lot of time trying to catch tiddlers.  The Miner's Hall is where we would go to watch films on Saturday mornings and beyond that the bowling green where my Uncle Eirwin would play. The rugby pitch was also located close to the Hall and that was my favourite place, watching the games.  At the corner of the main road and Woodfield road was a farm which I think was owned by the Lloyd family whose daughter I used to play with.
My other grandparents lived in Blaenau, Tim and Martha Evans.
As was common amongst the mining communities my parents kept pigs in the back garden and I can still remember seeing the large pieces of meat hanging from the ends of the clothes airer which was suspended from the ceiling in front of the fire.
In the early fifties my parents moved to Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire, where my father helped lay runways for the Americans.  I attended John Lee Secondary Modern school.
During the holidays my sister and I would get coaches from the Midlands back to Ammanford and then to Blaenau to stay with my grandparents. Often we would walk down through Pontlash to Llandybie to visit our uncles, aunties, cousins and friends.
The church in Llandybie was always an inspiration to me.  I loved the style and material and the smell inside.
Sadly my mother, Bronwen, died a few years ago and I have not visited the village since.
I hope to pass on to my children my memories of Llandybie (not Llandebie) in stories, maps and photographs and of my love of being Welsh.

Growing up in Caerbryn

I was born in Caerbryn in 1949 and I lived at 4 Caerbryn Terrace along at that time with my granny and grandad, mum and dad and my sister Gill who is thirteen months older than me. The terrace was then just the twenty houses and we knew all of our neighbours. In 1951 the twins Malcom and Judith were born, 1957 Caroline was born and in 1958 Ricahrd was born. I have happy memories of growing up there as we were free to play outside as we grew up. We used to climb up the Old Colliery tip, go down the Felin in the summer time and run about in the fields. But today all those features are gone as when the Open Cast Miming company came to caerbryn in the 1970s ormaybe later the Tip disappeared, the felin disappeared and the field became a football pitch. Happy memories though

My family memories

My great grandparents, John and Margaret Williams, lived at Llansadwrn and they and my grandparents are buried in the Church Yard at Talley. My grandparents, Evan and Florence (Dolly) Williams lived at Dan y Graig. Many happy days spent there with them in the 60's. My grandmother worked very hard to make ends meet as unfortunately my grandfather, who had seen active service in the trenches during the first world war, had been badly scarred by his experiences and sadly drank to excess. I believe that my grandfather, an ex policeman, was the village postman at some stage. I have visited Talley recently and the old road around to the church is still as I remember it, but sadly as with many other lovely old villages, a horrible big road runs through the middle of it. My grandparents were very friendly with "Annie Cwmdu" who ran the pub and we used to visit her a lot. Oh such happy days.....

Aelwyd Amanw

This is a photo of Aelwyd Amanw, Brynaman. Brynaman was the first place in Wales to have its own building for running a branch of Urdd Gobaith Cymru. Although a branch of Urdd Gobaith Cymru had been established in the village since 1928, the Aelwyd was officially opened on Saturday, May 6th 1939 by Syr Ifan ab Owen Edwards who had founded  the organisation back in 1922.
Various members of my family have been involved with this Welsh language organisation since the 1920s, with my own involvement starting in 1961 and continuing until the present. The building has recently been refurbished and it is a focal point for many activities in the village, but is still primarily a centre for Urdd Gobaith Cymru.