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Banwen
Banwen maps
Historic maps of Banwen and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Banwen maps
Banwen photos
We have no photos of Banwen, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Glynneath| Pontneathvaughan| Abercraf| Craig-Y-Nos| Ystradgynlais| Cwmgiedd| Clungwyn Falls| Ystradfellte| Resolven| Penderyn| Ystalyfera| Hirwaun
Banwen area books
Displaying 1 of 1 books about Banwen and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Banwen
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West Glamorgan memories
The Signal Box
My uncle Emlyn Rees was a relief signalman who used to work the box shown in photo in G149038. He lived in Hendy, about 2 hours travel time from Glynneath. My father (his brother) used to take to visit and my uncle used to let me pull the levers, a big thrill as a ten year old. We lived in Rhigos, the next village up the line.
Robert Rees
Dad's Train
My father Hywel Williams was fireman on this line from around the mid 1940s until it was decomissioned in 1965. I wondered if he might just be on the footplate when this photograph was taken.
Family in Resolven
My father came from Resolven and my mother from neighbouring Glynneath. Although we lived in Birmingham when my brother and I were kids, we would often spend our summer holidays with my grandparents in Ynys Fach Avenue in Resolven. We loved going to the woods, and being taken on the bus to Neath for faggots and peas in the market. I remember the next door neighbours, the Hadley family, who were very friendly and kind people. Also I recall playing with other kids in the street, such as Peter Gay.
I can still picture being in Resolven during the summer of 1966, when England were playing West Germany in the football World Cup Final. The family, not being interested in football, decided that we would go to Porthcawl for the day in the Morris Minor (which didn't have a radio!). My brother and I were really unhappy at missing the game and I remember asking someone out of the car window on Porthcawl sea front if they knew the... Read more
Beazer Family
Does anyone remember Elkanah and Mary Beazer and their son Horace? The family lived in Resolven. My husband is compiling his family tree, and Horace was his grandfather, he also had a brother called Preston and a sister called Violet, also we think there was another brother, but we are not sure of his name. His grandfather Horace worked in the mines for years and then married Maria Cory. Anyone who has any information, we would love to hear from you. Vivien Saunders
Childhood Memories
I spent my childhood summer holidays with my Nanny at 7 Crown Row, Cwymtwrch, a whitewashed cottage on the main road. My Aunty Annie lived further up the road, opposite the grocers shop. Next door lived my 'Aunty Molly', she had a son called David. We used to play a game with marbles on a board his dad made him. He also played the organ. I remember all the children used to put on plays in one of the neighbour's sheds, we used to buy crepe paper and make our outfits. My aunty's name was Annie Harris, my uncle was Dae John. My father was Jim Williams, he was a miner and died at the age of 43 as a consequence. I still have a cousin in Cwmfllynfell called Marion and her husband is Tal. My aunty's garden backed on to the railway and I used to rush out to wave to the driver. There was a stream just behind the railway and we used to go on long walks.... Read more
The CWM
As a child we spent many weekends in Cwmtwrch. My grandparents Horrace & Betsy Williams lived there. We spent a lot of time down at the river skipping rocks and cooling off. My grandmother always cleaned the telephone booth across the street from her house - I can still smell the Dettol when I think of it. I have great memories of being there, Dado in his green house taking care of his beautiful flowers, and Mamo carrying buckets of coal into the house for the stove. I remember building a kite and flying it at the top of the hill in a field. We often hopped on the bus to go to Swansea and eat lunch at the Windsor Cafe. This summer I will be bringing my husband and 2 kids to Cwmtwrch for the first time, my Aunt kept the house as a cottage, so I am really looking forward to seeing the place again.
Childhood Memories of Lower Cwm
Sometime in the late 1940s my family moved from Upper Cwmtwrch to the Gurnos Council Estate in Lower Cwmtwrch and lived there for the next nine years. I have many memories of the place. The main source of entertainment was the cinema. On Saturday morning I would get on the bus to Cwmllynfell to attend the cinema in the Workingmen's Hall situated on the Square. Most of them were cowboy films. A shilling was sufficient to buy the bus and cinema tickets and leave enough for a packet of chips! I still attended the primary school in Upper Cwm. On one occasion, after school, I climbed a Yew tree on the bank of the River Twrch to look at a pigeon's nest. When the bus arrived suddenly I slid down the tree quickly. When on board I noticed that one of my jacket sleeves was missing. At first I thought someone had cut it off with a scissors! Then it dawned upon me - it had... Read more
